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Gauges/monitor for turbo?

Yahoo Message Number: 98365
I am having some exhaust hardware replaced - specifically the charge air cooler which has apparently been bad for some time, and the subsequently warped & leaking exhaust manifold due to the excessive heat.
While it is apart, I would like to install a turbo boost and/or pyrometer gauge or monitoring system of some sort. My engine is a 1998 Cummins ISC 8.3L "6CTA" but I would assume just about any aftermarket thing made for diesel pusher morothomes should work.

If anyone has any recommendations, ease/difficulty of installation stories, lessons learned, etc. please pass along.

Thanks,
Mark M

1998 Intrigue #10661

Re: Gauges/monitor for turbo?

Reply #1 –
Yahoo Message Number: 98370
Mark, Check with Gale Banks Engineering in Calif. They should have anything you need.....Skip 2002 Intrigue #11329

Re: Gauges/monitor for turbo?

Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 98377
Mark,

Sorry you are having issues related to your defective/leaking charge air cooler. Four years ago when a dyno test revealed I was loosing half my HP due to a leaking CAC, I did pricing and results research regarding the California and Oregon based radiator suppliers for Country Coach - partly because I personally knew a local CC owner on his 4th radiator who had experiences with both companies. When I turned to this forum a member suggested Brice Thomas Radiator Service, Inc in Gadsden, AL. Their sister company name (next door) for CAC's is CG&J, Inc. They can be reached at (256) 546-4613.
They are a family run business (several generations) and I found them exceptionally easy to deal with. I chose to have them perform the work at their facility, but they have warehouses around the country and can supply other service vendors. During the "removal"?of my CAG, they showed me where my coolant radiator fins were disentragating (outside the fan directed air flow circle) from road salts(?), etc that had not been washed out. They were manufacturing a new CAC core (using old tanks) for me out of aluminum, but would not consider aluminum for the coolant radiator due to the coolant weight in the wider RV configuration. For a few hundred dollars more, at that point, they suggested they would remove my old radiator, remove the tanks, take measurements for manufacture out of steel and cooper by an associated company in Dallas, reassemble and reinstall. In addition, I only had to agree to the Dallas firm's charges too. They did everything within a week, but said they under estimated the coolant radiator labor expense, however they would not charge me more than my quote.
My total cost including parts, installation, shipping and taxes was considerably less than the radiators only from either west coast vendors - before adding freight prep, shipping, taxes and then having to deal with labor from a separate party. Significantly, Brice Thomas gave me a one-year unlimited milage guarantee on all of the work! The other suppliers would only offer 1-2 month warranties with very limited mileage and I read far too many negative customer comments for my satisfaction.
You may be located too far away for Brice Thomas to do the installation, but I would still recommend using their manufactured radiator to meet your original specs. Hard to beat a superior product at a lower price!

Kent M

2000 Affinity 5801 w/2012 Rubicon JKU

Re: Gauges/monitor for turbo?

Reply #3 –
Yahoo Message Number: 98379
Hi Mark, A few years ago I installed a Banks kit on a Cummins ISE in a Pace Arrow diesel. It required drilling and tapping a 1/2 inch hole in the exhaust manifold for the EGT sensor and then running a small (very small) diameter tube for the Turbo boost pressure and a wire from the EGT sensor from the engine compartment to the front of the coach. Running the wire and tube was the difficult part, I finally pushed a 1/2 inch diameter PVC pipe (with a bullet on the end) through the wire/fuel hose bundle in the center of the chassis from the engine compartment to the front then pushing the tubing and wire through was a piece of cake. It's a lot of work, but it can be done.
Earl Densten 03 Intrigue 11554

Re: Radiators and CACs

Reply #4 –
Yahoo Message Number: 98385
Thanks for all the info Kent, that is good stuff to know.

My radiator was in similar condition to what you describe, all of the cooling fins on the lower half were gone and the rest were barely hanging on. I just had the Cummins shop check the CAC as long as they had it apart, and although it wasn't leaking coolant it was definitely leaking air and would not hold any pressure. The technician says that this condition of the CAC over an extended period was probably why the turbo was running hot and caused the exhaust manifold to shrink/warp. He also said I was probably losing significant power, although I drove through the mountains of Colorado this summer and thought the power was OK. Maybe it will be even better when all this is fixed! Anyway this is the reason I want to have some monitoring of the EGT and boost; even though I am unlikely to have any issues in the near future with all this new stuff, I can't help but think that if I would have had some indication of an overheating or under-boosting turbo I might have been able to catch & fix the CAC issue before warping the manifold. Plus more gauges & gadgets are fun :-)

The previous owner of my coach (who is the original owner) had already replaced the radiator and CAC more than once due to corrosion issues. I may have said this before, but here in Minnesota we use more salt on our roads than on our popcorn - that's a leading candidate for our state motto. He had heard from other CC owners at the time that a particular manufacturer of radiators and CACs for CC was notorious for really poor quality and being plagued with failures.
My local Cummins shop also had another CC in for a radiator replacement, a newer one than mine from the early-mid 2000s I think. CC parts quoted them like $8000 for a new radiator and $3000-$4000 for a new CAC. I don't know if this is the same supplier that had all the issues back in the 2000s, but these prices are ridiculous. This owner ended up getting theirs re-cored locally. So for these reasons I knew to definitely not go with CC parts.

Kevin Waite has a source in Oregon that makes new radiators and CACs to original CC specs but of higher quality with a full year warranty, and the prices including freight to ship to MN were less than half of the price of the CC parts department and about the same as that other owner paid for his local re-core job.
Kevin also advised me similar to what your place told you - do not install an aluminum radiator! The vibrations along with the weight of the coolant make side-mounted solid aluminum radiators shake apart and fail prematurely. My original was a steel/copper core and that is what I am replacing it with, but for any readers who have an aluminum radiator in need of replacement definitely opt for the steel/copper construction for the new one.

So once again Kevin Waite has proven to be the go-to guy. My goal now will be to keep the new stuff clean, and since I don't use my coach in the winter (other than having to drive it home from the shop later this month) that should help prolong the life of the new parts.

Mark M

1998 Intrigue #10661

Re: Radiators and CACs

Reply #5 –
Yahoo Message Number: 98390
When my two CAC's leaked they didn't effect maximum power, but effected the midrange performance. The first one was replaced under warranty the second one 3 years ago. I picked up over 1 mpg while traveling at average speeds of 65 mph. Acceleration seemed to improve with partial throttle and the coach up shifted sooner. Where I really noticed the difference was traveling into head winds in the southwest. Though my milage dropped as before, but was not as severe as before. The way I found the first CAC was a dud was getting a print out of the Dyno tests the factory performed when knew. Atfter I had the CAC replaced I gained 40 to 50 hp and 150 lbs of torque from 1200 to 1650 rpm. The second time around using the silver leaf I found the boost pressure was about 10 lbs low in the midrange about 4 lbs low at max rpm of 2100 to 22oo rpm.
TWI 2004 Intrigue 11731 400 ISL.
 

Re: Radiators and CACs

Reply #6 –
Yahoo Message Number: 98404
I have not had to deal with the radiator, but on the CAC, the one to get is a Duralite. Standard equipment on top end semi trucks. These come with a million mile warrantee.

Rich 2002 Magna