So I finally bought the coolertubz kit for our trucks on ebay and i put it on and i really like them, they look great, they are well made, and its a great kit. They help spool faster and my truck runs a lot cleaner now, it clears up the smoke a lot faster, and it gave my truck a little different sound at idle and i kinda like it, and it dropped my egts a bit. I have the he351 turbo and i could hit 40 lbs of boost with the wastegate turnbuckled shut, so i took the j hook off my old hy35 and used it and so the wastegate opens at 35 from drive pressure cuz i was tryin to save my head gasket. Well now that i put the coolertubz on, it dropped my boost about 4 lbs. So now i'm hittin about 30 to 31 lbs. So i know it dropped my boost but i know i'm still gettin the same amount of air, cuz the pipes are bigger and its more spread out, but my question is can i put the turnbuckle back on my wastegate so i can get my boost back up, or even though it has less than 40 lbs, it will have the same amount of air and be dangerous to my head gasket? What do you guys think? I just don't have money to do head work right now or go through a gasket, so i wanna try and play it safe, but if it won't hurt anything, I'd like to get my boost back up a little.

 

Don't be one of those guys that shoots for a certain boost number. The important number is horsepower, and you are probably making more now, even though your pressure is a little lower.

 

I am not shootin for a certain boost number, But i think I would have a little more top end if my wastegate stayed shut. I'm just wonderin if its pushin it though if i do this. If the power is there, might as well use it. So really the question is will lower boost with more air kill my headgasket?

 

Didn't rifle man say it was the drivepressure that really killed the headgasket?

I have the same turbo as you and I hit 36 lbs on it and haven't blown the headgasket yet. It seems to run out of gas past 32 though.

 

I found this searching for GLHS so I could PM him about his DDP injectors.. take it as you will.

https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...s-t229382.html

 

The point is, even though you have lower boost. Does not mean less performance. COOLER AIR, is the key. Take a smaller turbo making the same PSI of boost. Its running hard to make said boost. Put a bigger turbo on thats making less boost. But the same volume and runs cooler on the intake side. Lower boost does not mean less HP. Its a cooler air charge, IE cooler, more dense air vs. hotter and higher boosted air. Clear as mud now? LOL

 

Boost is a measurement of restriction

You have less restriction= less boost, Cooler denser air.

I'd leave it as it is. Give your HG a break.

 

And with having had said that. PM John AKA The Head, and ask for pics as well as info on his build. Correct me if I'm wrong Head. He left the turbo as factory. A fab'd out the piping to his CAC, air to air. Better than dealing with springs and turnbuckels...Contact Head and see what he has. Better than seeing input from anyone who does not have a 351 on a 1st GEN...

 

BigBlue would be the one to contact abou DP's ah64id said in his post I am guessing. Check with BigBlue, been there and has done that.

 

I have my wastegate controller disconnected and the ATS block off plate installed. My WG opens by itself at 36 psi at the IM, not sure what the drive pressure in the turbine is at this point.

I was looking to add a little more fuel with bigger injectors, but after digging up the thread about drive pressure, maybe I will just leave it be now. Or start looking for a better turbo. I guess an HE351 on a first gen has an Achilles' heel after all.

 

headgaskets fail for for several reasons, to much timing comined with hi boost and egts being common,even age on a 16-18 yr old gasket pushed by higher performance can do it. alot of p-pumpers fail due more to advanced timing combined w/boost/age. i would not worry with your set-up in the 35 psi range. lots of 40 + psi hi egt pulls may be trouble on your getting old stock gasket. lots of timing raises cylinder pressue. a small bump on an i/c motor wont hurt. the old non i/c motors had a different headgasket. more prone to fail over time.

 

i lost almost 10 psi with my intercooler install but the thing is a lot faster now!!!!! so i would leave it as is and youll be safe in that zone where as before you were in the top gun danger zone for head gasket failure

 

Just remember that less than 40 psi boost won't prolong blowing a head gasket that has already begun to deteriate. Say you run 35 psi it may blow tomorrow or you run 45 psi and it may run a year. It just seems 40 is the arbitrary number folks use for safety. If you get down on it alot and ramp the boost to 35 psi very quickly it may be just as hard on it as easing into it and going to 40. I agree on the drive pressure being the biggest culprit to blow a HG. I'm sure the higher the drive pressure the higher the heat. As Brandon said pressure is relative to flow, no flow=high pressure.

 

I agree, your no doubt getting cooler denser air, so I'd leave it alone...

 

Case and point number 1..Thank You..