T4 kit is a piece of cake... just as easy as a stock vgt as long as the dp lines up correctly and the drain tube is correct. I ran into the same issues... stubby ratchet wrench for the exhaust turbo housing, no need for double nut they won't back off .
Ya I read through your thread where it took 3 kits before you got one that worked right. "piece of cake" LOL. The down pipe and drain tube are for sure the worst part. Up pipes went on with ease and seemed to fit great. CAC tube was good, air filter was good. Oil feed line was good.
Maybe it is worse on 2003-2004 trucks because my leaf spring hanger was the issue with the downpipe. I finally dropped my downpipe down far enough to dent it really good with a sledge hammer and that got it close enough to use a 4' pry bar to get it on. I have read that certain kits only work with certain down pipes. Which is weird because my downpipe worked perfect on the stock style vgt turbos, I figured it would line up fine.
My kit uses nuts and lock washers. I was told by a few guys to double check them and double nut them and they. I checked them the first night and managed to get a few turns out of them. I also checked them last night and got a few turns. It is cheap insurance IMO
My kit made getting a turbo in and out a piece of cake, way easier than the factory location.
Weird... It only takes me about 5-10 min to pull the stock vgt turbo. and about 10-15min to put it back in. How much faster can it get? It took me a little over 1 hour the very first time I did it (but I never ran into the back 3rd bolt stripped out). When it comes to easy stock turbos to pull... the 6.0 is at the top of the list. Way easier than most other platforms like the 6.4, 6.7, duramax, OBS, etc
Drain tube doesn't work on mine, it's too short. Got a temporary fix in there now. Looking for more permanent ideas
That is one of the most common issue I hear... drain tubes don't work. Mine was a hard line and took about 20 tries to get it right. I think a flex line might be better.
I have seen there are kits out there with billet pedestals that eliminate the oil drain issue... that sounds promising. If I would have "purchased" a kit I might have went that route, or at least something with some flex in it.
I sense a non vgt bashing and more to come. Seriously though it's just like when we first did a stock vgt install they were a pain and we cussed, after a couple they were a breeze... same with the non vgt there certain tricks etc that need to take place to make the install go smoother. The problems you stated are posted over the forum including my install problems.
I know I'm starting chit on your thread but just saying. If I raised your heart rate I apologize charlie lol
I guess you are kinda right about the tricks. I would suggest people buying a new recommended downpipe to go with the kits and using kits that have good solutions for the drain lines. Hopefully this thread helps someone else because this info was not "all over the forums" until I had an issue myself and then received tons of advice via PM, text, and email.
I get asked by a lot of guys "why don't you run a non-vgt kit on your 6.0 and try it out"... So I took up the challenge and I am just posting my honest experiences. I am excited to see how it stacks up power wise on the dyno.
oke:
