Drew's MegaCheap homebrew 3b turbo thread

[amaurer]

BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZTTTTT!!!

Naturally I assume NASA will be calling me any minute now to employ my top notch welding skills.

Might need to grind a little near the manifold bolts. Shouldn't be a problem just the the dremel.

 

[VTCDN]

You mig-ed it ?

On mine I will be welding with a stick on the inside of each port , i find the mig torch is sometimes very large.

Good welding is what i see there..

VT

 

[blis]

You mig-ed it ?

On mine I will be welding with a stick on the inside of each port , i find the mig torch is sometimes very large.

Good welding is what i see there..

VT

I'd tig it

But those welds on that pic above seem mighty fine to me, just wondering wether it will hold overpressure since theres non-welded spot on each corner... Might be worth welding the insides too...

 

[amaurer]

I'd tig it

But those welds on that pic above seem mighty fine to me, just wondering wether it will hold overpressure since theres non-welded spot on each corner... Might be worth welding the insides too...

The weld is continuous, even around the corners. Its weird how the photo makes it look like theres a gap, I noticed that too.

 

[amaurer]

Test fit the turbo today - no problems, the flange is perfect!

Also the clearance with the airbox and the alternator is plenty, much better than I'd hoped.

 

[amaurer]

One more.

Also heres a shot of the template I made that aligns the exhaust flange with the manifold inlet - I'm going to try to mate with the stock exhaust, at least temporarily, and will use this so I can tack the turbo exhaust before tearing th truck down for good.

 

[1tontoy]

Will the flow from the 1st and 4th cylinders be equal to the 2nd and 3rd?

Looking good.

 

[amaurer]

Will the flow from the 1st and 4th cylinders be equal to the 2nd and 3rd?

Looking good.

In retrospect if I were doing this again I'd probably cut the angle at the ends of the tube a little less severe. However the situation is not as "bad" as it looks - ports 1 and 4 are about 1/2" inboard from the angle at the end of the tube. I don't think it'll be noticeable, ultimately.

 

[mudstorm]

This is awesome !

 

[VTCDN]

Great to hear.
How did you get the original exhaust flange sizing template in the drawing / cutting form ?
I ask because i would like to have a few turbo mounting plates for various turbos i have at hand.

Flatbed Scanner gets a basic outline.

Looks very good also , whats with the masters on the exhaust side ? that must also be a headache to deal with.

VT

 

[hedgehog23]

does your camera do videos? be real nice to see/hear this baby run.

 

[RufusTheDufus]

... also , whats with the masters on the exhaust side ? that must also be a headache to deal with.

I think it has something to do with the truck being RHD. The pedals tend to be on the same side as the steering wheel.

 

[amaurer]

Great to hear.
How did you get the original exhaust flange sizing template in the drawing / cutting form ?
I ask because i would like to have a few turbo mounting plates for various turbos i have at hand.

Flatbed Scanner gets a basic outline.

Looks very good also , whats with the masters on the exhaust side ? that must also be a headache to deal with.

VT

A spare gasket, calipers, and free time. I didn't convert the scan to dxf "automatically" or anything - I just manually created a dimensioned dxf drawing.

In some cases the rough/imperfect cut edges of the gasket made measurements with the calipers slightly ambiguous - in those places I took a scan of the gasket and blew it up until I could see individual pixels and then counted dimensions on the screen in terms of # of pixels. Then I compared with my caliper measurements to get a pixels-to-inches conversion.

does your camera do videos? be real nice to see/hear this baby run.

Definitely.

 

[Toyo Boyo]

I think it has something to do with the truck being RHD. The pedals tend to be on the same side as the steering wheel.

Too funny, just blurted my cup of tea all over me laptop!

Strangely, my master cylinder is on that side too

Great build, keep it going man

 

[VTCDN]

I was poking fun at the wrong side drive stuff.

Shield's required from the extra heating now ? or is the distance far enough .

Nice work on the figuring of the flange cut. PMed rest

VT

 

[CanCrusher]

Your solution to this turbo project is very similar to what I did with my 3B in a 60 series some years ago. My manifold plate was not as complex as yours, just a plain rectangle withe ports cut into it. The tubing is 2x4x.125 rectangular with one side cut out of it to cover all 4 ports. All done on a CNC plasma table for $20 per. Also did a DXF off of a new exhaust manifold gasket. This setup had over 150K Kms on it over about 5 years of trouble free running with much improved performance.

Unfortunately this recent picture was taken when the engine was torn down due to having dropped a precup into cylinder #1! Lots of total Kms on the engine although the head was fresh at the time the turbo was installed.

No blame on the turbo project, stuff happens! I think you will be very satisfied with your end results.

 

[amaurer]

Your solution to this turbo project is very similar to what I did with my 3B in a 60 series some years ago. My manifold plate was not as complex as yours, just a plain rectangle withe ports cut into it. The tubing is 2x4x.125 rectangular with one side cut out of it to cover all 4 ports. All done on a CNC plasma table for $20 per. Also did a DXF off of a new exhaust manifold gasket. This setup had over 150K Kms on it over about 5 years of trouble free running with much improved performance.

Unfortunately this recent picture was taken when the engine was torn down due to having dropped a precup into cylinder #1! Lots of total Kms on the engine although the head was fresh at the time the turbo was installed.

No blame on the turbo project, stuff happens! I think you will be very satisfied with your end results.

Very nice - I knew there had to be someone out there who was as cheap as me !

My engine has all new precups, but 300k kms on the clock. Fingers crossed... and rebuild kit in the closet... just in case .

 

[VTCDN]

Can crusher Sir
What was the boost you were pushing plus the egt's if you can remember ?
Hows the project in finding a replacement ? Yet


VT

Edit : rather than delete , i added , lots are reading. VT
Answered from an earlier post :

The 3b has approx 650K KMs total with turbo over the past 150K Kms. Normal cruising (100 to 110 KPG) boost is around 8 PSI hard pulling on hills etc will build to 14 PSI. EGT normally runs around 900 F pre turbo, seldom touches 1100 F which is where I back out of the throttle.

As an aside the head was new with new precups at the time the turbo was installed.

This engine doesn't owe me a thing, I will do right by a fix!

 

[RufusTheDufus]

Very nice - I knew there had to be someone out there who was as cheap as me !

Had I used steel instead of stainless my homebrew turbo for the H diesel in my Troopy would be about the same in terms of cheapness.

 

[CanCrusher]

Can crusher Sir
What was the boost you were pushing plus the egt's if you can remember ?
Hows the project in finding a replacement ? Yet


VT

VTCDN PM sent.