Next the EA82 Header upgrade .

discopotato03 · Post by **discopotato03** » Thu Oct 22, 2009 1:11 am

Ellie is going back to the workshop today to have a workable exhaust header made up for it . The idea is to change turbos for the BB Garrett at the same time so it will be interesting to drive it afterwards .
I have to rat up gaskets for the turbo and the beginnings of banjo bolts etc to make the water cooling lines connect up .
I've asked the people involved to look at having the engine pipes separate all the way to the turbo flange so power steering hard lines will probably have to be altered or replaced .
Ive also asked them to think about tube size and it may be a toss up between 1 3/4" and 1 5/8" stainless steel . The exhaust ports at the heads is larger than this and some sort of reducing bend may be needed .
I can't remember off hand what size tube the American TWE use but I remember thinking it was a little big .
The TWE design is the one I like best because it has the longest tubes .

Should be up and running with a little luck mid next week . It won't really work properly until it has a better computer and that will be the last major non brake or suspension mod to this car .

Cheers A .

spike · Post by **spike** » Thu Oct 22, 2009 7:57 am

sounds like a real plan. are you gonna run it with the turbo or is that an after thought??

discopotato03 · Post by **discopotato03** » Thu Oct 22, 2009 8:07 am

Yes basically it will be a Techworks style header but with a T25/T28 turbo flange and the up pipe made to place the turbo where everything can be got at .

A .

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Thu Oct 22, 2009 9:00 am

Like pokin' out of the bonnet ?!?

discopotato03 · Post by **discopotato03** » Thu Oct 22, 2009 7:13 pm

No , just over a bit so you can get the engine case side lower water banjo bolt out unlike the standard abomination .
The Garrett BB turbos actually have the water fittings either side rather than one above the other on the frustration side . This means the outer one can be the supply side (where it can be "got at" instead of under the turbo Subaru style) and the inner one can go forward towards the thermostat bowl on the Spiders water log .

The executive decision was made this afternoon about tube size which should be 16 gauge 1 3/4" stainless with mandrel bends . This should give an inside diameter of 1 5/8 or ~ 41mm which should be a reasonable compromise of gas flow vs gas speed .
I got my magician to cut up a std header which was amusing particularly when the shielding was removed from part of the up pipe section - near the infamous T piece . The jury is still out on single up pipe from a collector or twin pipes to the turbo flange , that will depend on how much time and agro is involved in getting the pipes through the gap and leave some room to work on things .

Its going to take some time because of the non std up and down pipe flanges (Nissan 200SX S15) and also non std plumbing to the air flow meter and throttlebody . Basically everything connecting to the turbo will be one offs .
My concern is how we are going to get at the four studs/nuts to bolt the turbo down but if the up pipe section is removable via a flange joint it won't matter because you'd lift the turbo in/out with the up pipe attached . In fact if the down pipe grew a flange joint you could get it out the same way .

I honestly can't remember what the waste gates actuator rating is but it isn't real high , something like std .

More as things develop , cheers A .

discopotato03 · Post by **discopotato03** » Wed Oct 28, 2009 12:51 pm

I got a brief update yesterday morning and at that stage the tubes and bends had all been tacked together .
It seems I can't have a twin tube flange joint before the two tubes duck up towards the turbo because there isn't room to fit it .
The fella making this had some concerns about getting the thing in and out so I went to a TWE fitting thread at USMB , it seems the go is to undo the engine mounts from the cross member (and the snubber) and jack the engine up from behind the bellhousing to gain space .
In my headers case the tubing is 1/8 inch smaller than Techworks uses (1 3/4 vs 1 7/8) so that may help a little .
My concern is that the fasteners holding the turbo to its mounting flange have to be accessible or you cant get it on/off .
I've suggested having two flange joints as close to where it goes up into the engine bay as possible so that if necessary the headers up pipie section can unbolt and be removed with the turbo up through the bay . It would mean that the turbo could be fitted to the twin up pipe and dropped into place as well .
There will be other minor dramas with the air plumbing and getting all the breather stuff working properly as well .

Definitely be a unique L Series when its finished , at least most of the major mchanicals are L Series too ...

A .

twilightprotege · Post by **twilightprotege** » Wed Oct 28, 2009 1:37 pm

i look forward to seeing the pics

Gannon · Post by **Gannon** » Wed Oct 28, 2009 3:31 pm

Yeah me too.

Did you cut up the crossover pipe?

discopotato03 · Post by **discopotato03** » Wed Oct 28, 2009 5:37 pm

Yes we cut a std one right in the middle , and the shielding partly off the up pipe just past the T section .

Internall crossover pipe is small but the internal up pipe put a frown on the face of everyone that looked at it . I reckon half the heat shielding was there to hide it ...

Update as of an hour ago .

Fabricator went to a lot of effort to make something that can be removed without pulling the whole front end out . He said that he tried very hard to weld everything so that the heating process didn't move things out of alignment . The last weld was joining the two engine pipes under the turbos mount flange and that did move things slightly . The upshot is that the turbo flanged moved slightly away from the bellhousing (YAY !) so the turbo won't be dead level (can't see it through the lid) but moving it closer to the AFM will make plumbing a little more difficult (closer than he wanted it) . Three of the four turbo mounting fasteners are easy to get at and one is a bast$%d , there has to be one doesn't there .
The dump pipe is 3/4 modified to bolt up to the Garrett pattern turbine housing and the braided oil supply line is finished as is the oil drain line .

Last will be the water and air plumbing , he mentioned silicon hoses joined by straight sections of hopefully stainless tubing .
The Garrett turbo uses a 3 bolt barb on the compressor housing outlet because it is an OEM Nissan config and I have almost as much Nissan junk at home as I do FHI's . Barb section is off one of my old Skyline turbos and I have to rat up some 14x 1.5mm banjo bolts and banjos to complete the turbos water plumbing .
As i mention the logical way is to have the water line up from the head to the outer bonjo fitting and the return to the thermostat bowl being the inner one . It is being built to be accessable unlike the std EA82's turbo water lines and the grief the lower (underneath) one causes .

I fully expect the std computer to wonder what the hell is going on when it's all running again and will probably have to keep the boost low so airflow is within what the std AFM and injectors can cope with .

Fingers crossed Ellie the Diet Coke will be up and running on Saturday . I have to start at 0200 on that day so its going to be a long one .

Stay tuned , cheers A .

PS I need a volunteer to post pics as I can't make that thing work .

Gannon · Post by **Gannon** » Wed Oct 28, 2009 5:56 pm

Email them to me, you should have my email address

discopotato03 · Post by **discopotato03** » Thu Oct 29, 2009 5:05 pm

I don't have any pics yet because I haven't seen it myself .

The devil is always in the deatails and I am still chasing Nissan style banjo water fittings like I believe turbo SR20's and CA18's use . I really don't want to use aluminium adapters because they are expensive and not really the material for the job .

Todays update . Dump pipe is finished in stainless as is the header itself .
I think much of the air/breather ducting has been sorted so the end is getting nearer .

A .

discopotato03 · Post by **discopotato03** » Fri Oct 30, 2009 6:26 pm

I've just E Mailed most of the pics I took of my header and turbo to Gannon so hopefully he can link y'all up with them here . Sorry the files are big but thats life .

The header looks really good , better in the flesh than in the pics .
It varies slightly from the Techworks one in that there is a short straight section between the collector and the turbo . Also the turbo side engine pipe is a little longer than the American one because it is not parallel before and after the "180" deg bend . On mine the engine pipes are virtually identical in length which can't be a bad thing exhaust timing wise .

The good news is that my header , once unbolted from the turbo and heads only needs to drop downwards and angled sideways and she comes straight out . The Techworks one sometimes needs the engine mounts undone and the engine raised a little to remove it from the engine/car .

I lucked out today and found a pair of Nissan SR20 Turbo water lines which have the same sized banjo and bolts as my Garrett BB turbo so my man can make water lines quickly and easily and not cost a fortune like the bling rainbow coloured aluminium fittings do .

All thats left to do is the inlet /water/top oil plumbing and make a brace where Subaru had the "A" shaped one at the top of the std header flange .
Actually the header and part of the down pipe need to be wrapped in Thermotech to keep the heat where its needed and not where its not .
I also have to rat up the over the top turbo heat shield a std RX has on the spare wheel carrier brace . With luck this will protect the brake master cylinder and booster and a few wires plus the clutch cable .

Next update will be Monday afternoon and hopefully it'll make noises and move under it's own steam .

Cheers A .

Fingers crossesd more free reving and more torque everywhere . The exhaust note will almost certainly change and I hope it's not too raucous . Please don't let that hateful boxer brap infest my car ...

Some associates of mine now have a Lancer Evolution 7 and I can't wait to inspect the beast and go for a run in it .

Gannon · Post by **Gannon** » Sun Nov 01, 2009 10:01 pm

Ive been away all weekend so ive only just seen the photos,.... looking good!

I dont have time to resize and upload them now so i will do it tomorrow

As for the boxer brap, you would have had it anyway with the standard header. This one will just be less restricted and confused

discopotato03 · Post by **discopotato03** » Sun Nov 01, 2009 10:03 pm

E mail failed for unknown reasons so Gannon won't have the pics unfortunately .

As mentioned next update will be late tomorrow afternoon and with luck it may be running too .
I won't be able to get to it until Tuesday and I would be surprised if it isn't ready to drive away then .

Really looking forward to seeing how much difference a properly made header works especially with a more modern turbo attached .
It's anyone's guess how the factory computer will handle it but I reckon it shouldn't be too bad if the boost pressure is near standard . If it isn't I suppose the overboost cut will make its presence felt .
The std knock sensor system should also prevent severe detonation and a feed of higher octane fuel will help if it struggles .

I dug out the GT2860RS I used to have on the Nissan FJ20ET and if my turbo is a bit lacking with better engine management then it can go on later but I don't think it will come to that .

More tomorrow , cheers A .

Gannon · Post by **Gannon** » Mon Nov 02, 2009 4:26 pm

Ok i only received two photos

Looks good

I want to see what the turbo looks like in the engine bay and how its gonna work with a intercooler.

Looks like quite a solid swaybar there too

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Mon Nov 02, 2009 10:18 pm

Gees A, yer engine is cleaner than mine !!

discopotato03 · Post by **discopotato03** » Tue Nov 03, 2009 12:43 pm

Well that's cause it's a newin and hasn't learnt to leak yet . Jacko builds a clean engine and paints the sump pans as well .

Those are probably two of the better shots , sorry if a bit close up but Ellie was up on stands and I rolled under her on a crawler for the up - er engine bay shots ... And was wearing a white polo shirt .

Yes the ani roll bars were both one offs using the std ones as masters . Anyone can have them made if they go to Superior Suspensions which from memory is in Minto Industrial Estate in Sydney .
Std 86 RX Turbo are 19mm front , 16 rear . My pretty yellow ones are 24 and 22 . For the rear you need to modify I can't remember whos hoop mounts because std ones are tinny and just bend themselves open . I think Vortex XT6's used beefier than L series ones but those are practically impossible to get and reaonably straightforward to make up - can't remember from which car though .

These bars make a hell of a difference to a standard L which rolls around like a wheelbarrow full of custard . They still understeer but you stop losing the paint off the door handles ! I am toying with the idea of having a 24mm rear bar made up as well but would like to sell the 22mm one if I do . My suspension whizz originally wanted to do that but reckoned the std rear hoop mounts would die which one did anyway . Expressions of interest ?
I'll have another look to see if the spacers on the radius rods are visible . A good mod but it kills the control arm bushes because they deform out of shape . Really need to cut the arms and weld the inner bush tubes at the correct angles . If I could get hold of a pair of XT6 axle shafts I'd extend the control arms to reduce the dreaded built in positive camber as well .

Ellie stood dormant last Friday Saturday and yesterday because Art had to make Datsun gearbox mounts to be sent to Africa today for some big event .
Should get the latest update around 5 PM today and with luck go fetch tomorrow .

Back after five , cheers A .

Will try to send Gannon up top pics of the turbo as well . Edit : more sent to Gannon .

discopotato03 · Post by **discopotato03** » Tue Nov 03, 2009 5:27 pm

The latest update is that all is finished bar the AFM to turbo pipe . It's the dufficult one because it's offset , very short and an odd size .

I haven't been able to find my spare wheel carrier with the heat shield on it yet which is a PITA , I don't suppose anyone has a spare one in Sydney ?

Cheers Adrian .

Gannon · Post by **Gannon** » Tue Nov 03, 2009 6:14 pm

Ok more pics

Gannon · Post by **Gannon** » Tue Nov 03, 2009 6:25 pm

As for your problems with plumbing from the AFM to the turbo, i bought a 135deg silicone bend and chopped it back so it would fit. I then i just used a mandrel bend, cut it and rewelded it to line up with the AFM

The pipes welded to it are for the BOV on top, PCV (in my hand) and the air line on the front to the aux air valve on top of the thermostat