[Beastmaster]

If the person who originally did the Whipple did it right, the unit will have a boost gauge. It also should have a pyrometer that shows the EGT. 1200 degrees F is the max - anything more, you start blowing parts off of the engine by threatening to melt the piston heads.

For boost, you'll only need about 5-7lbs at the most. 5 is pretty much the norm at max RPM, and you want about 1.5lbs at idle. Just remember the formula of higher boost, lower compression....

Oh, stock TD's never had a boost gauge...so it's an add on.

As for keeping the setup, I would. A Whippled 6.5L truck will have better performance and great gas mileage - people have reported at least 15mpg out of their Whippled diesels....more than I can say for the Turbo's.

What I would do is this:
Get yourself a 6.5L Turbo short block. They have lower compression pistons, oil cooled heads, and a strengthened casting block (as long as it's a newer casted engine made from 2002 and up).

Then start doing parts transfers. Move the Whipple and other stuff over. Remount the engine.

The killer thing about a Whippled 6.5 is that it's going to start to produce max torque as low as 1200 RPM (TD's do their max torque at 1700), and the torque/horsepower curve doesn't cross paths until later on in the RPM range, making it a very good engine with mod.

The other word of warning is the head gasket. 95 6.5's had crappy head gaskets, and it wasn't until recently that the FelPro gaskets were reinforced in such a way that you can run with boosts.

Hope this helps!
Steve