Northern's Sterlingsilber M52 Turbo 325is

[Northern]

interesting routing of the coil wiring. I've been contemplating the same thing as i have the essentially the same setup as you (manifold, engine etc).

I really wasn't sure it would work without lengthening anything, but I'm glad that it turned out alright. Not sure how I'd protect it otherwise unless I didn't run the beauty cover, but I think that does a lot for keeping water out of the coilpacks and spark plug wells. Also probably going to rivet a thin sheet of aluminum over the right hand side of it so the turbine doesn't melt it.

[Dj Buttchug]

nice progress

[Northern]

nice progress

Haha chuggz, I've been thinking about how the hell it took me a a month and a half to get that done, but I've been gutting/expanding the upstairs bathroom as well, so maybe I'm not as lazy as I think.

[TheTacoMan]

rebuilding was the right choice, ebay gt35rs are not the best quality. Mine blew up.

[Northern]

^ looking at the prices of them (At least the ones willing to ship to canada + don't look ultra shady) they were like $600.

For a PT6062, and with the garbage USD/CAD exchange rate, I'd be looking at $2500 (exchange rate bounced back a bit since then, so now more like $2300.) I was thinking about selling off a lot of stuff to try to get it, but I just can't spend that much on a turbo lol


I ordered an Mann Provent 200 today... I've never had a good feeling about the effectiveness of catch cans, and the N54 guys are starting to show how ineffective they really are.

I really want to pull vacuum on the crank case without a bunch of check valve/vacuum line wizardry or a bunch of oil all through my charge piping, so I was considering using the E39 M5 cyclone separator, but I know that it can't be any better than the regular E36 one and is more expensive than I was told.

The provent seems to have a lot of hype, so we'll see how it ends up performing.

[ba114]

Catch cans on the n54 are mostly ineffective as they don't remove/externalise the pcv (which is built into the valve cover).

They are starting to get more success with new solutions.

[Sh3rpak!ng]

I ordered an Mann Provent 200 today... I've never had a good feeling about the effectiveness of catch cans, and the N54 guys are starting to show how ineffective they really are.

I really want to pull vacuum on the crank case without a bunch of check valve/vacuum line wizardry or a bunch of oil all through my charge piping, so I was considering using the E39 M5 cyclone separator, but I know that it can't be any better than the regular E36 one and is more expensive than I was told.

The provent seems to have a lot of hype, so we'll see how it ends up performing.

They do work if you go with a decent can and route it properly. Most of them out there are useless garbage that people install because it "looks good". I've read a lot of good stuff about the provent can as well. I've also read a lot of very good stuff about the company saikou michi who builds custom catch cans to your spec and will help you size one/a system to fit your needs. I have one that I had custom made for my car - it's a very nice piece.

Check out this thread I started in bimmerforums FI section: here it started as a simple question and evolved into a nice technical discussion of the whole system. If you search, there are a few other good threads on the topic. A handful of guys there have had great success running crank vent through a can, then through the SAP (believe it or not) activated with a hobbs switch, and then to the exhaust. That will be my plumbing when I add the SC to my s52e30.

[Northern]

I know that the N54's have their own issue because of the PCV system, but I've seen so many other turbo cars with catch cans that don't stop oil from ending up through the charge piping that I don't even want to take the chance. I think the cyclone separator is better than 90% of catch cans out there anyway.

I thought about the exhaust evac, but I'm scared of filling up my resonator with oil or something, plus extra stuff under the car to rip off with road debris. This is my backup plan though.

[Northern]

All my SAP stuff is gone, pump/wiring/relay/solenoid, so that would be pretty involved.

[Sh3rpak!ng]

I know that the N54's have their own issue because of the PCV system, but I've seen so many other turbo cars with catch cans that don't stop oil from ending up through the charge piping that I don't even want to take the chance. I think the cyclone separator is better than 90% of catch cans out there anyway.

I thought about the exhaust evac, but I'm scared of filling up my resonator with oil or something, plus extra stuff under the car to rip off with road debris. This is my backup plan though.

All my SAP stuff is gone, pump/wiring/relay/solenoid, so that would be pretty involved.

Really you'd just need the pump, they aren't expensive. I stopped routing ccv through the intake after I tried several times unsuccessfully to find a good catch can and combo of routing that comfortably limited the oil residue. Are you still going to route through the intake? Or Vent to atmosphere?

FWIW I've had the exhaust evac on my NA e30s52 for like 10k miles. It was relatively easy to route without risk of ripping off, and I checked the exhaust tubing for residue. There was absolutely no residue in the exhaust tube around the bung, and the bung itself had a bit of buildup inside of it. Seems to do a nice job of quickly vaporizing any oil that enters the pipe.

I installed it because A) I didn't want any oil residue in the intake and B) I didn't want to smell it while driving (like an open vent would)

I think the cyclone separator is better than 90% of catch cans out there anyway.

this is true

[Northern]

Planning on running from the provent to the turbo inlet. I actually think I have at least one of the pumps, but I don't want to add something like that back into the engine bay if there is any possible alternative lol

Hoping I pull decent vacuum and avoid oil from pooling in my FMIC or fouling my MAF.

[Sh3rpak!ng]

Planning on running from the provent to the turbo inlet. I actually think I have at least one of the pumps, but I don't want to add something like that back into the engine bay if there is any possible alternative lol

Hoping I pull decent vacuum and avoid oil from pooling in my FMIC or fouling my MAF.

I'm very interested to see your results.

Sent from my SM-G920T using Tapatalk

[ak-]

I've never been able to route a catchcan or breather to the turbo inlet without severely lowering octane rating from oil vapors and slightly pressuring the crankcase more, so I'm pretty interested to see how the Provent holds up. Venting to atmo is getting old.

[Northern]

Update time... From Mid April to today:

Piloting VANOS banjo for oil feed:


Nominal to tap 1/8 NPT:



Tapped


Vanos banjo -> 1/8NPT to -4AN union -> Feed line


New welder, new chopsaw. SO much easier with a full size saw, vice the tiny princess auto one that needs to make 3 cuts to get through a 3" tube...


View from above, trying to align WG/clamp/dump for maximum downpipe clearance...


From below:


Off the car to weld:


Terrible welds:

running .035" ER308L wire, and Blueshield 6 gas. Not sure if that had anything to do with how ugly the welds are though.

So ~5 years ago, I was given a bunch of unserviceable -10AN lines off some beechcraft. Most were pretty short, but I shortened one to use when I had the turbo kit mocked up on my iX. That one ended up being too short for this setup, so I made another.

Stick it in the vise and unscrew the thin "nut":


Once it's off, you'll be left with either two or three pieces (that ring and the left piece are often just one piece) and a mangled end of hose:


Cut your hose straight with a 32TPI hacksaw to desired length, and clean any stray firesleeve strands.
Stick the piece with the fitting/barbed piece in the hose, go test fit, make additional cuts as necessary.
Remove the barb/nut piece, and gently work the hose into the outer sleeve/nut and use the barbed piece to gauge when to stop. Stop the hose just before you can no longer start to thread the barbed piece into the outer sleeve/nut.
Mark the hose with tape to indicate if the hose creeped out while tightening:


Thread the two sections together, make sure the hose didn't creep out more than ~1mm, and give it a good tug to make sure it's secure (assuming you're not actually pressure testing it haha):


Notched the beauty cover and one of the old coil harness clips to clock the compressor housing the way I want:


Copper spray it I guess?


Turbo on, drain line on, Took a few hours of thinking to figure out how to hold the drain line off the #1 primary and frame rail without welding a bunch of shit to the frame rail.


Cutting up the old downpipe for the reducer and vband flange:


Throw the strut bar semi-in place to gauge clearance and tack some stuff together:


I don't remember where I ordered these T304 shouldered O2 bungs from, but they worked great:


Hole saw kit had the perfect size (one sensor for MS41, one for LC1. I know the LC1 can spit out a narrowband signal too, but this seems easier, and if my LC1 goes bad, I can still drive the car (Plus I have like 12 O2 sensors between the 3 engines I have)


Coming along, ready to weld up:


Catastrophe:

Surprised I got away with welding on that shitty glass table for like 3 years. I didn't even find it weird anymore to be welding on...

Somewhat welded:


I didn't take any pictures of it, but I fit an aluminum elbow for a friend to weld on my compressor housing.

I'm sore as hell tonight from going to the gym for the first few times in more than a year, and it's raining all weekend, so I don't think anything will happen until at least next tuesday night when I can maybe finish the downpipe.

[Kershaw]

Nice progress!