Turbo M50 Vert Build Thread

[NEOe30]

Mega update!!!

So, after all of the hastle with the ECU Master Det3 piggyback, I decided to opt for the MS3x. I hadn't spared any expenses up to this point so why start now?
Here's a picture of the MS3x installed in the glovebox (a clean job if I do say so myself) along with a picture of my LSx ignition coil coversion. Mint!





So after installed the MS3x, the ignition coils, and got the autotune software, I was off to the races.... almost.
I had used the autotune software to get a road tune and dialed in my idle all on my own (insert pride and overconfidence here). During all this and what I had read on the forums, I dialed my boost into about 10-11lbs and started to play with timing. That's when things got funky. I was having an absolutle blast tuning the car and pulling power out of my new setup. I was having weird idling issue and backfiring so i pulled my plugs to find this....NOT pretty.



After swapping the plugs out, the car felt even better (insert more confidence here) and was pulling like a madman. I was breaking traction in 3rd with my 4.10 LSD. Time to upgrade that too. So I did what anyone else having traction issues would have done. I aired out the tires to 25psi and threw 50 extra pounds of cement in the trunk. The car hooked, felt amazing, pulled like all hell, and sounded even better. We even did this to a cheep-o intercooler coupler a few times.



I was more concerned with keeping boost down not to pop the headgasket when I should've been more conservative with timing...
The car started to burn some oil and lost power so I decided to run a compression test because replacing the HG was inevitable right? Well here's the results...uh oh



It was definitley time to pull apart this motor. I was actually kind of excited to get the experience and dive deeper into the build. Here's some pics of the teardown and something that made my heart drop when the head came off. The pieces of metal next to the penny were found when draining the oil pan.







So I melted the piston head. Oh well. Currently I'm at school away from home and that's how she sits in the garage. When i come home for thanksgiving break I am going to pick up a used block and get an MLS gasket and ARPs for the holidays. I'm hoping to have the car back together and tuned by mid-January if the weather allows me to get to a tuner for the weekend. I'm definitley bummed it's not just the headgasket, but I plan to clean up the engine bay a bunch, and replace some clutch components when I pull everything anyways. Also, I have another surprise coming within the next few days so stay tuned! Sorry it took so long to get this thread back up (thanks photobucket), I do want to document everything here though so I can look back on it.

[NEOe30]

Can you update the picture hosting? All the pics seem to be broken.

I planned on doing so soon, big update next post! Thanks

[eThirtyAaron]

Can you update the picture hosting? All the pics seem to be broken.

[NEOe30]

Hey man, just wondering, but I'm looking at m54 3.0 swapping my cabrio roller and I'm wondering if that's a good motor to swap or not? I don't really know anything about the motor.

Hey,
I wish I could tell you more about it, but I don't know much. There should be pleanty of information and people willing to help you in the 24v swap subforum

[GunnarE30]

Hey man, just wondering, but I'm looking at m54 3.0 swapping my cabrio roller and I'm wondering if that's a good motor to swap or not? I don't really know anything about the motor.

[NEOe30]

Oh No! My poor picture thread :(

Small update, I just got the MS3x wired in and I'm working on getting the car running..

[NEOe30]

I disagree, you should test your system to the maximum pressure your couplers are rated for.

Cylinder pressure is much higher than 20psi, if that blows your headgasket you have bigger problems..
you shouldn't be pressurizing the manifold to check for leaks in your piping. All your pressure will go through the icv, valves and out the exhaust, regardless of crank position, some valves are always open. that's why it's dropping off. If you test the manifold you have to plug the exhaust as well.

Normally you cap off your intercooler piping where it enters the throttle to ensure no air is escaping through open valves and into the exhaust.

I do understand that some air will slowly bleed off into the exhaust, ICV, etc, but this method should allow you to locate larger boost leaks within the vaccum system of the car as well.

As for the headgasket, you may be right, it does make sense that cylinder pressures are much higher, however my initial thought was that pressurizing the system past say 10/11psi (risky numbers for stock headgasket and head bolts) would be increasing the risk of shifting the gasket. I could be wrong in this thought, but figured I would cover my ass just incase.

Finally, I disagree with testing the system to its absolute limit, even if my logic was incorrrect. If I'm only going to be running 7/8psi (for now) then why test for anything much more than that and just risk creating more leaks? You could argue that it will show weak points in your system, but if it's not broken don't fix it?

Thanks for chiming in about the actual pressure though, as I was unsure of the absolute limit when testing.

[pandaboo911]

Turbo M50 Vert Build Thread

I disagree, you should test your system to the maximum pressure your couplers are rated for.

Cylinder pressure is much higher than 20psi, if that blows your headgasket you have bigger problems..
you shouldn't be pressurizing the manifold to check for leaks in your piping. All your pressure will go through the icv, valves and out the exhaust, regardless of crank position, some valves are always open. that's why it's dropping off. If you test the manifold you have to plug the exhaust as well.

Normally you cap off your intercooler piping where it enters the throttle to ensure no air is escaping through open valves and into the exhaust.

[NEOe30]

Boost Leak Testing

So, as I (im)patiently wait for the mailman to arrive each day with my MS3x, I find small projects to do on the car. Today was a $10 DIY boost leak tester. The tester consists of one rubber plumbing end cap (sized appropriately to your turbo compressor inlet) and a valve stem. Total parts cost was around $8.00 plus some JB weld I had at home. Pretty self explanatory and I'm sure there's already a thread for it, but I thought that including it couldn't hurt.

At first when I was boosted I thought the HX35 turbo was too large until I fixed my manifold exhaust leak, and then my mind really changed. Obviously I was leaking a large amount of boost. Today while testing I wasn't even able to take the compressor off of the valve stem and measure the pressure before it hit zero. I located two boost leaks, both intercooler piping, and plan on looking for some more tomorrow. Since I plan on getting tuned in the near future I figured this was worth the $10, and would recommend it to anyone else that is boosted. Hell, I didn't even think I still had leaks. Make sure if you use this method to add compressed air slowly since you're not monitoring the current pressure inside the system. For example, my wastegate spring is 6-7psi so I am aiming for an 8psi test. Do NOT pump up the system to say 20psi just because you want to see if it will hold. If the headgasket pops under boost during driving, why wouldn't you be able to shift/unseat it during testing? Only test for the amount of pressure you will be running or just above.

Now for some pics and a disclaimer ;)

*Not responsible for any damage caused to personal property or one's self due to following test procedures, these are simply recommendations and how I went about testing, as always use precaution when working on your car because every application is different*

[NEOe30]

Glove Box Clean Up

Small little update, just doing a couple things while I'm waiting for my megasquirt. Just ordered the MS3x on Friday so hoping to have it delivered early this week! Just sorting out some wiring and things in the glove box for my sanity. The black item on the left side of the box is my 3bar map sensor plumbed into the boost gauge line for when the ecu arrives. I get bored easily and look for things to do on the car so here is a before and after! It's all about the little things.

[NEOe30]

Turbo Goodness

So (as promised) here is a nice little 2nd-4th gear pull clip. 3rd and 4th are shortshifted. I haven't really been taking the car up anywhere near red line since everything isn't totally worked out yet. It would suck to blow something up now. Excuse the camera mount and the ongoing BOV, I still need to adjust it. These pulls are on 5-6psi and although they are on low boost. Enjoy;)

(I believe embeded YoutTube videos no longer work due to R3v being a secure site now. Actual link below)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKJKgE-liXY

[NEOe30]

Fixing Boost Leaks and Cleaning Up

So after finally figuring out why the car was down for so long (6 weeks or so) I wanted to obviously address the issue and fix it. The so called "gooseneck" hose for the m50 ICV tends to come loose on most boosted applications. I wish I knew that before spending so much time looking for the source of my no-start elsewhere.

So yesterday I took off the intake manifold and JB welded the goosneck hose fitting into the manifold. This is a common fix and has proven to hold 20+psi. No more leaks and she's starting to pull hard! I took pictures of the tear down and even sorted out some engine bay wiring/ cleaned some stuff up while I had the time and space because if you're like me, you might as well do it while the manifolds off because you may never do it again. Also, I took some pictures on the way home from the parts store at a local community college with a nice view. Enjoy!

[Redbone]

Yeah, and we actually had about a month hold up since I couldn't figure out why the car wouldn't run right. All after a stupid ICV hose being disconnected. I planned almost the whole build out beforehand in a speadsheet to speed things along and to track finances. I plan on sharing that at the end of the build.

Inspiration totally.


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[NEOe30]

VDO Oil Gauge Install

With the installation of my VDO oil pressure gauge my setup is complete! Pics!




Also, I know I need exhaust tips, the single straight pipe is ugly. I'm considering these, probably mounted perpendicular to the bumper instead of slanted like factory. Looking for input from you guys here. Open to anything.




So the car is back on it's feet and I took her out for a short drive and some gas yesterday evening. Still on low boost 3-4lbs until I get my MS3x. I have to say the engine feels super smooth and sounds even better. For anyone wondering I'm running a custom 3" downpipe to a 2.5" exhaust with vibrant resonator and muffler. I've considered upgrading to a 3" all the way back but the setup is pretty new so I'll probably decide after it's tuned. Don't get me wrong, it still sings. Maybe I'll upload a few clips within the next week if I'm feeling up to it. Bonus shots of using the foam cannon I got from the lady!

[NEOe30]

Very neat . Wish my Turbo very build could move along this fast. Just got the body completely restored and painted.


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Yeah, and we actually had about a month hold up since I couldn't figure out why the car wouldn't run right. All after a stupid ICV hose being disconnected. I planned almost the whole build out beforehand in a speadsheet to speed things along and to track finances. I plan on sharing that at the end of the build.