Turbo 325es: Now with videos

[Regnar75]

A/F meter unfortunately doesn't look too stock and the boost gauge I got with the wide band, eventually I'd like to move to a vdo boost gauge. The wideband is the AEM wideband o2 sensor.

[Regnar75]

while waiting for my exhaust to cool off before working on the car I grabbed some supplies at the hardware store and made a catch can. not the greatest but it'll do for now haha

just a new empty small paint can, two hose barb fittings, two locking nuts with holes for oil to go through, some washers and gasket maker and a cheap breather filter from autozone.


hammered the lid down and decided to wrap some wire around the top to keep it tight, i figure ill just untwist and empty as needed.


total cost, around $15-$20 including breather filter, also better than the coca cola catch can I was using :P

[Regnar75]

Some updates with Videos:

So I made a few changes to the car, first up was some ARP head studs. I got these from Ireland Engineering. I was a bit curious about their description which claimed they were not the normal kit from ARP, but were a "superior kit" this was explained to me in an email from Ireland saying they felt the ARP kit's studs were too short and had a different stud length included in their kit. Here it is.
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^this is the length difference between stock and the IE ARP kit.

Notice the little bit of extra threads on top
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While I was at it, I painted the valve cover a bit differently and really like the look of it.
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I finally got around to putting the "new" driveshaft in. the ujoints are perfect on this one.
unspecified

....Though the old Center support bearing gave me a hard time. even separating the shafts was difficult to say the least. I ended up strapping one half to a telephone pole, and the other to a 1.5 ton come along hooked to my friends pickup and I pulled it apart with the come along.
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This was how the car was driving with 10 PSI (all i could build at the time) with the 3.73lsd. sure it felt quick but I was shifting too much and barely in boost.
VIDEO
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So I found a 3.25lsd for $100 locally, it had upgraded clutch packs but currently whines, so anyone know how to resolve that? otherwise the ratio is great! It's much smoother, I can build a bit higher boost and I dont have to shift as often, its very quick. Though I still am having a hard time not losing traction in 2nd gear even with the 225/50's on 15x8 tires.
VIDEO
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After doing a lot of messing around (hard not to) I did this....
VIDEO
VID_100831206_032707
....and im pretty sure I left a bunch of ball bearings on the side of the road, because there was only 1 bearing left inside...

Here is a 100% accurate depiction of what happened.
VIDEO
video-1460305001

So I replaced that side (I have another shaft to do driver side, just haven't gotten around to it yet.)

and here is how she sits now.
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VIDEO
VID_125400623_030336

More updates to come.

[KrautnotRice]

Looking very good!

[Regnar75]

thanks, not sure how to put flickr videos on here so it doesn't redirect you

[Cephas]

Cool build. Thanks for posting! How much has this all cost you?

[Regnar75]

umm with the ARP head studs and including the purchase of the motor...around $1400

[Regnar75]

Heat blanket came in..

took some temperatures without the heat shield just to see a baseline. do with this information as you will, i drove it for about 30 minutes each time and just opened the hood and took temps after shutdown.

Without Heat Shield
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Turbine ^

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Compressor ^

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Valve Cover ^

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Spark plug Wire Cover ^

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Coil ^

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AFM ^

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Intake Manifold ^

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Intake Boot ^

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Hood Above Turbine ^

With the shield
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Turbine ^

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Compressor ^

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Valve Cover ^

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Spark plug wire cover ^ (yea now looking back I realize I missed the wire coverr haha)

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Coil ^

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AFM ^

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Intake Manifold ^

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Intake Boot ^

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Hood Above Turbine ^

Summary

Turbine: W/o-324 W/148
Compressor: w/o-142 W/131
Spark plug wires: W/o-187 W/157(kinda)
Intake boot: W/o-119 W/94
Hood: W/o-104 W/99
Coil: W/o-145 W/124
Valve cover: W/o-161 W/145
Intake Manifold: W/o-120 w/114
AFM: W/o-104 W/88




Also my new setup for air filter.
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[Good & Tight]

Wrap the DP, that makes a big difference in temps also

[Regnar75]

Yea I have the wrap to do it. I'll hopefully do it this weekend.

[Panici]

Looks great man!
I wasn't aware the stock ECM with a chip could work with boost. Cool stuff.

How much boost are you running now? How is the eBay turbo holding up?

[Regnar75]

Looks great man!
I wasn't aware the stock ECM with a chip could work with boost. Cool stuff.

How much boost are you running now? How is the eBay turbo holding up?

currently running 10 psi. I don't really have the clutch to really keep up with more than that I dont think (at least not for too long)

surprisingly the turbo is holding up well. I think I will keep a log on how it is doing, shaft play, oil leaking, etc and see how long it lasts. I am considering going with a smaller turbo just to try out.

[Reubenjd]

Great build, and loved the amount of pictures, I'll be doing the same to my vert later this summer, but using megasquirt. I was thinking of doing my intercooler the same way as you, so the pictures of how you placed it behind the grills are going to be coming in handy. How did you like the fitment of the gauge panel in the vents? I'm thinking of going a similar route,but getting his panel that has slits for air to still vent through.

[matias9]

nice videos , it got power!!! , damn that drive shaft :´(, when you got some time and energy you can make a part/component list . i studying the turbo build for mine and im following your project from the beginning and its like what i thinking for my build.

[Regnar75]

Great build, and loved the amount of pictures, I'll be doing the same to my vert later this summer, but using megasquirt. I was thinking of doing my intercooler the same way as you, so the pictures of how you placed it behind the grills are going to be coming in handy. How did you like the fitment of the gauge panel in the vents? I'm thinking of going a similar route,but getting his panel that has slits for air to still vent through.

I like the location for the gauges, it looks great and very easy to read. I will need to change the boost gauge to the proper style so it looks better but eh. I closed my vents and dont turn them on (obviously) but im sure that will work alright, its just the gauges are going to cover most of the vents and probably just cause hot air to get trapped under the dash.

nice videos , it got power!!! , damn that drive shaft :´(, when you got some time and energy you can make a part/component list . i studying the turbo build for mine and im following your project from the beginning and its like what i thinking for my build.

its okay, its been replaced and now that school is over I'll be putting a new clutch in. the 3.25lsd is great but a bit loud, I think a full rear subframe rebuild is needed (bushings) and while its out ill replace the differential pinion bearings.
yea I can make a component list sure. I had it up running and driving for pretty cheap but have since started putting more money into it. I'll get a list together.