JLee's 1991 Toyota MR2 Turbo build thread

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Howard

Lifer
Oct 14, 1999
47,986
11
81
All back together and running beautifully. JCH13 stopped by yesterday - we put some Nord Locks on the turbo/adapter nuts (two of which were loose), replaced the 17mm nuts with 14mm, and miraculously were able to put much more torque on them. :p
If the Nord-Lock washers don't work for you, go get some Spiralock nuts (and of course new bolts) so you can really grief on them. Make sure you use antiseize so you can maximize the torque. Usually the bolt head shears off with Spiralocks instead of the threads stripping, so that's how you know you're good...
 

jlee

Lifer
Sep 12, 2001
48,518
223
106
If the Nord-Lock washers don't work for you, go get some Spiralock nuts (and of course new bolts) so you can really grief on them. Make sure you use antiseize so you can maximize the torque. Usually the bolt head shears off with Spiralocks instead of the threads stripping, so that's how you know you're good...

Oh nice, thanks - I wasn't familiar with those. I think these'll be fine, but if not I'll look into something else.
 

jlee

Lifer
Sep 12, 2001
48,518
223
106
Is it finally done? :awe:

Just need a final dyno tune on the way to AZ?

Pretty much, and some little stuff...I still haven't eliminated the stereo whine, and the new amp still cuts out at high volume so I may need to pull the passenger door apart and see if there's anything wrong with the speaker. Steering pinion needs to be installed, and I haven't yet fixed the clutch pedal either (need to drill the pedal and install a bearing, as the hole for the bushing/sleeve is slotted now).

It's perfectly driveable though, and nothing that's left is really complicated. :D
 

jlee

Lifer
Sep 12, 2001
48,518
223
106
Yup, gotta get it back together in time to take it apart again Friday night :p

DAMMIT ALL

Soooo, put 100+ miles on without issue - then pull out of the house and have no boost. I think the turnbuckle fell off the internal wastegate, letting it flop open again.

My new bracket on the other end is holding up fine, but there's no clip or anything holding it to the wastegate actuator itself (there's a small hole in the rod but it looks like whatever was in there previously snapped off flush).

So, I get to pull the turbo AGAIN. Goddammit.
 

FuzzyDunlop

Diamond Member
Jan 30, 2008
3,260
12
81
DAMMIT ALL

Soooo, put 100+ miles on without issue - then pull out of the house and have no boost. I think the turnbuckle fell off the internal wastegate, letting it flop open again.

My new bracket on the other end is holding up fine, but there's no clip or anything holding it to the wastegate actuator itself (there's a small hole in the rod but it looks like whatever was in there previously snapped off flush).

So, I get to pull the turbo AGAIN. Goddammit.

I think Ill stick with N/A for now...
 

jlee

Lifer
Sep 12, 2001
48,518
223
106
I think Ill stick with N/A for now...

LOL. It's really not that bad - JCH13 and I are going to shoot for a time record this weekend. If I would've left the Toyota turbo in it (or just ponied up the money for a proper turbo kit instead of getting half-assed used shit that I later found came off a Honda), I'd have avoided lots of headaches.
 

exdeath

Lifer
Jan 29, 2004
13,679
10
81
DAMMIT ALL

Soooo, put 100+ miles on without issue - then pull out of the house and have no boost. I think the turnbuckle fell off the internal wastegate, letting it flop open again.

My new bracket on the other end is holding up fine, but there's no clip or anything holding it to the wastegate actuator itself (there's a small hole in the rod but it looks like whatever was in there previously snapped off flush).

So, I get to pull the turbo AGAIN. Goddammit.

:(

Just get a GT35R and external waste gate and be done with it. :D
 

jlee

Lifer
Sep 12, 2001
48,518
223
106
:(

Just get a GT35R and external waste gate and be done with it. :D

I am externally gated...the problem is the internal wastegate needs to stay shut and since the wastegate housing is part of the exhaust housing, I can't just take it apart and have it welded shut. :(
 

JCH13

Diamond Member
Sep 14, 2010
4,981
66
91
I think we can pull and reinstall in less than 80 minutes. We're going to try a time-lapse video this time maybe?
 

exdeath

Lifer
Jan 29, 2004
13,679
10
81
I am externally gated...the problem is the internal wastegate needs to stay shut and since the wastegate housing is part of the exhaust housing, I can't just take it apart and have it welded shut. :(

Hence why a GT35R with a standard T4 housing and downpipe :awe:
 

yottabit

Golden Member
Jun 5, 2008
1,671
874
146
What page shows the details on your turbo? I'd imagine it wouldn't be too hard to swap exhaust housings to something without an internal wastegate to make your life a lot easier. I've seen people weld them shut, I've seen people rig up contraptions of bolts to keep them to shut. You'd probably get better flow with a non-internally gated housing.

I'm a big fan of holset turbos

EDIT: I see you have a 20g... obviously you're a bit into it now but if you ever need a replacement turbo I imagine a Holset HY35 would be a nice fit and no need for the t3 adapter...

Best of luck on the internal wastegate. At least your wastegate didn't get stuck closed like you didn't want it to on my Merkur when my wastegate actuator let go. Pegging the boost gauge at 35 psi is never a fun time when you're tuned for 20 lol
 
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jlee

Lifer
Sep 12, 2001
48,518
223
106
What page shows the details on your turbo? I'd imagine it wouldn't be too hard to swap exhaust housings to something without an internal wastegate to make your life a lot easier. I've seen people weld them shut, I've seen people rig up contraptions of bolts to keep them to shut. You'd probably get better flow with a non-internally gated housing.

I'm a big fan of holset turbos

EDIT: I see you have a 20g... obviously you're a bit into it now but if you ever need a replacement turbo I imagine a Holset HY35 would be a nice fit and no need for the t3 adapter...

Best of luck on the internal wastegate. At least your wastegate didn't get stuck closed like you didn't want it to on my Merkur when my wastegate actuator let go. Pegging the boost gauge at 35 psi is never a fun time when you're tuned for 20 lol

Yeah it's a TD05 20G - I'd love to swap housings, but I haven't found where I could get one. When I replace this turbo down the line, I'll have to look into Holset - I'm not familiar with them. I do want to go to a modern turbo, though. I should be able to pick up a few hundred RPM spool without losing power capability. Sucks that I'm going to be stuck with CA 91 in Arizona, but I may have to look into meth/water injection to see if that'll minimize that problem.

And yeesh, that would suck....did it survive?
 

jlee

Lifer
Sep 12, 2001
48,518
223
106
Soooo, JCH13 and I fixed the bracket-falls-off issue with a 1/16th cotter pin. Here is the time-lapse of the turbo R&R, but we missed a few minutes of video at the beginning of the removal. <20min removal, <30min reinstall. New record? Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLwZhI1J_c8
 

yottabit

Golden Member
Jun 5, 2008
1,671
874
146
Congrats. About Holsets, they are the turbos used on modern Dodge Cummins turbo diesels. You can pick them up for a great bargain, and they are a pretty high tech turbo.

There's a great 8 section write-up on them on the DSM forums:
http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/turbo-system-tech/362444-holset-turbos-faq.html

A lot of DSM guys use them now. A similarly sized Holset would spool better than a mitsubishi turbo. It's probably not quite up there with the garrett ball bearing turbos, but not too far behind for a much lower price. There's all kind of hybrids and guides on what makes what HP, and best of all they have a standard t3 flange.The main ones you'd be looking at are the HY35 and HX35