turbo install questions *(new questions added)*

azn2nr · Post by **azn2nr** » Mon Oct 11, 2004 5:50 am

there are a couple things i didnt see in the 16g write up that i need to have clairfied.

1. i know you need to drain the coolant but what about the oil?

2. can you take the turbo off without completly removing the down pipe?

3. can i use the old gaskets or do i need to get new ones?

4. the oil suply is the hardline on top in the middle of the turbo the coolant suply points to the driver side and the oil return is the one that goes stright down so is the one that points to the passenger side that runs under the turbo the coolant return and is it suposed to be like that?

5. what is the 90 degree inlet diamater?

i got my vf39 today and im just wondering what the one that points left is.

BAC5.2 · Post by **BAC5.2** » Mon Oct 11, 2004 6:09 am

1. I didn't drain either. I did spill some coolant though.

2. No. It's not hard to drop the downpipe anyway when it's unbolted from the turbo.

3. Best to use new ones, but you could spray the old ones with copper gasket sealer if they look to be in OK shape.

vrg3 · Post by **vrg3** » Mon Oct 11, 2004 6:49 am

There's absolutely no need to drain the oil; when the engine's not running there's no oil in the turbo, save for a thin film.

dzx · Post by **dzx** » Mon Oct 11, 2004 7:33 am

Yeh, I didnt drain the coolant or the oil, and for the downpipe i just unbolted it from the turbo took the exhaust off the hangers and shoved it back. One of the bolts on the up pipe had to be cut off tho...

azn2nr · Post by **azn2nr** » Tue Oct 12, 2004 5:53 pm

BAC5.2 wrote:1. I didn't drain either. I did spill some coolant though.
.

did you depreserise (sp) the coolant system first

legacy92ej22t · Post by **legacy92ej22t** » Tue Oct 12, 2004 11:18 pm

1. You're right to drain the coolant because coolant spillage = bad. You do not need to drain the oil BUT you should do an oil change immediately prior to doing the install. Those of you (if any) that have put in new turbos and didn't replace the oil first made a big mistake IMO.

2. I personally believe it's worth removing the DP. It will make it much easier in the long run. It's not hard to remove either and will save time in the long run too.

3. I highly recommend new gaskets. It would be a shame to get it all put back together and develop an exhaust leak and have to go right back in and replace them. If that happens you'll be really sorry you didn't spend the little bit of extra cash to replace them the first time.

vrg3 · Post by **vrg3** » Wed Oct 13, 2004 12:48 am

azn2nr - The cooling system isn't pressurized when the engine is cold. Just drain the coolant from the radiator drain cock and then there should be almost none left in the turbo.

Matt - Why is it important to change the oil right before swapping turbos?

Changing the downpipe might require buying new hardware... the two nuts and two "spring bolts" (kinda misnamed since the springs are separate pieces from the bolts) holding the downpipe to the midpipe could be badly rusted. I had to cut mine with an angle grinder.

scottzg · Post by **scottzg** » Wed Oct 13, 2004 12:56 am

vrg3 wrote:
Matt - Why is it important to change the oil right before swapping turbos?

Your brand new, unbroken in turbo sucks up a bunch of used chunky oil on its first spin of life.

vrg3 · Post by **vrg3** » Wed Oct 13, 2004 1:07 am

Oh, yeah, that makes sense.

EJ20TMAN · Post by **EJ20TMAN** » Wed Oct 13, 2004 10:25 am

scottzg wrote:
vrg3 wrote:
Matt - Why is it important to change the oil right before swapping turbos?
Your brand new, unbroken in turbo sucks up a bunch of used chunky oil on its first spin of life.

If its a used turbo it wont matter, why would used oil be chunky????. Also if it was a brand new turbo u would be morin inclinded to crank it over and build oil press b4 u started it.

legacy92ej22t · Post by **legacy92ej22t** » Wed Oct 13, 2004 1:49 pm

EJ20TMAN wrote:
scottzg wrote:
vrg3 wrote:
Matt - Why is it important to change the oil right before swapping turbos?
Your brand new, unbroken in turbo sucks up a bunch of used chunky oil on its first spin of life.
If its a used turbo it wont matter, why would used oil be chunky????. Also if it was a brand new turbo u would be morin inclinded to crank it over and build oil press b4 u started it.

Ya, that's in the write up actually. You should always unhook the coilpack (USDM Legacy Turbos) and crank the motor over for 15 seconds, then wait 10 seconds and repeat. Do this a total of 3 times. Then start the car and let it idle for ten minutes before driving. Then follow the break in procedure.

Vikash- Yes it's important to have fresh, new oil when charging the turbo for the first time. You don't want old, dirty oil in there for the intitial break in.

Personally, I'd change the oil first even when putting in a used turbo. I mean, why not? It will do nothing but good and only takes a minute.

vrg3 · Post by **vrg3** » Wed Oct 13, 2004 2:19 pm

Yeah, I hear you.

I put Phil's old turbo in my car this past weekend and actually changed the oil right after installing the turbo but before turning the engine. The oil was cold, of course, so it didn't all drain out as well as it could have, but I just wanted to make sure I hadn't gotten any crud in the oil return line somehow during the swap.

I think removing SBF-2 is better than unhooking the coil pack when you want to crank the engine without starting it. Otherwise you'll be injecting fuel even though you're not sparking. Just to make it easy I pull both green fuses from the underhood fuse box.

As for letting the engine idle for 10 minutes, you're probably gonna be doing that as you refill and burp the cooling system anyway.

legacy92ej22t · Post by **legacy92ej22t** » Wed Oct 13, 2004 2:35 pm

Ya you're right, pulling the fuses is a better way to go because of the fueling.

As long as it takes you ten minutes to top off the coolant and burp your baby, then ya.

legacy92ej22t · Post by **legacy92ej22t** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 4:33 pm

4. Yes, that is the coolant return line and yes, it is supposed to be that way. When I did my 16G swap I had to move that line slightly to make it fit. I just undid the banjo and shifted it slightly more towards the front of the car.

5. It's 2" .

vrg3 · Post by **vrg3** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 4:52 pm

I think I remember measuring the compressor inlet at 55mm, just barely over 2" and barely under 2-1/4".

Oh, I figure this is as good a place as any for this information:

The oil return hose can be hard to get back on, especially if it's gotten rigid and brittle with age. I found it helped a lot to replace the hose. Heater hose isn't oil-safe so probably won't do so well, but my brother and I had a piece of power steering hose left over from his car that fit nicely.

The stock hose is 15mm, so 5/8" is pretty close. If you can't get 5/8" hydraulic hose in bulk, you could buy the same hose my brother bought -- I believe it was Powercraft part number 71207; it's a few feet long.

legacy92ej22t · Post by **legacy92ej22t** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 5:11 pm

The measurement I gave was ID not OD, sorry. I guess OD is probably more what you're looking for aye, hehehe. The ID is 2", the OD is 2 7/32".

Oh and like Vikash said, the oil return line is a bitch to get back on. Not only that but once you do get it back on, and the turbo sitting properly on the up-pipe, you have to get the hose clamp back over the lip. That's even a bigger bitch then getting the oil return line on in the first place.

It's a lot easier if you have one person under the car working it down while another holds the turbo from the top and lowers it down per the lower persons instruction.

vrg3 · Post by **vrg3** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 5:13 pm

Yeah, you said it!

I think I got the clamps back on my hose... But with the hose I switched to it didn't look like the clamps were helping much; the hose seemed to fit really well anyway, and it's not like it's gonna pop off. To be honest, it didn't really look like the clamps were doing very much to begin with.

legacy92ej22t · Post by **legacy92ej22t** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 5:20 pm

Darn you and your lightening fast responses Vikash!

I went and added one last sentence to my post and you had already responded! Hehehe.

vrg3 · Post by **vrg3** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 5:31 pm

Hehehe...

Huh... I did it myself from above, but from where I was standing it looked like the uppipe would block the reach of someone underneath the car. Is that not the case? Or were you just attaching the turbo to the downpipe first?

legacy92ej22t · Post by **legacy92ej22t** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 7:06 pm

No, I did the up-pipe first. It wasn't easy, I was just able to get my fingers in there where they needed to be. It took a while and I seperated my finger nails from the quick from pushing with the tips of my fingers. My fingers hurt for almost a week after the install.

vrg3 · Post by **vrg3** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 7:17 pm

Ouch!

Hmm, well, next time I'm swapping my turbo I'll try that. Maybe some long needle nose pliers could save my fingers.

azn2nr · Post by **azn2nr** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 9:55 pm

so a 2 and 1/4 inch pipe will fit into the intake elbow and clamp down alright or should i use a 2 inch instead.

im using a silicone elbow and a sleve to attach the intake.

vrg3 · Post by **vrg3** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 10:56 pm

Your 16G is coming with a straight inlet?

Sorry to say it, but I'm not sure the silicone elbow will work for you. I was going to try it myself but didn't go through with it. The issue is that you'd have to have a really tight silicone elbow to clear the intake manifold. I think the TD04 has the compressor sit a little further forward than stock, and I'd imagine the TD05 might too... If you shave down the inlet on the housing maybe it would work.... if it does it'll be extremely tight.

I just mean to warn you... I hope it does work in the end.

But, yes, if you're going to try this I think a 2-1/4" elbow and a very short piece of 2-1/4" pipe (an exhaust coupler from an auto parts store should do for that) would probably be right.

vrg3 · Post by **vrg3** » Thu Oct 14, 2004 11:05 pm

Sorry, I'm dumb and forgot what you wrote in the original post.

Please keep us posted on how this works out for you with the VF39!

azn2nr · Post by **azn2nr** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 3:29 am

im pretty sure it will fit. i talked to some of the aussi guys and one has a aps sr50 with the elbow and it fits fine.

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turbo install questions (new questions added)

turbo install questions (new questions added)