turbo install time!

[dsmclipse97]

Well i had a thread all started but it got moved to the turbo conversion section and i cant post there. But anyways, i started installing stuff onto my car today. I got the fuel pump and FMU functional and i installed all my gauges. Tommarow i plan on getting the oil feed line installed/capped and run my intercooler piping so i know how its gonna go. I might go ahead and throw the intercooler on there depending on my mood. But first I have a mind bending question that im sure one of you can answer for me. Since my kit didnt come with a premade downpipe (just a few 2.25 inch steel pipe sections that i wont be using), im taking my car to an exhaust shop to have them install a turboback 2.5inch exhaust on my car. My problem is getting my car there. Its only a few miles but i cant think of a way to evacuate exhaust gases out of my engine bay. noise wont be a problem. I was originaly thinking of getting a big flex tube and clamping it on there, ghetto style, but then my wastegate dump tube wont have anything to go in to. Sorry for the long post but im drawing up blank on this one.

 

[link16]

If you ask me, I would make sure the turbo assembelly is all there but remove it from the block and disconnect it, and use stock headers and your stock exhaust to transport it. DO NOT RUN CAR W/O EXHAUST! You will blow it up. Anyways, that would be my solution, but I would wait for an actual wiseman or the such to tell you. I don't know if a turbo engine can function w/o a turbo due to low compression.

EDIT: If it is only a few miles, a lot of towing companies charge 5 dollars a mile, or in that neighborhood. Call around.

 

[Blitzeclips]

My buddies and I rigged a 3" mandrel steel pipe on there when we were initially test driving it. My downpipe I bought ahead of time didn't fit at all. I drilled 4 holes at the tips of the pipe, and threaded wire through the exhaust housing bolt holes and the holes I drilled at the end of the pipe. Worked good for an hour maybe. Then the escaping gases started to melt things and... yeah, it was temporary, but worked! Wouldn't recommend it aat all..

So I called a local tower and had them tow my car to the speed shop to make my custom downpipe. Only thing is, they charged me up the ass for a flatbed. Oh well, worked fine and I didn't have to worry about melting shit the whole way. Was worth the money IMO. Because if the car broke down on the way there or you do even more damage, thats just one more chore on your plate..

Get a tower!

 

[totaleclipse_05]

Definitely get it towed. Like everyone has said so far, it will melt things and possibly f-up the engine. That is why I want to get a little hobby welder so if I ever needed to do something like this, I could rig up something fairly easily.

 

[dsmclipse97]

i have a 220v mig welder but we are getting our garage rewired so its not working at the moment and i wouldnt want to use the exhaust flange i have on the 2.25 inch pipe and then just throw it away when i get it to the exhaust shop and they replace it with 2.5 inch. anyways, thanks for the suggestions, i guess ill be calling a tow truck.

 

[VelocitàPaola]

DO NOT RUN CAR W/O EXHAUST! You will blow it up.

Blow it up? That's quite an imagination you've got there...

Now, I got my car towed to an exhaust shop, but I was really in a pinch for time. If I could do it over again, I would carefully cut and mark a 2.5" J-bend and have it welded to the turbo's outlet flange. That way, when you install it, you'll essentially have an open downpipe... not very dangerous to drive around with, and hot exhaust gases aren't spewing into your engine bay. From there, you should be able to drive the car to an exhaust shop rather than spending the money to have it towed.

 

[link16]

Blow it up? That's quite an imagination you've got there...

Now, I got my car towed to an exhaust shop, but I was really in a pinch for time. If I could do it over again, I would carefully cut and mark a 2.5" J-bend and have it welded to the turbo's outlet flange. That way, when you install it, you'll essentially have an open downpipe... not very dangerous to drive around with, and hot exhaust gases aren't spewing into your engine bay. From there, you should be able to drive the car to an exhaust shop rather than spending the money to have it towed.

I was talking to a mechanic about a customer of his that wanted to drive his car with just headers on, and somehow air went against flow and back into the exhaust mani from the headers, cracking the block. It might be a rare occurrence but I wouldn't risk it.

 

[VelocitàPaola]

What the hell? I can't believe that... these reciprocating engines are one-way air pumps. As long as your valve timing is correct, there's no way gas can actually flow in reverse. If something catastrophic like that did happen, I'd bet there was a much greater underlying cause.

 

[link16]

What the hell? I can't believe that... these reciprocating engines are one-way air pumps. As long as your valve timing is correct, there's no way gas can actually flow in reverse. If something catastrophic like that did happen, I'd bet there was a much greater underlying cause.

I was just warning him what I was told. Better to be safe than sorry. Plus, lack of backpressure and low compression, I would guess you couldn't drive faster than 20-30 mph. Our turbo engines run about 8.8:1, that number combigned with no backpressure means that you won't get far.

 

[VelocitàPaola]

Meh? Worse case scenario is that he has a little boost creep... and that's only if he floors it all the way to the exhaust shop. Just be cautious and drive like anyone who just installed a major bolt-on modification would...

 

[totaleclipse_05]

Just put a couple tack welds on your 2.25 in piping so it can be removed easily when you get to the exhaust shop. No need to completely weld it up.

 

[DSMcrazy3]

Our turbo engines run about 8.8:1, that number combigned with no backpressure means that you won't get far.

This is confusing me. Unless he's been built for boost, his compression isn't near that low.

 

[chris712vt]

too add to the discussion - I've been building my NT DSM pretty much the opposite way of the norm. I have a fully built motor, stroked, ported and polished head with crane turbo cams, etc. It's the Howell 2.2 crate motor plus a few other goodies. So I've got low 8.6 compression with a header and full 2.5" exhaust and I drive my car daily - with no problems - without boost! (see mods on profile)

I'm even thinking about getting MSnS before completely going turbo because I can use it to tune the car in its current state so it runs a little better, then when I have enough $$ saved up for my turbo kit - vuala I'm completely ready to start having some real fun.

Anyway, my main point was to whoever said low comp with bigger exhaust and no turbo can't go more than 20-30mph... oh yes it can, in fact my car is stronger now than it was before.

 

[dsmclipse97]

well i can tack on the 2.25 inch pipe as soon as my welder is up and running again but the wastegate would still be opening straight into the engine bay and i cant think of a way to fabricate some sort of dump tube...

I was just warning him what I was told. Better to be safe than sorry. Plus, lack of backpressure and low compression, I would guess you couldn't drive faster than 20-30 mph. Our turbo engines run about 8.8:1, that number combigned with no backpressure means that you won't get far.

ok i dont know what your talking about... i dont think theres much chance of me blowing my engine from not having a downpipe but i know im going to melt a whole lot of stuff if i dont evacuate exhaust gases out from under my hood.

 

[dsmclipse97]

Anyways, i went to go install my FMU and it seems that the fuel line fittings are for SS lines, not the stock rubber lines. So how much SS fuel lines should i get for my feed and return lines? I beleive i have the "new" fuel system and my FMU will be mounted in the back, near the fuel tank.

 

[DSMcrazy3]

Don't worry about the wastegate. If/when you drive to the exhaust shop, don't boost. As long as you don't, you'll be fine. The wastegate will stay closed. That said, I'm not running a dump tube, as well as many others. It's really open for such a short period of time nothing gets damaged.

I would either order a Jbend off of summit racing, or have the shop fab one up and tack onto your flange, then bolt the flange up and drive it to the shop.

You also said you would have the shop swap out flanges for you, are you talking about the flange that bolts to the turbo? If so, it's highly doubtful they will have the correct flange, assuming it's a 5 bolt flange and all..Unless you're talking about the end that connects the downpipe to the rest of the exhaust.

 

[dsmclipse97]

You also said you would have the shop swap out flanges for you, are you talking about the flange that bolts to the turbo? If so, it's highly doubtful they will have the correct flange, assuming it's a 5 bolt flange and all..Unless you're talking about the end that connects the downpipe to the rest of the exhaust.

nope its a 4 bolt flange. I was talking about the turbo flange as well but i wasnt planning on having the exhaust shop try to get a new flange... i probably wouldnt get my car back for weeks while they tried to find one. i was just gonna tack the downpipe onto the flange then bolt it to the turbo... then have the exhaust shop reuse the flange by grinding the welds off... or I could grind them off. I would assume tacking the downpipe directly to the turbo is a bad idea?

 

[dsmclipse97]

By the way, i was doing a bit of looking around and it seems alot of you are leaving the dump tube open... Is this much louder? I dont like really loud cars but im not into the stock-quiet cars either. im thinking that i could save a few bucks and have the exhaust shop just leave it open.

 

[DSMcrazy3]

I'm not sure if you have myspace. If so, http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=1260994053. That should give you a good idea of what it sounds like.

 

[VelocitàPaola]

Exactly how mine sounds... although, mine is just blowing into the engine bay.

I actually just figured out a solution for that though; you might be interested in this too. I was going to have a nice dump tube fabbed up and routed to the ground. The only problem is that I plan on switching turbos and manifolds soon, so it would be senseless to weld a rigid dump tube. I think I'm going to weld about 1" of 1-1/2" steel tube to the wastegate flange. Then, I'll clamp about 2' of 1-1/2" flexible exhaust tubing to that. That'll give me a little lee way when it comes time to upgrade, plus it's cheap, and I won't be dumping noxious gases into my engine. It won't be a permanent solution... but good enough for now.

 

[DSMcrazy3]

Mine is dumping into the bay as well.

As for your plan Paul, you said you went with the same manifold as me correct? I know the my turbo is a bit smaller than the one you will be running but that said a bigger one would only make the problem larger. Problem is the downpipe gets in the way from running a tube down. Sure you could make a sharper bend coming off of the turbo, but do you really want do sacrifice exhaust flow for a dump tube extension? Making the downpipe sharper might not even provide clearance. I'll take some pics for you if you would like.

 

[VelocitàPaola]

No, I'm still using my Street Source manifold. I won't install the Treadstone manifold until I get the new turbo.

I've taken a few measurements and I think I can make the bend from the wastegate dump tube sharp enough to clear the downpipe.

Also, to save on costs even more, I was thinking about just using some flexible 1-1/2" electrical conduit from Lowes. It's worth a try...

 

[DSMcrazy3]

I was referring to the manifold you will be using with the future set-up. I'm not sure how the current manifold places your WG compared to how the treadstone will.

 

[VelocitàPaola]

Yeah, when I install the Treadstone manifold, I believe I'll be able to make a sharp enough bend from the wastegate to make an open dump tube. If not, I'll just reroute it back into the exhaust. I don't really care either way; the open dump tube just seems easier to make and maintain.

 

[DSMcrazy3]

It will require an immediate bend to the left for a few inches then sharp turn downward to go between the downpipe and thermostat housing.