1000 miles later, how is it?

Somethings have worked very well. The Jeep preforms at wicked altitudes with amazing ease. We had it above 10,000 feet with no real loss of power. This is a major change over previous trips where I had to slip the clutch in low range to get it moving. Now getting it started at that altitude is interesting, but not much worse than previous. Speaking of getting it started, with all that piping if it sits for a week or so getting it fired up is a pain. I find it faster to give it a sniff of starting fluid, then the condensed gas in the tubing makes it run rough and very rich for a bit. The choke has little effect, so imagine starting your jeep on a cold day without it. That is about what it is like anytime the air temp is below about 55 degrees.

Power gains no longer feel extreme but then I can no longer remember what it was like before so I think I have simply forgotten what it was like. I do know in several places we have motored up some long grades in a higher gear with greater ease. This is most noticeable above 5000 feet but then I haven't had a chance to drive it much below that. What is clear is that at max RPM the motor has less power than before. I am still tinkering with this and do not know precisely why yet. It has less throtle throw than before because of how the linkage is set up. I have been reluctant to fix this and see it as a safety measure. The motor revs hard and fast and I do not want to scatter it. Otherwise I guess the 134F head is a little bigger than the Saab motor I took the turbo from so that might have something to do with it. I also have an airfilter from a non turbo motor, another possible problem.

On a rough trail I pulled the muffler off and while I love to hear that turbo, the rest of the unmuffled motor sounds are ridiculous. Like those kids in their ricers running huge straight pipes. I have acquired a much more compact turbo style, straight through muffler and will try that. The only thing I worry about is if has too little spark arresting capabilities and creates a fire danger. Some night time driving should help me clear that up.

Updates!

Have lots of run time on it now and have made a few tweaks. I do have to run 93 octane or she pings. Put a gauge on it and adjusted the boost to about 3psi normal and as high as 4.5 psi when really flogging it up a long hill. This appears to be about all the turbo will deliver as the boost relief valve is essentially just a big spring clamping off the valve. I don't know if the valve is leaking or if... I have the compressor housing from one turbo and the exhaust housing from another so maybe I am getting a bunch of leak by on the exhaust side. Have a big 6 mill hard climb near the house, each time I have gone up it the Jeep is overheating by the top. the temp climbs from 190 to 220 and I don't dare push harder so I back out of it. As a result it takes longer to get up the hill now than it used to. Bummer.

I cleaned out the SAAB oilcooler and installed it as an aux rad. For those familier with the CJ, it has a air scoop behind the grill so I mounted the cooler in front of that outlet. I know an oil cooler has less flow but then the flow is limited by the output on the turbo and I know it is more than that. I have it ported where the hot water comes from the carb base, into the cooler and then into the turbo before returning to the block. I think it should be after the turbo but this is the set up that works best. If I notice a big difference then I will think about reworking the hard piping to switch. In testing the Jeep took about the same time to come up to temp (185/190) and wouldn't go above that on flat driving, but then it didn't before so that is sort of a crap test. Looks like the big hill and I have to go another round soon. Cooler did get nice and hot so some heat must be wicking away regardless.

Have a very loud valve tick and clatter but that is normal. I think I am being extra sensitive. Getting more oil out of the breather tube, contemplating stuffing foam in the tubing in such a way that collected oil can run back in rather than into the air box and then onto the ground. As this air box setup is all new to the jeep I can not tell how much is if any is related to the turbo. Going to check compression and see if I am getting blow-by, but as I forgot to do so prior to starting the project I can not see if anything has changed. Moron.

Done?

Well it is in and we now have several hours of run time under the belt. Rebuilt the turbo with carbon seals, stressful but doable. Seems to work 100%. Built the new carb plate with hot water. Had just the smallest pinhole but I pulled and cleaned then swirled some epoxy around inside and used some pressure to push it through the leak so that was sealed up. Other than that it is working. Still unsure of boost because I still do not have a guage, it is low but up some since the rebuild, say 4-6psi. I am having pinging issues at WOT but am exploring remedies like octane and timing. As far as results an engine swap would give me so much more but if you like to buck the heard I say go for it. Additional updates as warranted, like say if it explodes.

Overview
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1J5r3JISMag

Running
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyor7dkkBq0

I can taste it

Built the double wall base for the remote carburetor mount the other day with Dad. I admit, I returned to the manly machine shop for this one. It will allow me to pump hot water through the base of the carb, then through the turbo and back to the motor. Hopefully this will keep the carburetor form icing at boost. Worst case I would need to wrap it with some insulation to hold the heat in. I have also confirmed that silicone boost hose will stand up to the gasoline vapor so all I have to do now is rebuild the turbo, figure out and buy the hose I need and then connect. Weather has been bad, and the wife is less than thrilled with the various projects so it might be a while yet but it seems like sucess before the warm days of spring is assured!

Revisions

I have all but decided to flip the system around. If I keep going with the blow through I either have to de-tune the turbo even farther or find away to add measured amounts of fuel at boost. I have figured out several ways to do that, none of which are simple, elegant or foolproof. Also the carb is always pressurized, and how long will it stand up to that? On the other hand if I reverse the system and pull through the carb the fuel takes care of itself. Sure I will have to remote mount the turbo, remake throtel linkage and rebuild the turbo with carbon seals but in the long run it should work better with less risk. I do wish my turbo had bolt flanges on the pressure side rather than hoses because then I could bolt the carb on it directly. I wonder what those cost and how I would go about getting a new compressor side? If I have to rebuild the turbo anyway... don't tell the wife ok?

Warm day.

Had some time and made some progress. The lowered boost pressure along with reduced timing made the jeep much more drivable. Was able to build the exhaust, swap the carb and do some testing.



Seems the new carb might struggle more with the float and fuel pressure than the old. Not sure if I can figure out a work around or if I need more pressure. Might be a losing circle. Thinking of leaving it alone and investigating a dial-a-jet setup. Still need to fab a better turbo mount, hanging it of the pipe id fine for road testing but we need to get out in the woods and bang around some.


Check out the video log here:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SniBF3TEcCU

M101A1, M101A2 Trailer Wiring

This post has little to do with the Jeep turbocharger project which has been on hold due to the cold weather. This is the wiring diagram for converting an M101A1 and M101A2 military trailer to civilian lights, at least it was for mine. I make no hard fast guarantees but this is what was inside my trailers.

Chart gives you the wires in three places:

Pin Numbers - The pin numbers refer to the actual Nato plug. The rubber plug will pop out with a little soapy water lube.

Wire Color - Color inside the plug in case you want to splice on the big civilian plug like I did. Colors could be very faded, use good light.

Tag Numbers - The tag numbers are the numbers on the aluminum tags where the plug harness connects to the trailer harness. If you simply wanted to tap into the trailer harness, the tag numbers will tell you which wires are which. Not sure if it is universal on all trailers but it was on my two and they are 8 years apart and made by different companies. My older trailer was missing a tag from a wire but connect the rest and you can figure it out.

Pin A - Convoy light (one of the blackout lights)
Pin B - Left Turn (wire is Red with a White Stripe) Tag# 22 461
Pin C - Convoy light
Pin D - Ground (wire is Black with a Red stripe) No tag number - ground lug
Pin E - Tail (running) Lights (Wire is Red) Tag# 21 489
Pin F - Spare
Pin G - Not Used
Pin H - Convoy Light
Pin I - Missing (both trailers)
Pin J - Right Turn (wire is Black with White stripe) Tag# 22 460
Pin K - Aux Feed (I put 12v to this) Tag# 37
Pin L - Not Used
Pin M - Left Turn (no it is not, no wire to this pin inside my plug)
Pin N - Right Turn (no it is not, no wire to this pin inside my plug)

Again not sure if all trailers are the same but mine are so I bet yours are too. Follow the link below to my video showing the wiring process.

Video Link:
Trailer Wiring