what I did;
cut mounting tabs off ps ic

cut a big chunk of the hood latch support bracket (will still function properly)

moved condensor between ic and rad

ground out section for inlet and outlet with angle grinder (seriously wish I had a plasma cutter)

problems;
a/t have to find another mounting location for trans cooler (under battery is my idea and will cut an air duct like the one for the intake on opposite side)

secondary hood latch has to be completely removed (I will end up installing hood pins for safety purposes)

I'm not done yet obviously, but these are the only problems I foresee. questions, comments?

edit; another problem I just realized is that I will have to be extra careful shutting my hood or I could damage the ic. to partially remedy this I will weld a thin piece of steel to the hood latch bracket and put some shock absorbing material on it to prevent the rad from taking abuse.

 

BRD- nice looking project. Good mod, definitely. The way the new IC is attached, did you isolate it from the structure by using rubber bushings of some sort?

How did your grille and the metal valence under the grille fit up? Any notching required?

In time will you increase your ducts to and from the IC to 3" also?

 

for mounting the ic I'm going to cut off the old ic mounts and fab up some square U brackets to set the new ic in, they will have silicone to protect against rattling etc. from my old 2.5" sleeves.
I'm using 3" exhaust piping (just bought pre mandrel bent piping) for a new intake horn and ic piping.
as far as valence and grill, this sticks out right around half an inch more than the stock ic so I'm assuming I may have to do SOME gentle grinding of the valence MAYBE. odds are I will not though.

for solid mounting I am currently fabricating some brackets that I will attach to the intercoolers side mounts with 1/4" all thread, washers and nuts. I chopped the majority of the condensor mounting plate off just leaving a small bit where the bolt holes are which I will use for mounting it solid to the body ( the rest of the condensor plate was in the way of the ic inlet and outlet).

so far the project has been surprisingly easy compared to what I was expecting, I have never touched a vehicle with a grinder or welder so I was very nervous but figured if I never tried I'll never know lol.

my reasoning for doing this swap was that my old ic had leaks and the truck was struggling to show 12 psi at the most and quickly lost it. I'll post up more pics when I get the piping in

 

Is it too late to flip your IC? This is a pic of how I attached mine to the frame. The tapered bushings I got from a local ACE hardware, in their fastener bin section. They're really dense, and I drilled thru them and sandwiched them with 3/8" hardware, and 3/8" all thread. Just an idea.

 

This view shows the bird screen mesh I slipped over the IC, and it is spread out tight, to protect it from big freaking bees and such. The screen sits about 1/2" away from the IC.

If you look closely at the valance, you can see the two areas that required the trimming. No modification done to the grill at all. In fact, the back side of the grille doesn't even touch the IC.

 

that looks good, I'm doing the same thing just upside down lol. but yeah too late to flip now. didn't get a chance to work on it after my last post, should have it all put together and running tomorrow though

 

Augie,
Is there a fire truck missing some Unity light housings nearby? LOL
Looks good.

 

LOL, are you talking about my round lights on the bumper pad? My father in law turned me on to those things, as a form of fog light. Gets foggy up here in the hills at times, and back when I didn't know squat about these trucks(only knew how to change oil and fuel filter, lol), he suggested them, and I said "sure".
From what he told me, a lot of the big rigs used them, as he stocked them at his Kenworth shop in Eureka. They can handle abuse, such as vibration, and I swear these bulbs last a long time. I currently have them wired on a toggle switch to come on with my low beams on, and they automatically come on with my high beams (the Jim Layne wiring harness on relays) and they sure light up the road.

They are not a true fog light, so I have to be really particular on how they are aimed. I've used them since the late 90's, and only have had a handful of people flash their brights at me when I use them with out my brights on.

Lately I've been looking at them and getting tired of the look. My plan eventually when I paint the truck is to buy one of those reunel or buck stop heavy duty bumpers with the built in fog light ports. Then I'll use L.E.D's for the fog lights.

 

Jim, your write ups are a life saver. I have learned a great deal about vehicle electrics from your posts in a short time so thank you for that.
my dodge is fire truck red maybe I should steal those lights, would fit perfectly lol!

 

Thanks guys,
I am working on getting the pictures back up but it is going to take me awhile as I have been working a lot also.

Unity makes good indestructible equipment,
Welcome to UnityUSA.com

Jim

 

BigRedDodge, what year powerstroke did you source that IC from? I ask, because after looking closely at your IC pics and mine, the end tanks are different in size. Mine appear wider at the ends than yours, and now it's got me wondering. I know the 2002 model years came out with plastic end tanks, and all years prior had aluminum end tanks.