My only regret is I wish I'd done it sooner.
I bought a Trubo kit from Radd Cruisers last fall and I had no time to install it so it sat in the shop all winter and I finally got it on last month. The kit is a Schwiser Turbo and comes with the manifold and all of the fittings, clamps and gaskets you need all the way to the down pipe. It went on like it was supposed to go there with minimal jerking around.
I started by removing the old exhaust right at the down pipe, removed the air bowl and drained the oil and removed the filter so I had all the room in the world to work.
Next the exhaust manifold came off, and I had a leaky pushrod cover so it came off too. I cleaned up the old mess left by the old gaskets and the push rod cover went back on as well as the new manifold with the turbo already bolted to it from the factory.
Now for the oil lines. The kit comes with a banjo bolt with an open fitting on one end that goes into the return for the suction pump, and connects with a big rubber hose. As for the feed line it goes into one of the plugs on the high pressure side of the oil pump into a nice braided line into the turbo. Then I filled the oil line up with new oil and turned the blades over by hand a to send some through and tightened everything up.
Connecting the air intake was a bit of a headache if you want to call it that, because there is no good way to use the existing air bowl without a whole bunch of piping going all over the place. So I opted for a Canadian tire special filter for now that hangs out in the open and I will have to build a new air bowl or cut a hole in the old one so it fit's better I don't know yet. I also through away the worm gear clamps that come with the kit after stripping almost all of the gears and went with the t-bolt modle. Pricier yeah but what was I going to do with an extra 20 $ anyway.
The exhaust part was my biggest hurdle because I had to get a torch, learn how to weld and build this thing. Not the prettiest welds in the world but they do the job so far. I wanted to use the old system because I though it was still ok and I'm not ready to build a whole 2.5" system yet so I fitted to the original system first. A week later the muffler which was rotted, broke so out it went an another Canadian tire special for 50$ and 2.5" exhaust is in the works.
I bought an Autometer pyrometer and boost gauge. The turco kit is already drilled to accept both gauges so aside from buying two adapters to fit the probe and suction hose install was nothing. The Pyrometer requires 12volts to work so it gets it's power from the same source as my radio and I hooked up the lights in series to the 24 volt light switch so I didn't even change the bulbs. If one burns out it will be just like setting up the Christmas lights but with less anger.
Since install I have put on about 3000 km and everything is tight and running well. There is lot's of power, I'm doing things I never thought possible. 100 km/h up hill in fifth gear, wow. As per the factory instructions they say to limit boost to 60 kpa and 500 degrees F, which converts to 8.5 psi boost and 932 degrees F. what I have it set to 8.5 psi boost and runs at 900 degrees F without turning up the fuel and I'm more than happy with the performance. I drove to Vancouver form Prince George and back and averaged 9.5 liters per 100km (25 MPG).
I bought a Trubo kit from Radd Cruisers last fall and I had no time to install it so it sat in the shop all winter and I finally got it on last month. The kit is a Schwiser Turbo and comes with the manifold and all of the fittings, clamps and gaskets you need all the way to the down pipe. It went on like it was supposed to go there with minimal jerking around.
I started by removing the old exhaust right at the down pipe, removed the air bowl and drained the oil and removed the filter so I had all the room in the world to work.
Next the exhaust manifold came off, and I had a leaky pushrod cover so it came off too. I cleaned up the old mess left by the old gaskets and the push rod cover went back on as well as the new manifold with the turbo already bolted to it from the factory.
Now for the oil lines. The kit comes with a banjo bolt with an open fitting on one end that goes into the return for the suction pump, and connects with a big rubber hose. As for the feed line it goes into one of the plugs on the high pressure side of the oil pump into a nice braided line into the turbo. Then I filled the oil line up with new oil and turned the blades over by hand a to send some through and tightened everything up.
Connecting the air intake was a bit of a headache if you want to call it that, because there is no good way to use the existing air bowl without a whole bunch of piping going all over the place. So I opted for a Canadian tire special filter for now that hangs out in the open and I will have to build a new air bowl or cut a hole in the old one so it fit's better I don't know yet. I also through away the worm gear clamps that come with the kit after stripping almost all of the gears and went with the t-bolt modle. Pricier yeah but what was I going to do with an extra 20 $ anyway.
The exhaust part was my biggest hurdle because I had to get a torch, learn how to weld and build this thing. Not the prettiest welds in the world but they do the job so far. I wanted to use the old system because I though it was still ok and I'm not ready to build a whole 2.5" system yet so I fitted to the original system first. A week later the muffler which was rotted, broke so out it went an another Canadian tire special for 50$ and 2.5" exhaust is in the works.
I bought an Autometer pyrometer and boost gauge. The turco kit is already drilled to accept both gauges so aside from buying two adapters to fit the probe and suction hose install was nothing. The Pyrometer requires 12volts to work so it gets it's power from the same source as my radio and I hooked up the lights in series to the 24 volt light switch so I didn't even change the bulbs. If one burns out it will be just like setting up the Christmas lights but with less anger.
Since install I have put on about 3000 km and everything is tight and running well. There is lot's of power, I'm doing things I never thought possible. 100 km/h up hill in fifth gear, wow. As per the factory instructions they say to limit boost to 60 kpa and 500 degrees F, which converts to 8.5 psi boost and 932 degrees F. what I have it set to 8.5 psi boost and runs at 900 degrees F without turning up the fuel and I'm more than happy with the performance. I drove to Vancouver form Prince George and back and averaged 9.5 liters per 100km (25 MPG).
