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

[Heckraiser]

Question for the brain trust:

Rather than grinding down the manifold, do you think it would be OK to run a smaller nut (without the flared out mating surface)? I have a bench grinder and I could easily trim the stock nuts so they don't have the flare-out. I'm still not positive they would fit, but it would be a lot less work that way.

 

[scottryana]

I can't remember if the flared nut has any knurling on the back to act as a kind of lock washer if not then yeah go ahead and find them down there is plenty of meat on the manifold to distribute the clamping load without the built in washers.

 

[Heckraiser]

They are flat on the bottom. Maybe I'll give that a try first.

I honestly don't see a good attack angle on the manifold with a 4" or 6" grinder without buggering up parts you didn't mean to---and that would be a lot of work for the dremel tool

 

[scottryana]

Yeah it's pretty s***ty of treadstone to do that! If that is going to be the issue they should include 3 allen headed bolts with the manifold which is probably just what I would do if touching the nut flange off on the grinder doesn't work.

 

[Heckraiser]

This might work too:

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/arp-200-8663?seid=srese1&gclid=CJ6w9aiy6cwCFQUIaQod6dcOiA

I don't know if a 12mm footprint is too small. Also kind of crappy having to use two wrenches to do one job

 

[Heckraiser]

I modified the stock nuts with some success. It was enough to clear the runner on cylinders 2 and 5, but #1 still needed to be ground down on the manifold in order for the nut to fit onto the end of the stud.

Big vice grip and 6" bench grinder was the way I went about it. Took about 5 minutes per nut.

Stock vs. molested

Manifold clearanced at runner #1

 

[scottryana]

That's not too bad! Eventually just do all the nuts so that they are interchangeable. That way if you're in the middle of no where and one falls out you can grab a nut from off another stud. lol

 

[Heckraiser]

Yeah, I just tried permanently mate up the manifold and found that the inboard nut on #6 will need to be ground down and one of them on the bottom side too. The manifold must have been mobile enough when I was test-fitting them that I could get those two to fit, but now that all the other nuts are on, those two wont go.

So that makes a total of 5 out of 13 nuts that need to be ground down. So a note for anyone who wants to try this themselves, just buy a pack of those Summit nuts and save yourself the time. Maybe fit a washer on the ones where it can easily fit.

Boy, wouldn't it be grand if someone from Treadstone was following along with this thread? The minor annoyances caused by this manifold casting are pooling together into what amounts to about a fairly significant pain in my backside.

 

[scottryana]

Yeah at this point, I think it is worthy of sending them an email with the pictures.

 

[Heckraiser]

OK, manifold is back on and torqued down hopefully for the last time.

Commitment time:

 

[scottryana]

Who needs that old thing? You just need a big fat downpipe!!!

 

[2KCruiser]

That's what happens when you don't buy cheap ebay parts. You end up getting the same frustration with an extra few hundred missing from your account. To add some more salt to your wounds, the CX manifold we tested a while back fit on it's first attempt. I think for what it's worth, you did what I would have and have done in the past, get it done with what you have. We have had many occasions of grinding out clearance to get the nut on or even banged down to flatten out a runner before when we had no other option. So keep going, it will be worth it when you hear that surge of air enter your intake manifold

 

[scottryana]

No I am going to disagree with you there. Lol. Once the nuts are straightened out he isn't going to have a manifold that cracks

 

[2KCruiser]

Cracking is an issue when proper mounts are not added to support the turbo and downpipe. I have seen many cast iron manifolds crack made by Turbonetics simply because the turbo/downpipe did not have mounts to help with engine movement along with the exhaust. If mounts are added and done correctly, you will likely see no cracks from either manifold. Speaking from experience on high end to the low end pieces of stainless you find on the market today.

 

[Heckraiser]

Posting this up on the off chance that someone might know what size adapter I need here. This is the oil supply fitting on the Borg Warner. MUCH bigger than the -3AN supply line I've got. Went to the Home Depot plumbing department in hopes something would fit, but no luck.

 

[scottryana]

The turbo didn't have a manual with all of the specs and installation requirements?? Line size? Restrictor size? Supply and drain orientation? All of that should be listed in the manual.

When I get back to a computer I will check BW's website.

 

[Heckraiser]

It had precautions and start-up instructions, but I didn't see a spec sheet. I also fished around online for specs, but didn't have much luck. Maybe they have someone I could call. I suspect it is probably a -4an flare fitting, but I don't want to order one from JEGS then wait a week for it to ship before trying it out to see if it fits.

 

[Heckraiser]

Full Race tech support confirms the turbo is threaded for 1/4" NPT, so I need a 1/4" NPT to -3AN adapter to put the pieces together.

 

[TUNEUP]

Not sure where you are in Colorado but if you're in Denver are On Track Performance around Santa Fe and Dartmouth will have fittings most likely in stock and can help figure out what you need. Not as cheap as Jegs but for one fitting it wont be bad.

 

[Heckraiser]

They've got it in stock, thanks for the suggestion! I might see about wastgate dump piping while I'm there too. Thanks for the local resource, I didn't know they were in town.

On the topic of the wastegate exhaust, it would be super easy to do a 90* bend out of the wastegate and then dump right into the 3.5" section of the downpipe (right after the initial 90* bend). This would result in a perpendicular intersection between the WG dump and the main exhaust. I know it's best to have the WG exhaust "flow" into the downpipe at an angle to reduce turbulence, but adding another bend to mate at a friendlier angle adds a lot of complexity to the design and I am a very novice fabricator. I'm also a little concerned about all of this fitting through the hole between the frame and inner fender. How bad would it be to have the wastegate gas enter the main downpipe at 90*? If it's super bad, I will try to sort it out, but if it's only minorly bad, I might just go the easy route.