Tired of having to watch the exhaust temperature (EGT) on your 7.3 PSD when towing? Perhaps a T4 SXE turbo swap is in order. There are turbo wheel upgrades that you can do to the stock Garrett turbo to help reduce exhaust temperatures and surging plus there are KC drop in Turbo replacements that are even better and make things easy but many have found that a Borg Warner turbo upgrade the way to go.
Not sure which way to go in regards to a KC swap or a T4/SXE complete changeover? Check out the 7.3 Turbo Matrix files and discussion at Ford-Trucks.com
A T4 Turbo Mount Kit combined with a S300 SXE series Borg Warner turbo provides you with a plethora of options on turbo replacement. An added benefit of the T4 setup is a much better exhaust to turbo mount than OEM. No more fighting to align the “baby butt” exhaust coupler to the turbo to get it clamped perfectly to prevent exhaust leaks and there are 2 less o rings to reduce potential for oil leaks over the OEM setup.
T4 Mounting Kits
Depending on what you are looking for there are multiple makers of T4 Mounting kits for 7.3’s. The biggest difference between kits is their oil return from the turbo. Some require you to remove the freeze plug where the mechanical fuel pump went on earlier model turbos to install an oil return there while others return the oil in the stock location. T4 installation kits and Turbos are available from popular diesel parts vendors such as:
Irate Diesel Performance 99-03 T4 Kits
Carson Stauffer Diesel 99-03 T4 Kits
Borg Warner Turbos
There are many SXE300 options and research will need to be done on what model you choose based on injector size and any tuning you may have and even what you want to gain from the turbo. Are you focused on better towing on grade or are you seeking speed. Either way the S300 SXE series has an option and housing combo that can meet your needs. For example The S364.5 and S366 SXE turbos are quite popular models. For high revs something like the 366 may be what you are looking for. The 364.5 spools faster and is suitable for a factory 7.3 but leaves room for bigger injectors and modifications in the future or may be better suited to modifications already made. If you are towing with a completely factory 7.3 setup the SXE363 with a .91 housing seems to be the most popular option and has been described as the turbo the 7.3 should have come with from the factory. The 363 spools up even faster than the 364.5 and reaches proper boost at much lower RPM which is a game changer when towing heavy uphill in over drive with a stock truck for keeping exhaust temperatures in check and maximizing boost at much lower RPMs than the previous mentioned models.
When changing the turbo you will need to buy and install an over boost code regulator or boost fooler available from many of the vendors online. This prevents the pressure from exceeding the factory limit so the computer never sees above 22psi preventing over boost codes.