JLee's 1991 Toyota MR2 Turbo build thread

[MotF Bane]

..

 

[jlee]

The last hose is a bitch to get to...I'm going to pull the thermostat housing tomorrow and see if I can get to the clamp that way. Once that's done, I can put the new one on and put the oil cooler assembly back together, then get working on the turbo stuff again.

I'm debating on having the valve cover painted the same color as the car (vs the red it is now) - thoughts?

 

[sjwaste]

If I go with cams, it'll probably be 264's with a slightly larger turbo and much more fuel.

I have really bad feedback from my power steering pump, and some alternator whine. I need to replace the RCA's (I have really long generic cheap ones now) with short shielded cables and check the main ground in the front of the car and see if it needs cleaning up.

I don't think you'll need cams until you're on 720's and something like a T78. Head flow just isn't that bad with the 3S and 4V/cyl. Maybe when you rebuild the engine and just feel like doing it, I suppose - otherwise, its just not worth the expense until you're pushing a lot more air through that thing.

If you have feedback from the PS pump, just replace it. Trust me on this, it's similar to my pump. Cleaning it, unclogging the screen, etc. All temporary fixes. It's cheap enough, save the time that I didn't and just replace it Also, the high pressure side fittings are a bitch to remove, get custom hoses done when you do this - I paid someone to do this job.

For the RCA's, run them where your power cable to the amp isn't. I ran my RCA's up the middle, along the trans tunnel. 4GA power was along the driver's side. I didn't use anything too special, but they had some shielding - they were not the cheapo looking ones that might come with a DVD player or something. Running them far from and parallel to the power, though, was the biggest difference for me. Also, make sure your head unit is properly grounded. Use the bolt on the head unit chassis and tie a 12ga wire to the body somewhere. Make sure the amp side ground is good too - I grounded with a larger gauge than the main. If you already have all of that done, let me know and I'll come up with some more troubleshooting ideas.

 

[sjwaste]

The last hose is a bitch to get to...I'm going to pull the thermostat housing tomorrow and see if I can get to the clamp that way. Once that's done, I can put the new one on and put the oil cooler assembly back together, then get working on the turbo stuff again.

I'm debating on having the valve cover painted the same color as the car (vs the red it is now) - thoughts?

Go with powder coating if you can. It sucks to get something painted nicely and then have it turn to shit. A nice glossy black might hide dirt better than red

 

[jlee]

I'm not sure replacing the power steering pump would help...it works fine, I just hear it in the stereo.

The amp is mounted in the frunk and is maybe a foot from the battery. The RCAs are definitely a problem, as they're about 20 feet long and the extra is coiled up in the frunk....right by the power steering pump.

Next step is new RCA's and checking the main chassis ground in the frunk to make sure it's not corroded or anything - if that doesn't work, I'll move on to something else.

 

[sjwaste]

I'm not sure replacing the power steering pump would help...it works fine, I just hear it in the stereo.

The amp is mounted in the frunk and is maybe a foot from the battery. The RCAs are definitely a problem, as they're about 20 feet long and the extra is coiled up in the frunk....right by the power steering pump.

Next step is new RCA's and checking the main chassis ground in the frunk to make sure it's not corroded or anything - if that doesn't work, I'll move on to something else.

Well, coiling them up like that near the PS pump might do it. I thought you meant you had PS whine as a separate issue. The most drastic fix might be to move the amp to behind the seats and run power into the cabin. Guessing you really don't feel like doing that w/ all the other shit that needs to get done.

Wait, is your PS pump electric then?

Get out the dremel and clean up all of the ground points. Might as well.

 

[jlee]

Yes, PS pump is electric. I had my last amp behind the passenger seat and I took the time to actually make a carpeted board that goes up front where the spare is supposed to go...everything is nicely mounted. I could move it, but it's be a pain in the ass.

I had less whine with the last amp being back there, but I still had some. It wasn't nearly as bad as it is now, though.

 

[jlee]

UPS came

 

[jlee]

The hose from hell and hose from hell on earth have been replaced and the oil cooler has been reinstalled, as well as the thermostat housing (should've bought a 170deg t-stat from ATS Racing..ahwell, it's easy enough to get to anyway).

I did a mock-up of the exhaust manifold, T3 adapter, wastegate, turbocharger, and downpipe. I need to go buy studs for the adapter->turbo, as the ones I have do not fit. Once I find those, I should be able to bolt everything in, figure out exactly what I need for a wastegate dump, determine the appropriate length for my oil drain, then finish it up and make sure she still runs.

I was finally able to get vice grips on the spring clamp on the HFH:

However, I couldn't move the pliers enough to get the clamp off (the stud on the thermostat housing was in the way). I removed that stud and then the clamp split in two (it's one of those two-layered spring clamps). Eventually I was able to slide both parts down far enough that I could get the hose off.

It wasn't easy to reach.

Here it is!

Resurfaced exhaust manifold:

T3 adapter and wastegate installed:

The whole assembly:

 

[sjwaste]

Looks nice. Are you using a divorced exhaust set up there, or will the wastegate dump back in pretty close to the turbine outlet?

 

[jlee]

Looks nice. Are you using a divorced exhaust set up there, or will the wastegate dump back in pretty close to the turbine outlet?

The wastegate will dump to atmosphere until I can be bothered to have it welded into the downpipe somewhere. It shouldn't be too bad to have it go nicely into the lower area of the downpipe without making a mess of airflow, but I want to get everything in the car and look at it before I do anything else.

 

[shabby]

540cc injectors
TD05 20G turbocharger

Wouldn't you want a bit larger injectors for a 20g? I remember running 550's with me 16g on my dsm and they were running close to 100% idc above 20psi.

 

[skyking]

I can sympathize with those "hoses from Hell". Usually they are small like that and you can't even see the bastiges!

 

[jlee]

Wouldn't you want a bit larger injectors for a 20g? I remember running 550's with me 16g on my dsm and they were running close to 100% idc above 20psi.

I believe my tune will be for 17psi...but yeah, I could push a lot more than that out of this turbo if I had the fuel for it. I have a feeling 800cc injectors are in my future, but right now I'm shooting for a touch above 300whp.

Cleaning valve cover:

New gasket:

No pic, but I put Toyota FIPG (gasket sealant stuff) on the corners of the cam caps, and installed:

 

[SuperSix]

If you can still get to the hoses from hell, you may want to get silicone for that application. My Eldorado has a small section of hose right under the exhaust, and factory is silicone (expensive) but I spent the $$$, really inaccessible like yours. NAPA carries it, FYI.

Nice work! I just bought another GN - I love the boost too.

 

[sjwaste]

The wastegate will dump to atmosphere until I can be bothered to have it welded into the downpipe somewhere. It shouldn't be too bad to have it go nicely into the lower area of the downpipe without making a mess of airflow, but I want to get everything in the car and look at it before I do anything else.

Ha, I didn't even think of that because it's been so long since I've lived anywhere that you could do that. If you've never done it before, it's LOUD but you hear a lot of cool sounds while driving.

I would suggest getting the downpipe made up before you install everything, though. At the very least, have a permanent wastegate dump tube made up that can easily be routed into the downpipe. Otherwise, you might end up taking shit apart again to work all of that out.

This setup is going to be a blast. It might be buried elsewhere in the thread, but what turbine and impeller trims did you go with? And what's the A/R on the housing?

 

[sjwaste]

550's will get you pretty far. If you know your BSFC and peak duty cycle, you can calculate it out. If not, Nippon Denso makes a set of 720's that you could drop in as well.

I am working under the assumption and vague recollection that the 3S-GTE is using top feed, peak and hold pintle type injectors like the same year Supra, and not saturated.

 

[SuperSix]

what does 550cc injectors equate to in lb/hr? I've not seen injector volume referred to in CC.

 

[alkemyst]

what does 550cc injectors equate to in lb/hr? I've not seen injector volume referred to in CC.

You trollin' Garage? I just responded to a thread where you posted you have never changed / flushed brake fluid...

You can easily google "550cc vs lb/hr"

 

[SuperSix]

You trollin' Garage? I just responded to a thread where you posted you have never changed / flushed brake fluid...

You can easily google "550cc vs lb/hr"

Why would you think I was trolling? I have no time for that shit.

In the car circles I run in (Domestic, mostly Buick Turbo/GN), no one refers to injector size in CC. How fuckin hard is that to understand?

 

[alkemyst]

Why would you think I was trolling? I have no time for that shit.

In the car circles I run in (Domestic, mostly Buick Turbo/GN), no one refers to injector size in CC. How fuckin hard is that to understand?

If your car mentality is stuck in the 1980's, and you have no time then perhaps giving more modern car advice should be skipped.

Even running in Domestic circles CC injectors should come up.

 

[jlee]

Ha, I didn't even think of that because it's been so long since I've lived anywhere that you could do that. If you've never done it before, it's LOUD but you hear a lot of cool sounds while driving.

I would suggest getting the downpipe made up before you install everything, though. At the very least, have a permanent wastegate dump tube made up that can easily be routed into the downpipe. Otherwise, you might end up taking shit apart again to work all of that out.

This setup is going to be a blast. It might be buried elsewhere in the thread, but what turbine and impeller trims did you go with? And what's the A/R on the housing?

Heh yeah, it's going to be really loud. I will probably end up taking it apart to route into the downpipe...but eh, I'll worry about that later. I might show a buddy of mine how it looks now and see what he thinks - might be easy enough to just run it into the downpipe now and be done with it.

If you can still get to the hoses from hell, you may want to get silicone for that application. My Eldorado has a small section of hose right under the exhaust, and factory is silicone (expensive) but I spent the $$$, really inaccessible like yours. NAPA carries it, FYI.

Nice work! I just bought another GN - I love the boost too.

The factory ones are usually good for 100k - I just replaced mine because I had the turbo out. If they were a frequent-failure item, I'd definitely look for a better alternative.

One of them needs heat shielding due to its location, and the Toyota part comes with it - saves the hassle of trying to make something else work.

 

[SuperSix]

If your car mentality is stuck in the 1980's, and you have no time then perhaps giving more modern car advice should be skipped.

Even running in Domestic circles CC injectors should come up.

Well, dickhead - it doesn't.

How about you go fuck yourself, ok?

I've forgotten more shit about cars and working on them than you will ever know.

Piss off, stop derailing the thread.

 

[jlee]

Bought the last two packages of studs at Advance Auto today and got the turbo together:

I installed a hydraulic prop rod, the valve cover, and a few anodized bolts to replace crappy old ones..also cleaned up a little:

This setup is going to be a blast. It might be buried elsewhere in the thread, but what turbine and impeller trims did you go with? And what's the A/R on the housing?

Sorry, missed that. It was supposed to be a TD06 20G, but it turns out the guy didn't know what he had and it's a TD05 20G. I have no idea on anything more than that. :/

 

[jlee]

Slow progress, but progress nonetheless.

Starting to work on wiring:

Yep:

Weatherpack inline fuse to feed the auxiliary fuse panel:

Installed:

Panel / relay (the y-splitter off the relay can go away since I found the original factory stereo harness hidden away behind the dash..will use that for constant 12v for the stereo, instead of T-ing off this):

3M-ing it up for mounting inside:

All done, ready for installation:

I found a nice spot for this just above the factory fuse panel under the dash. It'll fit nicely without being in the way of anything.

Next up, wait for this to come in so JCH13 can weld my dump tube, sort out my downpipe (need to move some o2 bungs around so they don't interfere with the wastegate), and keep working on the list.