Builds Family haulin' (1 Viewer)

[boots4]

After some sessions of just sitting on a chair staring at stuff I came up with a mounting set up. I modified some old parts and made a couple new pieces to mount it much like I had done before.

I did change the bottom piece to cradle the bottom of the radiator instead. Added some foam cushion.

I needed to persuade a little more room on the top of the radiator for where the intercooler elbows pass in order to get some clearance for the hump hoses.

Here is how the lower piece works to connect the intercooler and the radiator.

Then it was time to move stuff around on the front end. Had to relocate my driver side battery again to get the clearance I wanted. In order to keep the battery under the hood I needed to move it over even further and in order to do this I had to cut into the fender well and build a little relief box. Previous flex tests showed I wouldn't hit this part of the wheel well so I'm good with the clearance. I could have also adjusted my bump stops if it had become an issue. Battery tray got clearanced even more and the mount got more angle to move the battery out of the way.

I also cut out more of the wheel well and plan to cover that area with a rubber flap instead. The plan is to coat the underside of the wheel well with some textured undercoating and paint it all one color.

I needed to move my AC dryer too. I found a spot under the passenger battery that worked with the hose length still attached. The passenger battery tray got a little clearancing but didn't need much.

I changed out my transmission cooler set up and got rid of the coolant to transmission fluid heat exchanger. The transmission is completely separated from the coolant now. I welded back in a support piece in the hole I created. You can also see the passenger side lower mount that supports the intercooler.

Driver side lower mount and support. I noticed my last mounts were starting to tear the core support metal where I had them welded. I added in a plate underneath this time to spread out the load.

I modified my transmission cooler mounts just a little for clearance under the radiator since the radiator more sits about 2 inches closer to the engine.

It had been sitting for so long at this point that those little mud flies where making homes in my bolt holes on the engine.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

I really like that AC drier location. Might need to steal that.

I assume the condenser fits in on the outside of the intercooler? How did you mount it?

 

[boots4]

Condensor does fit on the outside. What happened to it and how I mounted it will come next.

 

[boots4]

Casualty #1. While I was moving stuff around and trying to make it all fit I ended up snapping off an inlet on my power steering cooler. I guess it didn't want to go into the angle I wanted it too.

So a quick order was placed and a better cooler showed up. Went from a tube and fin to a bar and plate design and felt I could get away with something a little smaller since it's supposed to be more efficient.

The old one was getting all contorted from me manipulating it into position. The new one had better mounting options too.

The new power steering cooler got placed in that little space left under the driver side battery.

I cut some air flow holes in the front to allow some kind of flow to it. I didn't have a fan on the last one so no fan on this one either.

Here it is with stuff in place. The radiator is in and you can see the small space available. I also moved my fan controller over closer to the intercooler side to clear my battery tie down bar that uses the factory core support bolt.

Here's a peak at where the AC dryer lives. Yup, I'll have to remove the battery to deal with it but I'm pretty much in the layered part methodology now with all the stuff I've got under the hood now anyways. The next person who gets this will just have to curse the engineer.

Radiator and intercooler mounted up. The intercooler is shifted to the driver side which meant I only needed to move one battery and not both. I reused the core support piece similar to how I did before but modified the mounts for the new set up. I had previously opened up the cooling row opening but left the AC condenser mounts because I was using the factory condenser.

Casualty #2. You will notice however that the AC line are not attached to it. I did very well during this whole project to keep the condenser intact and out of the way but as fortune smiles it was the very last time that I was installing it that the line that goes across the front broke and let out all the good stuff.

I think I could have gotten away with making a new line across the front but upon researching I found that universal replacements where pretty affordable. I followed @davegonz path and got one off of ebay. I found that I could fit a 14"x 25" version in my space where Dave went with a 16" x 24". Figured that the parallel flow stuff might be a little better and it's been working well for me.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/A-C-Universal-Condenser-Kit-14-X-25-Parallel-High-Flow-O-ring-6-8/172082052107?

Made some mounts to use the factory parts and bolts. (except for the bottom corner, I lost that one so I made something else)

I bolted and JBwelded them on so that condenser side mounts where solid.

AC condenser and new mounts for the transmission cooler in place.

Routed the lines through the factory hole but ended up opening up that hole a little more for better wiggle room. The top hose was one of the newer hoses I had made when I first reinstalled the AC system. The lower hose is the factory hose with the ebay fitting used since it was a different size from my factory fitting. Invited my neighbor ex-mechanic back over and we recharged the system. It blew cold all of last summer.

In my set up I needed to clearance the vertical support bracket but it fits... snugly.

 

[Hojack]

The next person who gets this will just have to curse the engineer.

Thanks Mike
I got a good laugh out of that one.
Great work as always.

 

[cruisermatt]

I’ve been thinking about putting an oil cooler in that same spot under the driver’s side battery! My concern that’s prevented me from doing it yet has been actually creating heat entrapment in that corner actually creating a negative result, any thought to punching a hole in the inner fender behind the cooler and ducting hot air out?

Are you still running 3/8 for your steering return hoses?

 

[boots4]

Engine oil cooler? I know the power steering system doesn't put out constant heat like an engine oil cooler would.

My inner fender well is not very sealed anymore but planning for air to flow though is a good idea. I suppose I'm relying on my hood vents with their negative pressure sucking out under hood heat so hopefully that helps too. The only worry I'd have in opening up holes in the well for passthru is debris hitting the cooler or mud getting caked. There are definitely ways around that for protection so that wouldn't be a show stopper.

What about under the cooling row like I did with one of my tranny coolers? That would be better air flow.

I'm going to have to check on the power steering cooler hose size. Can't remember off the top of my head.

 

[cruisermatt]

Engine oil cooler? I know the power steering system doesn't put out constant heat like an engine oil cooler would.

My inner fender well is not very sealed anymore but planning for air to flow though is a good idea. I suppose I'm relying on my hood vents with their negative pressure sucking out under hood heat so hopefully that helps too. The only worry I'd have in opening up holes in the well for passthru is debris hitting the cooler or mud getting caked. There are definitely ways around that for protection so that wouldn't be a show stopper.

What about under the cooling row like I did with one of my tranny coolers? That would be better air flow.

I'm going to have to check on the power steering cooler hose size. Can't remember off the top of my head.

Power steering cooler, sorry. Was thinking of putting an engine oil cooler where you previously had your transmission cooler.

 

[boots4]

Results with new intercooler: Dropped some overall EGTs but not as much as I'd hoped for, maybe about 100F. Spool up for the turbos was quicker, total boost was higher, heat soak takes longer, and EGTs drop quicker when getting off the throttle, and... it doesn't leak. So all in all a decent upgrade but not night and day difference.

The intercooler rabbit hole was brought on by the juicy turbos. I did a couple of rounds on those guys to try and figure out why they were leaking. Took them in and out a couple of time in the course of a couple months. With my layered parts I now have to unbolt the AC compressor to get space to remove the turbos.

I found the small turbo leaking and I replaced seals twice.

I found the big turbo leaking. Took it apart and the seals were still in great shape and this was the more expensive kit with the stepped seals I used and had rebuilt within the last year. I'd put it all back together and eventually I'd start to see oil getting back into my intake tube. I didn't want to get my new intercooler coated with oil on the inside and have the need to take it out and clean it up. In one instance I disconnected the boots on the intercooler and used a hot air gun to blast hot air through the intercooler to burn off the oil after some fixes.

Here's a pic of the large turbo where you can see oil getting passed the front seals.

In the troubleshooting phase it seemed like I started having more problems with oil after I installed the lower oil drain on my oil pan. I thought maybe it wasn't flowing enough or was getting backed up somehow. It was a pretty big tube but more experimenting continued.

I decided to redo the drains to see if that would help anything. Maybe that lower drain was just at or below the oil line. So I got a big AN cap to close off the lower drain.

I decided to route them both to the block drain but improve the flow of the two turbo drains coming together. I took out the factory drain tube and modified it so that the intersection is in a vertical position using gravity the best I can. I also have a little diverter in that transition that does not hurt volume but helps direct flow in a way that hopefully reduces turbulence so oil won't get backed up at that spot.

Large turbo's connection.

Small turbo's connection. I coupled this experiment with some oil restriction bolts on the oil feeds for both turbos believing too much oil could be getting to them and overwhelming the drains. The restriction bolts were sized to offer only a minor reduction since I didn't not want to starve either turbo of oil.

That worked for a while but I eventually saw a little bit of oil making it's way back into the intake. More to come on that later but after those fixes we had a week long Eastern Oregon trip planned and I'll report on that next.

 

[brokenparts]

It is so crazy how much "real-estate" is used in your engine bay. Literally not one sq. in. seems to be wasted. Looks like you are making some good improvements though. I'm currently finishing up the fool injection (Holley Sniper kit) on my 45.... let's go hit the trails soon! Since we are in the trucks... that should count for social distancing!

 

[boots4]

Still catching up on these posts but I'm currently redoing my lift pump system. Once that is good it's definitely time to hit some dirt.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Sorry for bringing it back, but my downpipe rotted out recently and I've got to build a new one. Thinking I should take this opportunity to move my turbo to make room for future compounds.

You've got a chopped 6bt manifold in there right now, with the horizontal oil filter housing. Why not the vertical housing?

Anything for me to watch out for running the chopped manifold? I'm considering buying the 24v manifold for a different look, but looking for general guidance or gotchas.

 

[boots4]

Let's see, the gotcha's:

With how I mounted my turbos and ran my pressure pipe between the large and small I don't know if I'd be able to run the vertical oil filter mount. But, if one already had that mount they could plan/route around it I think. I think the picture shows how tight I fit them together. I've got the small turbo centered on the 6bt manifold and that manifold is flipped to point upward.

This picture is a little old, I've made that pressure pipe even tighter since I installed my AC compressor and lost more space. I've also moved the boost reference on the large turbo further up on the scroll to get it away from the hot exhaust manifold, it was melting my boost line.

Small turbo had one manifold bolt that was not accessible with this housing, your super 30 probably mounts differently but I had to come up with that weird 4th bolt tie down thing.

Turbo drains were kind of a pain.

Make sure to plan for larger turbo brackets/support.

Depending on what kind of large turbo you are planning for I'd suggest something with a waste gate for more adjustability between the two which helps to dial them in. I'm basically using the turbine housing size as my adjustability which is easy for me with the manual adjustment I made to the HE351vgt housing.

Plan for three gauges to be together for easier tracking, total boost, large turbo boost, and egts.

If you've got your AC compressor mount that in there to see how that might change your mounting.

Get ready for lots of tuning and a bit of math.

Ask plenty of questions.

Excited for your progress.

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Thank you sir!

Edit: Thinking further, not hearing any issues about hood clearance, feed/drain lines, downpipe routing, etc. Moving forward with moving my turbo. Thanks again!

 

[boots4]

Are you still running 3/8 for your steering return hoses?

Sorry for the delay. Finally stuck my head under the hood this weekend to confirm that yes, I'm running 3/8" for the return hoses.

 

[boots4]

Trip report:

Took a trip last summer with @FF LC FREAK , @Dirtgypsy , and @esh out to Southeastern and Eastern Oregon. It was a 5 day trip and the plan was to do some exploring and follow some tracks that Ken has done before. I met up with Kyle and we headed down to our first camping spot at some hot springs outside of Fields OR.

The hot springs where we camped the first night. We showed up just about the same time as Clint, his son, and Ken and all found a spot to set up. It was pretty warm but as the sun went down we did make our way into the hot springs to relax. Only one other couple outside of our group showed up that evening so it was nice to basically have the place to ourselves.

Packed up the next day and continued exploring. We kept plenty of space between each other to keep from sucking in the dust. As the diesel of the group I usually bring up the rear. There are three dust trails on that stretch.

If I remember correctly one of the placed we stopped to look at was Owyhee Canyon. It all seemed like flat driving and then we came up to this canyon.

The set up for the trip. Whole family was along so we used our little trailer to bring all the stuff. Really enjoy using that little trailer on trips like this so we have room and can still see out of the back window. No matter how I wrapped the tarp stuff still got dusty so I was thinking of different ways to make a lid that would seal and keep things a little cleaner. It used to have one but it is trashed and I'll need something bigger anyways to fit the things I'd like in there.

We then headed over to Alvord Desert but on the way we stopped to check out the east side of Steens Mountain. We had late rain fall last year and several places were still green. Got a couple of gorgeous shots of the landscape. The skies were blue and the clouds were out in detail.

After that we made it out onto the Alvord Desert. We drove out a little ways onto the desert and it was really awesome to be out on the floor. In the distance there was a group of gliders on the edge that were getting air born by pull vehicles and it was neat to see them playing in the clouds. This is also the place Jessie Combs died last year in attempting a land speed record.

A picture of the group.

We hung out for a while. Walked around, got some family photos and then Clint let his son get behind the wheel. I then asked if any of my kids wanted to drive the Landcruiser. To my surprise my oldest declined but when she saw my youngest jump on the opportunity she changed her mind. None of them had driven it before or any vehicle for that matter. So with the trailer in tow and me in the passenger seat I let all three kids have a chance and they all ended up having big smiles.

It was either that night or the night before that we found this great spot near a river that we splashed around in the rest of the afternoon. Did some river exploring on foot and enjoyed a campfire in the evening. If it weren't for crazy bugs dive bombing our eyes it would have been a perfect spot. Thankfully the wind picked up at night and blew them away.

 

[Hojack]

Oregon is such an amazing state. It contrasts in so many ways. When I was younger I didn’t care for that barren wasteland in much of ESE Oregon. On our SE Oregon road trip 2 years ago I found so much to enjoy, unfortunately the road up the Steens Mtns was still blocked by snow so could couldn’t visit the top or Wildhorse Lake. The abundance of hot springs in that country is pretty spectacular too. The one in the Hart Mtn Wildlife Refuge was very nice.
What a great experience Mike And thanks for sharing your trip.

 

[boots4]

@Hojack I hope to have time tomorrow to post the Steen Mountain part of the trip. That area was fantastic.

 

[FF LC FREAK]

That was definitely a great trip! For those wondering, the first night was at Willow Creek Hot Springs outside of Fields, Oregon. Night two was on the Owyhee (Oh-why-he) River at Three Forks. The third night was on Hart Mountain. That was my last night due to a blown torque converter. Hopefully, we can work something out this summer as well. There is so much more we could see and explore in that corner of Oregon. Thanks for sharing MIke!

Here's a picture of Three Forks.

And our camp site on Hart Mountain.

 

[Hojack]

The gang is welcome to join me at my Crater Lake property and explore Klamath and Lake County.