TurboClunker (a.k.a. cheap-ass slaps a turbo on his LX) (1 Viewer)

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didn't know you are in longmont. I work by the old sugar mill..
I'm a Realtor, so I drive all over the ******* place, but I do a lot of business in Longmont. I am thanking God right now I was in the LX and not my car today because of the snow storm. Dodge Ram vs. Chevy Volt would not have ended well :eek: The clunker took it like a champ, and now I have a good excuse to make a new bumper (or buy, depending on how insurance works out) :hillbilly:

Accident took place right at Ken Pratt & Main St.
 
Hey Heckraiser running very similar setup even pass Colorado Air Care! Let me know if you need help or want to see my set up?
 
Crazy all these local turbo guys coming out of the woodwork :smokin: I plan to leave both cats right where they are, so hopefully I don't have any trouble with emissions. Fingers crossed.
 
You will definitely need to keep both cats where they are.
 
Due to the accident on friday (and also due to the fact the cops politely informed me my tags are expired) I'm putting this on hold until I get my claim processed and I don't want to take anything apart in case I need another emissions test before I get started.

Here is my highly technical schematic drawing to help me figure out hoses and pipes for the intake. Still not sure how I'm going to address the air filter and intake tube, hence the question marks. All in all, about $120 in pipes and couplers. The intake tube will be 3" (even though the MAF and the turbo inlet are both bigger) because I have some leftover 3" pipe laying around. I also may be going in a different direction with the BOV due to my awesome friend giving me the homie hookup. More details on that later.

Scan0002.jpg
 
any progress on the build lately?
 
Still in insurance limbo, no updates. I don't need another emissions test though, so I'm good to go there.
 
Subscribed, interested to see how this turns out! Good luck on the insurance....
 
Just found out yesterday my truck has been totaled (again!). Literally, the front bumper is bent a little bit and the lower valence below the grille/rt turn signal is a little smooshed. That's it. The insurance industry is comical. Anyhoo, I have a "sorry your truck is totalled" check heading my way and I will pick this project back up in a few weeks (this weekend I'm helping my stepdad put a lift on his 2010 4runner, next weekend I'm heading to Moab to put a few new dents in the LX).
 
Just found out yesterday my truck has been totaled (again!). Literally, the front bumper is bent a little bit and the lower valence below the grille/rt turn signal is a little smooshed. That's it. The insurance industry is comical. Anyhoo, I have a "sorry your truck is totalled" check heading my way and I will pick this project back up in a few weeks (this weekend I'm helping my stepdad put a lift on his 2010 4runner, next weekend I'm heading to Moab to put a few new dents in the LX).
That's why I said good luck, The Insurance industry has more than once messed me around. I Hope you got some $$ out of them for some they have stolen from me!
 
If you tell them you don't want it totalled they will write you a check for the maximum they can which would prevent the title from being a salvage title. That can screw with insuring it with full coverage if u have a salvage title
Just found out yesterday my truck has been totaled (again!). Literally, the front bumper is bent a little bit and the lower valence below the grille/rt turn signal is a little smooshed. That's it. The insurance industry is comical. Anyhoo, I have a "sorry your truck is totalled" check heading my way and I will pick this project back up in a few weeks (this weekend I'm helping my stepdad put a lift on his 2010 4runner, next weekend I'm heading to Moab to put a few new dents in the LX).
 
Truck already had a salvage title before the accident ;)
 
Were you able to get more than their first offer?
 
Although there are some problems with the treadstone feed line, I'm pretty sure I will still use it. It's -3AN. It came with a handful of different adapters and fittings, none of which fit on this turbo :eek:

Thanks for the reminder! Anything else you think a dummy like me could foul up, feel free to chime in. The most stressful part in my mind will be drilling the upper pan for the drain line. So any nuggets of wisdom on that topic would be appreciated :D
 
Nearing the point where I can start working on this again. Last night I mated the turbo to the manifold to see just how much space the whole contraption will take up under the hood. First step, clock the turbo so the oil drain is pointed down. The manifold mating surface is pretty much at 45* even, so it's pretty easy to eyeball it. For those who have never clocked a turbo, it's super easy. Just loosen the bolts that attach the center housing to the turbine housing (there are 4 with this particular turbo) and rotate the parts how you want them, then re-tighten. They only need to be snugged down, the torque spec is pretty low.

Before
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After
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It looks like the arrangement I imagined with the compressor housing pointing straight up then going into a 90* coupler might actually be too tall to fit under the hood. The turbo sits pretty high up with this manifold and the turbo itself is quite large. I'll either clock it 45* towards the throttle and use a different coupler, or maybe I can trim down my 90* coupler to fit. We'll see... more on that later.

As noted before, the treadstone manifold is rough. What I didn't bargain for is that the threaded holes are completely wrong. They are advertised as M10 1.25 (the same as stock 1FZ exhaust manifold studs). They are not. I didn't have an assortment of studs and bolts laying around to find out what the holes are actually threaded for, so I just tapped them out with a M10 1.25 tap. Not a big deal, 15 minutes of my time (tap and die kit was $15 at Harbor Freight if you don't already have one). But just something to take note of. If there were any good options out there other than the treadstone manifold, I might consider writing them a letter or bashing them on the internet, but in reality, it's an easily fixable flaw so :meh: :edit: If you end up doing this yourself and have the patience, you could just grab a handful of bolts from the hardware store to see if anything fits properly. Or maybe you'll luck out and get a manifold with the correct thread.
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I chose to put 4 studs in the manifold rather than bolts or a combination of studs and bolts. I think this will make it easier to put things together in the engine bay, and the upper holes have very little clearance.
 
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