As promised I will start writing the ebay 16g turbo install article with a ton of pictures included. Note that I will cover the install of the ebay turbo, coolant temp gauge install, oil pressure gauge install, 880cc injector install, fuel pump install, dsmlink install, fmic install, and a few other components. This article will take me a few days so please be patient. Some thoughts and warnings here to start this article/thread with.
1. If you are installing an ebay generic 16g or other turbo, the first thing you MUST do is check and adjust the wastegate. Here are two good links for this:
2. If you have purchased an ebay turbo that came with an install kit heed this warning:
90% OF THE NUTS AND BOLTS THAT COME WITH THESE INSTALL KITS DO NOT FIT!!!!! DO NOT FORCE THEM INTO YOUR TURBO, MANIFOLD, HEAD, BLOCK. If they do not finger tighten in- they are probably the INCORRECT SIZE
3. It's ok to go budget with turbo builds as most people will tell you- however do NOT expect the exact same results as your buddy that spent 3 times as much. And the turbo is a small part of this- MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A KNOWLEDGEABLE PERSON HELPING YOU. The small details are what will kill you if you don't know what your doing. ASK HERE IF YOU MUST.
4. Don't bother with the stock style oil feed line- get a braided steel line off ebay.
5. The SSAC FMIC kit is missing one silicone coupler and a few tbolt clamps. If you order another silicone coupler- make SURE you order a 2.5 inner diameter silicone coupler that is LONGER then a standard coupler. I would say 6 inches at least. The SSAC upper intercooler pipe is a little short (at least for a 2ga talon) and having couplers that are too short will cause them to come off under boost.
6. DSMLink is a CHIP that replaces the chip that is on your eprom ECU. You can NOT just pull your old chip out and install the DSMLink. Your old chip must be soldered out by a professional or someone with experience. After the old chip is soldered out- most people "socket" their ECU. What does this mean? A socket is like an adapter for a chip. The socket is soldered onto your ecu mainboard and the socket then has a plug-in type adapter that you can plug your DSMLink chip or your old ECU back into. DO NOT TRY TO PULL THE ORIGINAL ECU CHIP OFF YOUR BOARD WITH A BUTTER KNIFE OR A SCREWDRIVER. When people say that, they are referring to pulling your chip out of a socket (on an ecu that has been socketed already) and installing the new chip. Read this over and over till you get it.
I picked my ebay turbo up for $100 with install kit (bolts and gaskets- not jpipe) from a local seller. The turbo I picked up is the basic turbo you will get from ebay if you type in the ebay search "EVO 3 BIG 16g". They go for about $350 with install kits that include jpipes.
Here is a picture of 3 turbos. The first is the stock t-25 that came off the 2g talon, the second is the ebay 16g, and the third is a mitsubishi big 16g.
