Tail_Gunner
CRJ & ERJ A&P Mech.
I thought my ears were "ringing"!! 
The first suggestion I can make for anyone who has blown an intercooler connector is a crankcase ventilation mod. I blew a connector once, it wasn't fun. The timing of it could not have been a worse place or time!!
The stock crank case ventilation hose ties into the intake between the air filter and the turbo. It introduces oil mist into the intake air, the intercooler and the tubes & connectors. Eventually, the oily slime works it's way between the connector and tube, making for the tube to more easially blow out just like what happened to Kirbco. Additionally, it can crud up the inside of your intercooler causing it to loose efficiency. I'm not going to get into the discussion of ecological/political correctness of using a crankcase vent mod style that dumps the vented gases overboard vs a catch bottle. But as far as I'm concerned, doing the mod in one form or another, is a must to avoid a blown connector reoccurance. A tip I will pass along though, when removing the intercooler tubes for cleaning or ???, take a pliers and form a VERY SLIGHT bellmouth on the tube. In addition to making sure the tube and connector boots are clean & dry, a slightly larger diameter helps to ensure the tube doesn't pull out. (A better method would be to use a beading tool on the tube. Many better aircraft mechanics have one.
)
As for tuning, if you have an early 99 (prior to a Dec 7ish 1998) build date, get a 99.5 PCM first. The early 99 tranny programiing sucks big time. At one time, DP Tuner had used PCMs one could purchase with a tuning program of your choice. I now get my tuning from Power Hungry Performance based on my costly trial & error experience with a couple of tuning places. But prior to any mods, get some gauges and an exhaust system (see my sig for a partial list of my mods.)
If you want to upgrade the turbo and do have an early 99 truck, short of retrofitting the entire turbo and induction system to a 99.5 style, the only turbo that'll "drop-in" is a Dominator 66 from Beans Diesel Performance.
Kirbco, I hope I've given you enough to chew on for a while.
The first suggestion I can make for anyone who has blown an intercooler connector is a crankcase ventilation mod. I blew a connector once, it wasn't fun. The timing of it could not have been a worse place or time!!
The stock crank case ventilation hose ties into the intake between the air filter and the turbo. It introduces oil mist into the intake air, the intercooler and the tubes & connectors. Eventually, the oily slime works it's way between the connector and tube, making for the tube to more easially blow out just like what happened to Kirbco. Additionally, it can crud up the inside of your intercooler causing it to loose efficiency. I'm not going to get into the discussion of ecological/political correctness of using a crankcase vent mod style that dumps the vented gases overboard vs a catch bottle. But as far as I'm concerned, doing the mod in one form or another, is a must to avoid a blown connector reoccurance. A tip I will pass along though, when removing the intercooler tubes for cleaning or ???, take a pliers and form a VERY SLIGHT bellmouth on the tube. In addition to making sure the tube and connector boots are clean & dry, a slightly larger diameter helps to ensure the tube doesn't pull out. (A better method would be to use a beading tool on the tube. Many better aircraft mechanics have one.
)As for tuning, if you have an early 99 (prior to a Dec 7ish 1998) build date, get a 99.5 PCM first. The early 99 tranny programiing sucks big time. At one time, DP Tuner had used PCMs one could purchase with a tuning program of your choice. I now get my tuning from Power Hungry Performance based on my costly trial & error experience with a couple of tuning places. But prior to any mods, get some gauges and an exhaust system (see my sig for a partial list of my mods.)
If you want to upgrade the turbo and do have an early 99 truck, short of retrofitting the entire turbo and induction system to a 99.5 style, the only turbo that'll "drop-in" is a Dominator 66 from Beans Diesel Performance.
Kirbco, I hope I've given you enough to chew on for a while.
