'90 Non intercooled engine

[JeffTheMarine]

I have been told several things about the early non intercooled Cummins engines in Dodge trucks and I am looking for some definitive answers from first hand accounts. I have done a few things to my engine since I have gotten it. It was originally a bone stock 90 with about 191k on the clock, automatic long bed 2wd. It still had the anti tamper caps on the pump. So I turned the fuel screw in only 1 turn after removing the little collar on it. I turned my stock fuel pin 90 degrees and ran my star wheel all the way down then backed it off about 5 clicks. I also turned the smoke screw in so that it was flush with the top of the lock nut. My next two purchases are going to be a pyro and a boost gauge for it so that I can keep an eye on things. I know that I can run the fuel screw in further but I don't want to do that until I get a gauge to be able to monitor my EGT's. So I love the look of the first gen early grills and am not much of a fan of the later style first gen grill so I don't plan to change that. Curious about what other people have done to remedy this situation. I have contemplated changing out my stock crossover tube to the Coolertubz 3" crossover and running water/meth. Is this enough to keep the ol girl cool? I also planned to change my smaller H1C with the later larger style after I get gauges and get water/meth system. What are anyones thoughts on this? Is there a reasonable way intercool this truck without changing my grill?

Thanks for the help
Jeff

[theoldmanW350]

Hello. Another 1990 owner here. I'm a newbie to cummins engines but I spend A LOT of time reading on this forum. One of the first things I did was install a boost and pyro gauge. I'd get those in ASAP. I recently installed a intercooler from a 2nd gen along with a 3" intake from Pusher Intakes, but I was thinking of going with the 3" crossover with a water/meth setup. My first hurdle was finding a crossover. Coolertubz are no longer available as far as I know. Plenty of owners fab their own 3" crossovers but I don't have a welding machine. There is the cost of the WM setup as well. Not cheap. What are your plans for the truck? Daily driver? A bit of towing? I want my rig to be tow capable. I went with the 2nd gen IC and larger intake (which has ports for WM nozzles!). I still need to upgrade my turbo for more air. A 2nd gen IC will fit behind the center grill. It does require you to do away with your AC condenser if you have one and a bit of fabricating of your radiator core support. You'll also need to trim the center grill plastic. I used a dremel with a plastic cutting bit. Quick work. I'm not savvy with inserting URL's and crap but my post "2nd gen IC into non IC" has a link to Diesel Truck Resource with measurements for cutting the core support. They were spot on. If you go larger crossover/WM setup I can recall reading owners being satisfied with the cooling. It's the requirement of the solution and how big the tank needs to be along with the installation of the boost specific switches and crap that got me off that path. I admit I got lucky with finding my IC. I'm running about 100* cooler on my pyro with the IC. A larger compressor wheel and housing will bring my EGT's down further. Hope this helps.

[Tacoclaw]

If it's just a DD and you don't do any hard work with it, I wouldn't sweat the intercooler. I don't see anyway you'll be able to keep the EGTs hot enough, for long enough, to hurt anything with an unloaded truck. Sure you can get the EGTs over 1400* with a maxed pump and stock turbo/injectors, but you'd be well into the governor in your top gear before you could do any damage with those temp, even on a decent grade.

Now, you throw a couple tons in the bed or latch a trailer behind it, that all goes out the window, but on an empty truck you only need an IC if you're really stepping up your fuel game.

An IC isn't a bad thing by any means, but you don't have to hack your truck up for one if it isn't needed.

[JeffTheMarine]

Yeah I think you are correct on the Coolertubz no longer being available. I have tried getting a hold of them for about two weeks now to no avail. I plan on wanting to be able to tow with this truck. I bought it with a trailer brake already installed and I want to be able to tow ball hitch trailers and goosneck's if need be. I want to get a B&W goosneck set up here soon. I don't plan on towing anything until I get a pyro gauge at a minimum. I have personally installed a few of the Snow Performance W/M kits and I have never had a complaint about one yet. If I do install one on this truck then I plan to fab up my own tank that will sit along the frame rail under the bed so that I can save as much bed space as possible. I know Second Hand Smoke sells the intake flange that I could use to make my own 3" intake crossover with and I think that is going to have to be the route I am going to go. My other truck is a 81 W250 Crew cab with a 94 12valve and a NV4500 in it and plan on using this for a family wagon for going on trips where I will need the extra seats. Otherwise my around town truck will be the 90.


Thanks for the input
Jeff

[CumminsPower59]

Tim is not making them any more and sold the Collertubz stuff, but ASA Modifieds is supposedly going to start making them...

[Douglas]

I have a 1990 also. It got a 7-blade HX35 on it with a 16cm housing. It will get a cooler at some point. I plan to do a water cooled. Likely a Frozen Boost one and a small radiator up front. The water radiator can be adequately thin to fit behind the stock( and IMO as well, better looking) early grill. A GT500 Mustang also sports a water cooled charge cooler and its radiator can be fit w/o much difficulty. Get an early one with nipples comming out the ends on one side; they got 'better' later on and are not so conducive to fitting.
cheers,
Douglas