Metal fatigue, there are 3 mounting points where the turbo attaches to the pedestal. The rearmost (hard to get to) point likes to crack causing the turbo to pivot slightly on acceleration and deceleration. Usually this is the root cause of the exhaust up pipes braking at the flex joints. I hae seen probably 5 or 6 trucks where it was cracked at the rear mount long enough for the front mounts to fatigue enough where the turbo came completely detached from the pedestal. Those trucks got new hoods.
Last time I had to move my turbo, the pedistal looked more like a 3/4 inch thick forged drop steel bracket! Perhaps thats not the pedistal?
No, that was the pedestal, problem is it's too brittle and after thousands of thermal cycles and being constantly exposed to vibrations from a turbo spinning at tens of thousands of RPM's they eventually just give up.
You would think the aluminum intake would go before the bracket/pedistal. Or is the bracket really a bracket, and the pedistal made of aluminum?
The intake has nothing to do with it as neither the pedestal nor the turbo are attached to it. That's why the aluminum intake doesn't have any problems, and the pedestal does. The rear mount cracks frequently and causes the up pipe flex joints to break often. The extreme examples of the turbo jumping up and denting the hood are pretty rare, but more common on 03 trucks before they improved the pedestal in 04 to make it more flexible to absorb the vibrations.
You dont think that maybe some of these Pedestals are going bad because of people going off road and dragging their exhaust in the mud and possibly the exhaust hitting a large rock ect?
Just something to think about, however I will agree that the constant hot/cold and the vibrations are part of the problem.
I should have some good photos here soon. I have the entire front end torn off, and once I get the fenders off I should have loads of room.
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What is to give light must endure burning -- Viktor Frankl
Removing the fenders isn't going to gain you a whole lot of extra space. Cab off will.
I would think you'd run into exhaust getting smashed if you ran some shit over, before you had a pedestal issue.
The 7.3 ones are very problematic since the hydraulically actuated EBPV is in there and it leaks oil like a sonofabitch.
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I wasnt planing on replacing my pedestal, however I would imagine that bottoming out the exhaust at the converter or even the muffler would put a great amount of stress on the turbo. Not really and flex joints on the exhaust outlet side of the turbo.
I agree that the fenders wont make everything accessable, however it will allow better side access. I have to pull the core support and the fenders if I am to have any chance of sliding the cab back after I remove the bed.
Who knows, I just come across a SWEET deal on an 96 F250 351W truck. Broken frame just like the last one I got for a song, but the engine and trans are tight.
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What is to give light must endure burning -- Viktor Frankl
Here are some photos of my Turbo before it was removed. Part of the pedistal can be seen in this photo, but better photos will be available soon.
I should have a pretty damn good amount of photos to finish my 6.0 PowerStroke photo CD once I get this puppy out.
Anyway Big Angry HillBilly was right about the fenders. I wasnt aware that the core support was just that top portion that comes off. This being the case, my idea of just removing the bed and sliding the cab back is not going to fly.
I am just going to remove the engine out the front. It will be less BS.
