'99 Ex Sport sohc Turbo buildup underway

I’ve started my turbo build.

Here is what I have done, and where I am now.

The truck is still up on jacks, and in pieces.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I don’t have huge power goals, more so I just want to have the novelty of having a turbo on my truck right now, with all factory options still functioning (a/c, cruise, 4x4 etc).

I use my truck as a daily driver, so I'm doing as much prep work as possible.

I used JAW wideband, and mounted it in my rear view mirror

. I’ve since been driving it watching it and becoming familiar with its behaviour in different driving conditions.

Normally aspirated, when flooring it under load, it tends to drop to 13.4

Idle is at 15.75-16.5 and jumping to wayyy leaner at times. I welded it about 8” behind the passenger side collector.

I had to take it off since I am not a pro welder.

See attached graph I made driving home one day. Remember, the truck is not running with the turbo connected yet.

I've tee’d the oil supply from the sensor location – actually, I added another tee to my oil press gauge tee that I already had.

The return is a large ¾” high temp hose, and I have
another post showing my struggle to accomplish this. I really wanted to avoid a pump. I hate the sohc 4.0 two-piece oil pan. Removing the “ladder” took me a whole day, with help from Chris.

Whooose laughing now!!! I nearly had to rent another car (to get my frustrations out) on this job!

It was so involved and frustrating, that "I invented new swear words" (-james t) while doing this.

The turbo exhaust exits rearward and the inlet is typical of the remote mount style… I’ve been using mandrel j-bends and 2.5” pipe. Clearances for that hot pipe are tough.

I get the exhaust gasess about 4’ after the cats and merge the two pipes, turning them to the front (I haven’t welded this part yet).

The charge piping exits behind the front bumper passenger side, then into a junkyard intercooler, then into the intake. I tried to label it for you all.

My plans for tuning were MS, sniper or sct. Because I have an auto, and popularity of SCT, I will go SCT.

I’m stuck right now on blow thru vs draw thru. I fear I have no space for a MAF behind my cone filter,

right against the turbo inlet. Either I will pipe the air intake line from behind the bumper, far away, and then go draw-thru, or I will take the easy route and put the Maf immediately before the throttle plate and be blow thru. Anyone with ford experience on MAF placement?

I really could use help with the following:

Where do I put my BOV, and can I use a cheap vw bov?
Do I go Draw-thru or blow-thru?
What do I do with the two hoses that were in the intake tube – one is pcv, the other is source for idle valve (I guess)?
I can't understand where check valves go nor why they are needed.
What is the approx point where the stock MAF is pegged?
How do I ensure no metal shavings from my piping, get into my turbo?
Is there a recommended way to start up a "dry" turbo like this one? Should I prime it by hand?

Any other help/advice you can offer.
here's where I am stuck now.

This site has been amazing.
The posts by some of you and in particular, l8psiexplorer, 97explorersport, Amac, justin146, rocket 5979, turbocat, jah81592, jakee, v8rangerboy, and more, have been my inspiration.

I know my work isn't terribly good, but its my first shot at welding, fab, and turboing. i still have a long way to go, but I feel I'm more than halfway there with the hardware.

I wouldn't have even attempted this had it not been for this site, nor the help of my friend Chris.

 

[jah81592]

Some of the aformentiond members are still inspiration to me. Good luck and hopefully everything will work out good for you. Be real careful with the 2-3 second burst and lean spikes. 14.7 a/f WILL kill and engine quickly at wot.-j

 

[Jakee]

Let's see if we can help you out here.

I really could use help with the following:

Where do I put my BOV, and can I use a cheap vw bov?

You can go cheap on this but don't go cheap on the waste gate. The BOV has to be before the MAF or you'll be venting metered air.

Do I go Draw-thru or blow-thru?

I would go blow-thru but that's me. The only thing is I wouldn't go blow thru where it looks like your thinking. I think you should stay away from the TB - at least 12" away. This way, you won't have issues when the TB snaps shut and the air starts to backflow. It's really up to the tuner on blow thru or draw thru. Both can be done successful but I've heard a blow thru, if properly placed, can be a little more stable. James will probably disagree with me here.

What do I do with the two hoses that were in the intake tube – one is pcv, the other is source for idle valve (I guess)?

You need a fitting welded for the IAC valve and you want to use around the same size tubing as stock for the IAC hose. My tip is weld the fitting first, then use it to hold the drill straight and drill thru the intake tubing. Have it after the meter - same with the PCV thing. If you'd like, you can just leave the PCV pc off and add a filter to it where it goes back into the valve cover. This is actually the "inlet" side of the PCV system and the exit is usually on the back of the intakes where the actual PCV valve is. Now, when you go turbo, you may find that everywhere there is a vent, that it's now the exit for oil to blow out. This is because you've increased the pressure and there's ways to help you here but I'll wait until you get to that point.
I can't understand where check valves go nor why they are needed.

If you don't install a check valve then you'll be blowing air into the crank case. This will cause problems with your rings not being able to seat and you'll start getting the oil blowing out of every exit it can find. Also, the pressure can mess with the oil return in some extreme cases.
What is the approx point where the stock MAF is pegged?

5 volts (a little more) or 1023 AD counts.

How do I ensure no metal shavings from my piping, get into my turbo?

After fabrication, take the piping out and blow out as much as possible. Some areas you may be able to get in with a 3" flap wheel to make sure the loose pcs are knocked off. For the hard reach places, you'll have to be inventive.

Is there a recommended way to start up a "dry" turbo like this one? Should I prime it by hand?

No, I don't think you need to. I like to make sure there is oil going thru it so I had the return line out to make sure. I then connected back. Just make for sure the return line is down hill the entire route.

Yeap, the MAF location is what caused me the most greif. They say to get 16" of straight pipe before and around 6-12" before the TB. I think I was out of spec on the before but it all worked out. I found that keeping the MAF as close to the stock location helpful with making the decision on where to put it. That away the timing from when the MAF reads vs when the air enters the cylinder is pretty much the same.

 

[johnny23toronto]

Thanks Jakee. Now more questions...

I have made some progress in this turbo install. Work was really bad lately and I've been struggling to keep our company afloat...

Getting back to my dust covered truck. Its been on jackstands for months now!

I have the blow off valve installed right now. I went with a draw-thru setup, using SCT big air meter 2600, but I will change it later if I have too... Tuning is SCT x3 by henson performance. I haven't installed the 42#'ers yet, nor the larger fuel pump yet, but I want to try to get the last connection of the exhaust done and then see if it idles and if my turbo works!

I am really struggling with the routing of the vacuum lines and such.

My atmospheric bov requires a vac source, should I tee into the brake booster?
Aside: I always thought that our trucks required constant vacuum for certain things to work.... work the brake booster see boost now? Isn't that harmful? I understand that when we let of the gas, the vacumm surges and lets the brakes booster get strong, but what about all the other times?

Also, where should I put my boost gauge sensor source? Right before the throttle plates, or, right on the aluminum compressor discharge?

Thanks for all the help so far,

-johnny

 

[Jakee]

If you stand in front of the engine and look on the left hand side of the intake, near the back, you'll see a vacuum source. I used this for my BOV with no problems. I also have the Boost gauge reference here. The line I have my finger on is the hose that goes to the BOV. The tee closest to my hand is the stock line that went in the intake itself. The next tee is the boost reference for the boost gauge. Even with all these lines going to the same source, I haven't had one problem. If you notice, I didn't tee the BOV reference; it's a straight shot. I did this so the BOV would have a good reference from the intake. I would leave the brake booster line alone.

The BA2600 MAF should serve you well. I'm not sure it'll start with that MAF and the stock injectors unless you've had a tune done. The 42LB injectors are good and you for sure need to change that fuel pump before playing too much. Good progress, it takes awhile to get everything perfected.

 

[Jakee]

The discharge fitting on the turbo itself, if your turbo has one installed, is the waste gate reference for mine. If you install a boost controller, you'll tee this line between the waste gate and turbo. The controller manipulates and basically fools the waste gate so you achieve higher boost levels.


Once you get everything finished that you just mentioned, let us know what you're doing for the PVC lines and such. If this isn't done correctly you'll start boosting your crankcase. Usually the pressure will find the weakest link and start blowing a little oil out. I pretty much perfected mine so I'll have tips for you here.

 

[Sams01XplrSprt]

johnny how does she sound u got sound clips of it

 

[johnny23toronto]

My back is better. I finished welding the exhaust. Aside from several pinhole leaks on welds, and a few flanges that I guess need a squirt of red exhaust silicone, its done.

I have tried running the truck. It doesn't spin the turbo at idle. I assume my exhaust leaks too much. As soon as I rev it, even slightly, the turbo spins real fast though. I'll seal up my leaks and try again. My internal wastegate isn't attached to the rod yet neither, its just flapping in the wind... I've been holding it shut with my hands, still no spin unless I rev motor slightly...I suppose I shouldn't worry.

Here are pics from last night.

I cannot get the truck to run for more than 3 seconds with the intake assembly attached to the turbo inlet. I think that my (stock ecu) freaks out when it gets values from the SCT MAS, and the truck gets really rich really fast then dies. (Remember, I have a wideband on my dash).

I can get the truck to idle and rev fine, only when I divert the air from the sensor/air intake/air filter assembly. In other words, if I just let the turbo suck in raw, unfiltered, unmetered air from the compressor inlet, the truck runs fine.

My idle is a little richer than it used to be too. Its hovering around 13.5, it used to be bouncing around 16.5 when n/a.

It sounds amazing, rather quiet - straight exhaust, and honestly its not very loud. Maybe as loud as a stock sport motorcycle at low revs. I wonder if it will drone though.

I have a sound clip. I got to figure out how to upload it though.

 

[johnny23toronto]

Turbo Won't build boost. Any experience with Holsets?

Now I'm worried my turbo is too big for my application.

It is an HE351CW, and I think that my gas 4 L engine is too tiny to push it.

When I plug up the exit of the compressor with a homemade cap/pressure gauge and rev the engine, i only see like 2 psi of boost at 5500 rpm and up.

I can feel it blowing air gently at anything above 1200 rpm, but I don't see any actual pressure buildup until I basically redline the thing! My PVC line is venting to the atmosphere, my iac line too (but it shuts when revving high), and my wastegate is closed the entire time.

Anyone here good at properly sizing up turbos? Did I really mess up on selecting one?

Here is info I dug up on my turbo:

9 cm2 = 0.65 A/R
holset a/r for exhaust housing
'04.5-'07 - HE351CW - 9cm wastegated housing, 62mm compressor

Another member has a similar setup on his ex, but he has a 5L motor, and is using an HX35W, wastegated 12cm, with either 56mm or 54 mm compressors. Probably his 12 cm2 = 0.89 A/R

Am I that far off?

 

[Jakee]

Johnny - if you’re not under load you will not build hardly any boost. In other words, if you're revving the engine in neutral you will not see any boost.

You came this far so I wouldn't back track now. Theory or calculations will not benefit you now, so I suggest finishing the truck so you can drive and see what the practical application of the turbo system feels like; you'll know if it's too big then. I can see why you're worried because I believe the turbo should spin while idling. I just would drive it awhile to make sure; you never know, it may just need to spin a little. (Break in)

It'll work out. The turbo may be a little big but it's not out of the ball park just by looking at the numbers you posted.

 

[johnny23toronto]

Thanks Jakee

Thanks for the advice Jakee. I took it for its first drive (in several months!) and saw the boost gauge climb up slowly to about 3-4 psi, in 2nd gear, moderately accelerating to about 35 mph. When I would hit the brakes right after those "runs", I saw the boost slide up a tiny bit higher... all is ok I suppose.

I guess I'll still have to fix the welds/couplings leaks on the exhaust side to get the turbo to spool.

I was driving with my MAF unplugged, since I'm waiting on a tune for my X3 with my BA2600.

I was scared to push much faster, since my a/f was from 15.5-19 on these very short 200 yards runs... I dare not push harder. I'm going to wait for a tune, and finish IAC plumbing, fuel pump, injector upgrades, etc in the meantime.

Even so, the truck felt faster at 35 mph, in a sense that I was barely touching the gas and it was pulling harder than stock.

Oh yeah, and as for the turbo, when I shut the truck down, it was still spinning for like 10 secs, so I think its ok. (It was bought "used").

 

[Jakee]

Sounds good. You haven't seen nothing yet - as soon as you get the tune and nail it the first time, you may have to clean your underwear..

 

[l8psiExplorer]

just wanted to say very nice build. Welcome to the club (turbo Explorers)

Here are some pics of my 98 Turbo Explorer Sport 5 spd

 

[l8psiExplorer]

Sounds good. You haven't seen nothing yet - as soon as you get the tune and nail it the first time, you may have to clean your underwear..

amen to that lol you will. Its a bad ass feelling. my face looked like this for about a week lol

 

[dvldoc]

You should try a little alcohol injection with both your set ups. Works like a champ on the Typhoons and cyclones.

 

[l8psiExplorer]

You should try a little alcohol injection with both your set ups. Works like a champ on the Typhoons and cyclones.

Yes I do plan on putting it on my Explorer soon. Thanks for the tip

 

[johnny23toronto]

making progress

Well, just a little update here (if anyone cares!).

The truck has the bigger fuel pump and 42#ers in her and turbo all connected. Downpipe is just straight pipe right now, about 6' long exiting under the middle of the truck. Sounds too loud but ok for now.

I put in a tune from James at Henson Performance and connected:

-X3 to SCT Livelink software on laptop
-JAW Wideband to JAWedit software on laptop
-X3 to JAW Wideband through special analogue cabl

Its like wiring spagetti on my passenger seat.

The truck started running right away. After a missed vaccum line was reconnected, and the truck warmed up, James' tune ran super super smooth at idle.

Over all I am running quite rich though. James asked me for a datalog and now I'm excited for the next tune.

I'm slowly getting there.

And advice on the placement of a check valve would be ideal. I'm still unsure where I'm supposed to prevent boost from going?

My bov is getting its vacuum from a tee I cut into on a hose at the passenger side of the intake manifolds rubber line.

 

[Jakee]

Very good.


I'll get the camera out and explain a few different ways you can do this.

 

[Jakee]

There are two spots on the PCV system that need to be addressed and I will explain two different methods that will take care of you.

This is the first method and the way I use to roll.

Starting with the outlet/inlet on the valve cover....
The Valve cover is fitted with a filter. This side of the system will essentially act as an inlet side of the PCV system on our vehicles. Stock, there will be a hose on this side that attaches to the intake. You'll take this hose off and cap the intake tube, then add the filter on the valve cover. You'll do this to prevent boost from entering the crankcase from the intake.

And below is the PCV side.
This method will retain the PCV valve and use the STS actuator to divert the crankcase pressure once 3LBS is measured from the Hobbs switch mounted in the intake. When this valve turns, the boost is blocked from entering the crankcase and the crankcase pressure is allowed to escape to the outside. Again, the pcv valve is retained and functions like normal.

Once 3LBS of boost is measured, a valve turns which vents the crankcase pressure to the outside. Mounted on the side of the actuator valve is a little white pc of plastic. This is the vent to the outside once the valve turns. If you’re driving normal, less than 3LBS of boost, the stock PCV valve works like normal. Below is the Hobbs switch.

 

[Jakee]

For the above method - the good and the bad...

The Good:

1) The environment is happy and so are emissions. (when not over 3LBS of boost)
2) You effectively block boost from entering the crankcase.

The Bad:

1) You still get oil in your intake charge which contaminates the air/fuel
2) A little more complex with the Hobbs switch and actuator valve
3) A little pricey


I'll post up another method in a while.