Installing a Turbo, I need some in put please!

[Laidlaw751]

I have a 7.3 in a 1991 IHC school bus. The motor is non turbo and other than color and a couple minor details, appears to be identical to that put in the early 90's Ford pickups. I recently acquired a rebuilt stock turbo off of a 8.2 liter Detriot Diesel, an engine often found in Chevy and Ford buses. Its a non waste-gated Schwitzer turbo and I was wanting to install it on my bus with the 7.3 in it. I'm going to be regearing the bus for highway use and wanted a little bit more power for taking off to supplement the loss from the gearing change. I had a few questions first and wondered what some of you might think.

1. Can I route the turbo directly from the compressor to the intake where the breather sits now? Or do I need to modify the intake so that the air gets forced into the right places? I have been told conflicting stories from different people and wanted another opinion.

2. Is the fact that this turbo is not waste-gated going to be a problem, the engine will constantly be under load (bus weighs 17,500lbs) and running between 2500 and 3000 rpm. The last thing I want to do is risk blowing up the motor, towing a bus isn't cheap by any means.

Any input to these questions is greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Phillip Johnson

[85Hauler]

Pumping the air into the stock intake (via an intake hat in place of the breather)is how all the commonly available turbo kits do it so you'll have no problem there.
As for it being non wastegated. As long as it doesn't produce more than 12 lbs of boost you'll be alright.

[JPR]

You may find it handy to download the installation manual from Banks as a reference for your installation.
Sidewinder turbo manual

[agnem]

Welcome to the site. The bracketry, plumbing, and turbo sizing are what makes the 3 available kits worthwhile. Consider selling the turbo on ebay, and using the money to buy a Hypermax turbo kit (lowest cost, best for hiway).