Towing Capability

[blue smoke]

You asked and were told so WHEN you smoke thst engine don't come saying you didn't know

[Drifter]

Turbo'ing a non turbo engine is fun for the few hundred miles it runs before blowing up the pistons. Then it ceases to be fun and turns into a crap ton of work and money.

I respectfully disagree, have be doing it for years with happy customers from 6.9, 7.3 fords to 6.2, 5.7 Chevys and industrial cummins, cat , and Detroit 2 stokes.

[fredsterra]

It can be done as long as you don't over do it.

I had a (former) employee that had a 7.3 na. Overhauled it bored over 65 then about 3 months later added some kind of aftermarket turbo.

It was fine as a grocery getter.....But when he hooked up to his livestock trailer and wanted to go 80 mph loaded with cows......Boom! and blew out the bottom end!

And he wanted to take it back to the guy who built it for warranty!!!

[Drifter]

Sounds like to me the engine rpms got over in the red or past red.

[Bill usn-1]

Originally Posted by Drifter

Sounds like to me the engine rpms got over in the red or past red.

This thread is getting OT-off topic.

I would recommend you spend a little time in the diesel forum getting familiar with the SD33NA and the SD33T.
Yes...you can turbo anything. But you can't think just because one engine handles it, they all will.
Like the IDI's the SD33 has a pretty high CR. In it's NA version there are no oil squirters to keep the piston cooled.

In the SD33T version, when the factory added the turbo, they added the oil squirters along with a couple other upgrades to make the engine live under boost.

I have ran my stock 6.9 up to 15psi but it seems to be lifting the head head some now as I get some heating and coolant loss when I run it hard.

The SD33T probably won't live long even at that little of boost. Most keep them at 5-8psi.

[Drifter]

You are right if there is no piston cooler nozzles then 5 psi is all you can do. Thanks for bringing that to my attention. I thought they all had those.

Also for your 6.9 you need to stud the head, should fix the problem.


Also the turboed Nissan engine can handle more boost than that with the right preparation done to the engine, like studs, better flowing exhaust, port and polish, stonger valve springs, and intercooler.

[Bill usn-1]

Thanks,
Yes most of us realize that the engines can be modified to handle anything we throw at them. That's why "most" of us do lots of research before we start the modifications.
I have all the parts I need, just need the time to install them.
But the avg joe wants to just throw more power on it and drive.
So my caution is to not use general statements.

We learn this first hand with IH's. if you wanted it, IH would build it. So there are no set rules on what parts "only" came on certain vehicles/years.

[Drifter]

So my caution is to not use general statements.


Sorry I'm bad about being general.

I've worked on only the turboed Nissan, most of my experiance is on cummins.
I'm putting a 4bt in my 76 traveler because the nd33t is not capable of the power I'm looking for.