Cut some oomph from the pa-pa.

I have decided to drop the boost by lowering the settings on the waste gate. It has been difficult to accurately pin down the waste-gate pre-set but as best I can tell it is around 7-9 psi, or a little higher than listed for the car I removed it from. Could be they under report the numbers or that someone installed a higher pressure actuator to pick up some HP. Either way it is clearly too much for my old girl and contrary to my low pressure = low risk mantra. Don't get me wrong it was fun jabbing it, clearly hopping that little motor 40-50%. However it will only scoot for about 15 seconds before the carburetor bowl drains (boost is higher than the fuel pump) and even without a muffler I can hear the pinging. That is bad. The guts of the 134 are stout, I bet they would handle another 60 hp just fine but the complexity of the system to maintain it is daunting. At 4 psi of boost my risk meter stays happily in the green zone and all the bad stuff should go away. In order to hit my target I am referencing this forum's article: Toyotanation.com
With luck I will have time to cut it open and cut it down over thanksgiving.

http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/t126750.html

Die off

Got much of the plumbing done and the air cleaner mounted. This let me do some more testing. On long pulls it will just cut out like a switch. I think the boost is overrunning the fuel pump. Do I turn down the boost, build a draw through or up the pump pressure. Bah, choices.

IT LIVES!

Ok, this is early but I just got it in and running! It took 3x longer than I figured and it was after dark before I was able to drive it around town but it did work and with fewer hiccups than I could have wished for. I have a leaking oil line, mounts to build and have just cobbled together an intake system for testing but it works. Power gain is substantial and predictable just like I had hoped. I still think I need to turn the boost down. I can not hear any pinging but for the moment I am simply running it rich on the old carb. Whistles like a banshee. Lots of work and tests to follow but I was lucky to get this time off from working on the well from the wife. More to come.




Link to video of her first run.

Success and setbacks

First the success... The wife and child spent a few days back home and despite having to proctor the ACT test I found time to build the exhaust bridge from the manifold to the turbo and then from the turbo out. I haven't connected the muffler or anything just worked the pipe down underneath so that I can later. I will use my old muffler but as I am going from 1 1/2 to a new 2 1/4 system more bottom side work has to be done. I refuse to hack into the old system until this is proven, part of my "this is likely to fail" back up plan. I grabbed some fittings from Napa bolted on the pipe and got myself ready to hear the sweet sweet whine of success... but there was that failure I spoke of.



From the manifold to the turbo. Kept the size small (1 3/4) to maintain velocity.





Mounting plate isn't perfect, the turbo inlet is an oval and the pipe is round. I did the best I could, ok that isn't true. I did the best I could quickly.


Set in place with the compressor side removed. The tightest part is between the steering shaft and the oil drain but it works. I can cut and weld that small pipe later if need be. It makes me nervous because the shaft's u joints should be replaced with some custom ones. Better be small custom joints.


The spiral cable is the speedometer, the wires and gas line are easy to relocate. The other tight spot is down on the master cylinder. I have break lines passing within 3/4 of the down pipe about 18" downstream from the turbo. I know this set up will not generate the kind of temps a high pressure setup would but I still think that is too close.

The setback:
All of the fittings on this and most turbochargers are banjo fittings, metric banjo fittings. When I was taking it off the car I knew how important those fittings were. I have distinct memories of carefully lining them up so the copper washers would not get lost. I need three, I remember grabbing six. The three I needed plus some spares just in case. I am sure you can see where this is going. I have no idea where my three went. No problem, I have the extras, and I could see them sitting on the top tray of the tool box. Crisis averted so I get to work. Cut to the end of the day, it is time to start hooking up the lines. The moment I have been waiting for...

Turns out the three 'spares' I grabbed are all the same size (14 1.5 I know now) the fittings on the turbo are three separate sizes. Screwed. When I went to the local Napa they laughed and said the best they could do was a new turbo. I can not even tell you how heart broken I was. I had been looking forward to that start for so long. At the time I didn't even know what sizes to look for and spent a fruitless hours searching online before admitting defeat. Dad sent some metric taps back with the wife so I was able to determine hole and thread and if he can no locate them (unlikely) he will pick up some bolts, lathe them out and tap them for good old American fittings. With luck I should have one or the other by this weekend. Barring that now that I know the sizes I could try searching for them again or simply drill out the housing and tap them American pipe and be done with it.

Updates and info

Been spending some time building various mounting rings for the exhaust system in preparation for an attempted install this weekend. Have decided to try to run the system in a push mode rather than pull. The new carb has the foam floats, I think, so what would be the harm in trying? If it is failure and blows gas everywhere then I will go back to plan A but if it doesn't, not having to relocate the carb and install carbon seals in the turbo is a plus. Bedsides I am excited to hear it. Going to see if it will run with out injecting additional fuel at first. Will have to keep an eye on the temps and an ear out for detonation. The boost I plan to run is so moderate I hope to get away with it (at least for testing) where the tuner guys would not. Have learned that the turbo I have is part of Saab's low pressure system with a max boost of about 5.5 psi. That works for me, remember moderate reliable power increase is the name of this game. I was shooting for about 4 psi but I think I can adjust it down some. No need to scatter the poor 134 F head in the woods some place. I have mapped out the exhaust routing but it will need some heat shields. Building a mounting bracket is going to be tricky as the side of the block is depressingly clean of strong bolt points. I did drill out and weld a fitting to the fuel pump block-out plate so that is done. I plan on using 1/4 air pressure line for the water cooling. I know it will take the pressure, it should take the heat and antifreeze shouldn't bother it. I can run without the cooling if I am careful so I could get it home in case of failure. So close I can hear it spooling now. Very excited!

Stalled

Little is currently happening on the wee jeep as other issues press for time. I have a well to finish hooking up, winter to get ready for and a little guy who no longer naps in the evening, making sneeking out for short chunk of work time difficult. I have to convince the wife to watch/take the kid and let me play, so far that has been hard to come by. Not that progress isn't being made. I took some measurements to confirm where I want to place the carb. With the removable base adapter it should fit nice. I would like to mount it above the turbine to save some of that heat and prevent icing. As my turbo lacks a bolting flange for the intake this means making a stand alone mount. I would have pictures for all the posts by now but the cord to the camera is missing, I think it has to do with the boy.

Parts!

The last of the mail order parts arrived yesterday. The largest buy for this whole build was a new JC W carburetor. It wasn't needed because of the turbo but because of my old worn out carb. Even after a rebuild the old carb just had too many worn internal passages to work properly. Bad flooding and air/fuel with no effect on adjustment. Imagine my surprise when instead of the solodex I ordered the box contains a very new modern carb with a 2 inch manifold adapter/riser. Much better for my purposes than a new solodex. Both the old carter and the solodex run about 2-3psi of fuel pump pressure I hope the new one can handle much higher. This means no regulator for me. Also because I am making my own mounting plate I can pull the riser off and get the carb that much closer to the turo inlet. This will help with the atomization, lower the chance of gas pooling and help keep the carb warm because I think cold temp icing is going to be a problem. If the suck-system plan fails I can bolt the carb back on with the adapter and tap it for the dial-a-jet to compensate for increased fuel needs with boost. Because of the added complexity of the carb mounting I bet I end up just bolting it on to see how it works.









The other goodie is a box of 10 random bends from a muffler factory. They are mistakes or over runs, all of the same diameter. Now I can build the various exhaust components with the twists and turns I want rather than trying to work with bends cut from salvaged pipe. I am writing this at lunch but hope to have pictures of everything soon.




Total investment so far is about $150 but $100 of that was in parts I planned to buy regardless. Still need to buy some hose and a fitting or two but for the most part the rest is free.

Part Two: Turbocharger Selection.

I spent a lot of time carefully selecting the turbo for my project. The turbo is the heart of the build and all other systems will be secondary to it. With that in mind I grabbed the very first free turbocharger I found. It came from a Saab, early 90's I think. The Saab had 180,000+ miles and a blown motor. I took everything, turbo, hunk of the exhaust, inter cooler and piping, everything. It is important for you to get as much of the extraneous piping and fittings as you can, especially the oil lines as they can be very special fittings.

Once cleaned up it became apparent the turbo is worn out. Lots of shaft play, signs that the seals might be leaking and it spun a little stiff. After blowing a little lacquer thinner through the oil journals she started to free up but the shaft play got worse. One of the fins on the exhaust side had lost just the tiniest bit of the outside corner. (I think I might have done that when I took it apart, my bad) I "fixed" the problem by taking the same amount of a fin on the opposite side. A real custom balance job. As it doesn't hit the housing I am going to run it anyway. I figure if the project is a success then it will be worth rebuilding it, a failure well then I am not out any money, God tends to favor the ambitious and impatient. The unit I scored is going to work out nicely. I will need to rotate the center section to position the oil drain properly but other than that it fits the space I want great.



What I found is a Garet low pressure T25/T25 with water cooling and the mechanical waste-gate. In my mind the smaller T25/T25 is better for my application than the T3/T4 as I am not a dumb high school kid hell bent on blowing the motor. I want a very moderate power boost and reliability. The mechanical integrated waste-gate requires no external fittings or plumbing so less work for me. I had not given any thought to water cooling but if the application is a success the extra effort to hook up the water system will pay for itself in longevity.

Part One: Scope of the project.

I foresee the following 'stages' on the project:

1. Connecting the unit to the current exhaust manifold.
-Building a nearly 160 degree u-bend with proper flanges on either end.
-Needs a good seal and be strong enough to help support the turbocharger's weight.
-Plan to use 1 7/8 pipe to help keep the velocity up.

2. Piping the exhaust from the turbo back down to the muffler.
-Pipe I have from the Saab makes an immediate 90 so I will have to cut and modify.
-Should not be difficult but it is a short, twisty run.

3. Connecting the oil and water lines
-Special banjo fittings on all but the oil drain. Plan to use auto tranny pressure line.
-Oil drain must be gravity and big, 1/2 or larger big. I plan to attach to the fuel pump blockout plate.
-Oil pressure is always an issue on the F head. Can I just tap the output of my remote oil filter and not return it to the top of the timing gears? I seem to remember they also get oil from inside.
-What kind of oil delay will I get out of the filter? Will it keep draining (and cooling) after shut down?
-Will the turbo live on such a miserly amount of oil (3-5 psi at hot idle) if it is also water cooled?
-Is my piss-poor oil pressure due to a worn pump or worn motor? Will I need a new or remote oil pump to keep the block happy?
-Will I need an oil cooler? I have the one from the Saab but it is big. Turbo's foam the oil they use, is the Jeep's smallish 4 quart oil pan big enough to let the foam settle or will I pump oil foam to the rest of the motor?

4. Carburetor: blow or suck?
-I plan to suck (lol) for reasons I will discuss later.

5. Pressure piping to intake.
-Need to copy carb base for a flange. Shorter is better but the hood must close. If I use metal pipe it will be heavy and have vibration issues, if rubber it has to survive gasoline. Can I build it all out of hard pipe or do I need rubber to isolate it? Can I built a hard pipe to enough tolerance to get a good seal?
-How big should the pipe be? Volume, velocity or convenience?

6. Vacuum piping to air filter.
-The suck side. This is the most cramped component. Shorter pipe is better but it might have to be on the other side of the engine bay. Also as a suck system I need to avoid fuel pooling.

7. Building brackets to support everything to the motor so the whole mess doesn't rip off.
-Attaching the turbo will be easy with a nice tab all set for attachment at the top and a firm attachment to the manifold at the bottom. I worry about having the suction side hanging off the unit. Can I mount the carb to the fender or will body movement pull it apart? What if I stick it farther off the intake manifold so all I have to do is extend the current throttle linkage? That sets up some long and complicated piping. Figure I need to place the turbo first and work around it to see what is best.

8. Replace motor with a small V6 after blowing it up.
-Lets hope I can skip this one.

The journy begins.

I rebuilt my 134ci F Head Jeep motor about two years ago. It only had 60,000 miles on it but as the poor thing sat for a decade the rings were stuck. At the time I debated with my father about forgetting the little F Head and putting in a small V6 from a Bronco II we had sitting around. Dad's vote was the Bronco, mine was the F Head. Call it nostalgia or being in too much of a hurry but the little 134 came out one weekend and was back in the next.

I should have gone for the V6.

The 134 is fun, makes a great noise but... There is a lot of good info about hopping up a 134 on a CJ3 page but rather than bothering with that I am putting in the turbo. Many have looked into it, and on youtube there is one a guy did running propane. Seems to be a crowd online that just pounce on anyone who broaches the subject. I suppose it might be because they have some new guy on the forum every month or so who wants his F head to turn 12 second quarters with no effort or money. I am not that person. I am doing this because I want a little more reliable power at the high altitudes I run. I want to see faces turn in confusion when people hear a 4cyl jeep 'spool up'. I want a cool project for the winter and I don't want to be like everyone else. I will put it all on here, good and bad, success and failure. I have a 1yo son so don't expect this to be instantaneous but it will be accomplished over the winter of 2010-11 one way or the other. Thanks for coming along for the ride.