Customizing oil feed line for 14b

[always_broken]

I've been wondering. I'm short on cash right now so I searched through the site looking on some ideas on creating my own oil feed line for my 14b swap.

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/showpost.php?p=151026278&postcount=27

I'd rather get the ss line, but if I really wanted to do this, would it work?

 

[romeen]

Personally I think that if using a MHI turbo it makes sense to use the the factory supply line. If you look at the stock line you will notice that the size of the hole at the end that attaches to the head is smaller than the hole at the turbo end. This restriction was obviously designed for a deliberate purpose (maintaining a certain oil pressure/volume to the turbo) to function with that specific setup.

Most guys will probably disagree with me on this since running a SS line from the filter housing is the "thing to do." But I feel that if the MHI engineers did things a certain way then some consideration should be given as to why. Just my opinion.

 

[DJYoshaBYD]

is there anything to substantiate that? I would like to know as well...

 

[romeen]

I can't provide any hard data to support my opinion. But again I can relay my observations regarding the difference in diameter of the oil passage at opposite ends of the stock supply line and speculate as to why it was designed this way.

I can also say that I have talked with guys running the stock line with upgraded MHI turbos who race their cars and none of the guys I have discussed this with have had any turbo failures (admittedly this is not a whole lot of guys). Conversely, I know of guys who run the SS line with their MHI turbos who have had turbo failures. But in all fairness I can't say whether or not this was a result of the SS supply line.

Generally speaking, I have noticed that the more people modify their cars from stock the more they tend to have reliability issues. The guys who improve certain aspects of the car (which may have been originally designed with cost cutting measures in mind) while leaving other things that are working alone tend to end up with good performance and better reliability (relatively speaking). If the car is strictly for racing then reliability may take a back seat to all out performance. But for a daily driver doing less is sometimes more.

Again, just my opinion based on observations and common sense.

 

[always_broken]

I forgot that the oil feed lines are routed different 1g/2g. I have a 2g. Think I can saw off the feed line from the t25 and use fuel line to replace the gap?

 

[romeen]

I don't think so. The end fittings are different. The 1G line uses a 12mm banjo bolt at the turbo end. The 2G uses a different type of fitting where it attaches to the turbo.

 

[selmerguy]

The easiest way to do the feed line is tap the feed for the 14b to 3/8npt. I have dont this on 3 14b's with no problem. You can get a male3/8npt to -4an fitting at NAPA. You dony even have to dril to tap to 3/8npt. Just start it straight and clean the shards out when you are done.

 

[my98gsx]

Everytime i put a 14B/16G on a DSM i always tap it with a 1/8npt tap. Make sure you dont get any metal inside the turbo (i always plug the bottom of the inlet hole) Once you have it taped the turbo for NPT get a -3 to 1/8npt fitting, skrew it into the turbo and run a -3 braided line. Youll need a 1/4npt to -3 for the other side of the line by the oil filter. ( -3 if you are going to keep the STOCK drain ) Once you have a braided line it'll look nicer and be alot better then the stock "brake line" that they use from the factory. good luck

 

[selmerguy]

Everytime i put a 14B/16G on a DSM i always tap it with a 1/8npt tap. Make sure you dont get any metal inside the turbo (i always plug the bottom of the inlet hole) Once you have it taped the turbo for NPT get a -3 to 1/8npt fitting, skrew it into the turbo and run a -3 braided line. Youll need a 1/4npt to -3 for the other side of the line by the oil filter. ( -3 if you are going to keep the STOCK drain ) Once you have a braided line it'll look nicer and be alot better then the stock "brake line" that they use from the factory. good luck

How do you tap a 14 b to 1/8npt the hole is bigger that that allready?

 

[romeen]

How do you tap a 14 b to 1/8npt the hole is bigger that that allready?

Agreed.

But when I do the math the 3/8" should be too small as well. 12mm is .472", while 3/8 comes out to .375". I'm actually using the size of the turbo's oil supply from a 16G when I refer to 12mm. I thought it was the same for the 14b but maybe I am wrong. If you have done it several times then I can't argue with that but are you sure it wasn't a 7/16 tap that you used since that comes out to .438"?

 

[selmerguy]

It's 3/8 npt for sure.

 

[romeen]

Personally I would be very reluctant to tap the oil feed of a turbo. I know you mentioned plugging the inlet hole when you tap but if even the smallest bit of metal falls loose when you are removing whatever you have stuffed in there it can scour the turbo's shaft and cause problems. It also seems that tapping without drilling will open up the possibility of oil seeping past the original threads.

It sounds like you have successfully done this before but I wouldn't want to risk it with my turbo.

 

[S_Ranger]

what end do you use for the oil filter housing? I mean what kind of fitting?