Massive Update....
Its been a while since I updated this thread. I guess in July I decommissioned the car because of oil leaks, ps leaks and I think the turbo finally gave way because it was smoking a lot more. Around the same time we put my brothers car together and got him running. So timing was a little delayed, I don’t even really remember when we started my car my goal was to have it running by inspection which was 11/30. I missed that and Im still battling some issues but here is an account of this little project. Various things seemed to slow us down as Im sure you guys are well used to.
Project Goals:
Repair PS leak
Rebuild Head
New Head Gasket-Cometic
ARP studs
Misc new gaskets
Reconditioned 54 trim turbo
Revised oil line fittings
Replace incorrect midpipe with correct one
Replace cold start injector line
EGR Mod....
props to mafix
Clean up 4th gen starter mod
New injector o-rings
Replace crack exhaust manifold…
mafix again.
Install turbo and aftermarket downpipe bracket since the car came with neither.
Now because timing took a while waiting on parts some things were added:
Powdercoat-Tower bar, pressure tank, valve cover
Ceramic coat-Silencer for exhaust, manifold, and downpipe
Chrome-Pressure tank(You'll see…), intercooler plate, and new turbo housing
Intercooler Paint/Refurb/Clean
Wire car for future stereo
New Kenwood Head Unit
Catch Can
Battery replacement/movement
Custom Intake
Bypass Valve
Fuse box move
New OE wheel locks
TRD oil cap
Smoked Bumper Lights to match JDM corners
Nicer Battery Terminals
Removal of various rusted parts to paint black
Removal of tow hook over exhaust
Im sure im forgetting something…..but here goes the pix…..
Project Kickoff:
Torn Down:
New Gasket and Studs installed:
Head torqued down to lets just call it the Mafix/Esracing spec
Shot of new turbo:
Pix comparing the old to the new, I had to take the new one apart to clock it. Fun Fun....
Powdercoated parts: I wanted a different color than what you normally see and I have future plans to integrate this color better, stay tuned.
Failed Powdercoating attempt: to say we had issues with our coating guy would be an understatement..I will just leave it at that.
Around this time I got retarded with coatings….
Ceramic coating: I coated the exhaust manifold and downpipe. Then coated the silencer for the exhaust since I hate the way they look.
Chroming…not happy with the chrome guy either but it looks ok.
Since the previous pressure tank was destroyed another was sourced and sent out:
Turbo take 2…
The intercooler and intercooler name plate were also refurbed and cleaned. The inside of the intercooler was insane, if you haven’t cleaned it, Id suggest doing so. I soaked it in a bucket and the solution was black. The intercooler was then high-temp painted a gunmetal color and the nameplate was chromed for a different look. The one I sent out had significant pitting so I probably need to do this again since some of that is still visible. I also added stainless steel fasteners because I wasn’t putting the rusty crap back on. But even that was a challenge because the intercooler mount that’s attached to the head was stripped. I had to drill it out and rethread it and get a different size fastener.
Now for a few misc things:
New Head unit: this was solely purchased for the AT meet that went down, I knew I had some time in the car and wanted a better setup. Car never made the meet, oh well next time.
I had some down time at various points and one thing that bother me was the bumper lights up front and how bright they were compared to the new JDM corners my bro hooked me up with. So I sent them to have them smoked to match better.
For Comparison:
And together: blury but you get the idea.
New Midpipe to go on. Not on yet due to inspection considerations, but I need to get back under there and tackle it since the original is leaking.
I have the full SS auto exhaust but Im really just holding it for now, I needed the midpipe above and wanted to buy the SS since it seems to not always be available.
This is whats on the car now, looks like a 2.5 inch, anyone know what exhaust this is? Tow hook was cut off and por15 the cut portions…
Hopefully my last revision to my oil lines.
KO racing oil pan adapter with an earls adapter to go to my SS lines.
Custom KO made pressure side banjo.
5$ Bypass valve mod, this is still undergoing testing:
This pic shows the slight modification I had done to the head, since this area cracks. When he repaired the head, I had them add a brace to help prevent future failure.
Not exciting but my 4th gen starter mod cleaned up:
TRD oil cap: still has the protective plastic wrap on it…I know Im lame..
EGR mod:
Custom Intake, Catch Can, Fuse Box and battery movements, terminals…this was fun fabbed up some small brackets to brace and mount things. Took time but worked out clean and retained my goal of having everything under the hood.
Everything being quality checked by my new quality guy. He has some tough standards but lets me slide on safety (no shoes):
And Finally the entire engine bay: except for that nasty radiator it looks pretty good…its on the list for replacement….
Close up of turbo area:
I think it came out pretty good. Big props to my bro for all his help throughout the project. My big F up was I mixed up a coolant and vac hose and pumped coolant into the intake on the first start attempt. :doh: My brother figured that one out for me. Status as of right now. Bad exhaust leak soon hopefully to be rectified by the midpipe above. Idle is a little off.
And my major issue is that the acceleration is not good right now. It seems to make good boost but doesn’t go anywhere. Sometimes it catches and goes pretty well but most of the time it doesn’t. So that’s my issue to figure out right now. I am going to get the exhaust fixed, do a boost leak test, remove the aftermarket FPR that was installed and check my new Bypass valve setup. Hopefully one of those things is it, if not Im not sure. Open to any and all suggestions.
Then from there its on to get her tagged again and hopefully a return to active daily duty, my truck was recently rear ended and I kind of need this puppy up and running.
Well that’s it for now….any questions let me know….sorry I know it was a novel.