As arduous as it was to configure and plumb the oil system for the turbocharger, it pales in comparison to what came next: The design and construction of the exhaust and compressor side plumbing systems.
There have been no new posts on this thread for 2 or 3 weeks for a reason. Simply stated, this involved creating and building pipe structures in 3D space while trying to avoid existing hoses, brackets, wire harnesses, an alternator, an AC compressor, and other obstacles not originally accounted for. Not to mention keeping the two different systems from interfering with each other, much like two entwined roller coasters at an amusement park.
I originally started designing and building the exhaust side first, as this seemed to be a natural progression of the project. What I found, however, changed the order of this part of the build for several reasons.
First, I realized that it would be counter-productive to try and route the exhaust piping where it needed to go without considering the location and routing of the compressor outlet from the turbo, which I could see was very close to where the proposed exhaust pipe routing would be.
Second, I really hadn't put much thought into WHAT type of air filter I was going to use for the inlet side, and WHERE I was actually going to mount it. The difficulty of building the exhaust system demanded answers before proceeding with the build.
Therefore, to streamline the process and hopefully prevent frustration to anyone who might attempt a similar project, I will detail the fresh air / compressor side construction and installation first, then the exhaust side.
I had already stripped out the original air filter, hose, and exhaust pipes from the engine compartment, and was now faced with the dilemma of what to do next. Looking at the original location of the air filter, I tried to figure a way to leave it in that position and just use extra hose to route to/from the turbo charger. After all, there was a handy U-shaped bracket that the air filter snapped into that would simplify things, but would really be awkward and inefficient for routing and just add unwanted length and bends to the system.
In a flash of inspiration I realized that I could relocate the air filter directly above the turbocharger by mounting the end cap to the firewall. I sanded the back of the cap so it would fit flat against the firewall and drilled two holes to secure it with rivets. Note the orientation of the end cap with the drip fitting facing straight down to allow water to drain if needed. It is also necessary to mount the end cap high on the firewall for clearance to the turbocharger, but also to provide enough clearance to prevent the top of the hood from interfering with the air filter when closed:
But the real coup de grâce was achieved by positioning the front half of the air filter with the air inlet facing downward at ~ 30 degrees. This is achieved by rotating the front half of the air filter and aligning the end cap with the original latches. By re-purposing the original plastic air inlet manifold by trimming it to fit close, it created the perfect air inlet pipe to the air filter:
The air filter and inlet pipe assembly was then installed on the end cap and measured to determine where to cut off the excess pipe:
After trimming, this put the end of the air inlet pipe within about 1/2" from the left side grill of the hood when closed, allowing the air filter to draw fresh air in directly through a very short 1-3/4" pipe with very little air resistance. Closing the hood and observing exactly where the pipe was positioned revealed that the top edge was a little bit high, so by using a heat gun I was able to reshape the inlet to maximize airflow into the air filter:
Re-installing and checking air inlet pipe alignment verified perfect positioning behind the grill:
This whole process actually came together quite quickly when I finally figured out where exactly to mount the airbox. Oh, BTW, I also installed a new filter element to start off on the right foot. The old one was looking pretty gnarly.
So that's it for now. Next post I'll detail the plumbing from the outlet of the airbox into the turbocharger, and from the outlet (compressor) side of the turbocharger to the air intake manifold of the engine. Stay tuned!
Edit 10/15/23: I was originally going to detail the remainder of the air filter plumbing on another post, but decided it made more sense to finish it in this one.
With the air filter firmly mounted and the inlet side complete, it was time to figure out how to connect the outlet side to the turbocharger. By positioning the air filter where I did, it positioned it in such a way that I could simply re-purpose the original rubber hose for connection to the turbocharger inlet.
The air filter side was simple, since it was connected to the 1-3/4" outlet originally. Fitting the turbocharger inlet side was more challenging. I was going to use a reducer hose to step the tubing size down to accommodate the 1-1/4" inlet, but realized I wouldn't have enough room (imagine that). After thinking about it a bit, I realized I could cut a section of scrap hose down to fit around the neck of the turbo inlet fitting, which would fit perfectly inside the hose from the air filter.
It took several tries to determine how long to make the rubber piece to fit around the neck of the inlet, but I finally got it fitting perfectly:
I then removed the rubber piece and stuffed it into the tubing coming down from the air filter:
I left a small amount of the rubber sticking out of the hose to allow it to slide in a bit when fitted to the inlet:
Finally, by using 2" diameter hose clamps, I was able to get a good tight seal on both ends of the hose with a U-shaped connection between the air filter and turbocharger:
This looks a little silly on the turbo side, but actually provides a really simple, non-restrictive connection that cost nothing to implement.
Ok, NOW the compressor inlet side of the turbo is complete, it's time to focus on the outlet side to the engine air manifold. That's coming up next...
Solo
