Diy Build/parts List--1st Timer!!
 

Well, I held out as long as I could, but yeah here's another build thread...
FYI, I'm hoping to keep you guys posted, gain opinions/help as needed AND hopefully with enough input from you guys, pics/comments from me...we can help alot of new guys like myself...

That said...HEeeeeeeere we go!

Subject: 1995 1.8l
Goal: #1-DIY turbo kit to make reliable 220+/- whp vehicle for all around
performance/autox/track minded vehicle, not a daily driver...
#2-Try to either save money vs a kit, or spend equal, but have the
the performance/parts I want..(aka best of both worlds?)

My exp level--1st FI project ever, have succesfully completed various mods
on Miata as well as diff vehicles, have NEARLY completed an
eng swap on a Miata, generally handy, NO fab/weld exp, what
I believe to be a decent collection of tools, plenty of room to
work, but full time business owner, with a wife at home and
limited to weeknights/mostly weekend wrenching..25yr old

Parts List/Status: UPDATED**7/13/07**

Turbo-gt2560 (have)
Mani-Begi Cast Iron (have)
I/C-Crxracing (have)
Fuel Injectors-460cc/'91 Rx7 (have)
Oil pressure gauge/sender-93miata (have)
Pcv Valve-'88 323gtx (have)
Downpipe-Begi SS w/ div wg (ordered)
BOV-hks ssqv (ordered)
Boost/Vac Guage-Garrett (have)
Inlet/outlet adapters--Atpturbo (have)
I/C piping+couplers+clamps etc. (have)
Turbo Fittings (have)
Water/oil lines (have)
Air filter (awaiting mockup)
inlet pipe (have)
Vacuum lines+t fittings (awaiting mockup)
Gauge pod (undecided)
Dual Feed Fuel Rail--DIY or FM (undecided)
Eng mgmnt--MS (decided--hoping for PNP)
Heat shielding/Turbo Blanket (undecided)
Wideband02--aem uego (have)
EBC-ms mods (undecided)
Clutch (on hold till end of build)
Light Flywheel (on hold till end of build)
Exhaust--custom, 3" straight (on hold till end of build)
Lower rad flex (have)

Thats about it. This weekend I'll be installing the I/C and mocking up the mani/turbo so i can order all the items marked "awaiting mockup".
Also as the build progresses, I'll decided on the "undecided" items...depending on if neccessary, expenses, and opinions... I plan to post pics, and hopefully include writeups as i go. If there's any pics you guys would like, let me know and I will post gladly...

I promise this will be detailed, with lots of info and communcation...no waiting for days to hear from me...Really would like it to be "the 1st timer ref thread"....ONLY to be used in conjunction w/ Brain's crrrazy good faq....DO NOT REFER TO THIS INSTEAD OF THE FAQ...just use this as a guide to go along with if anything...

So I guess we'll start with what do you guys think of the parts list, and anything else I should check out while taking measurements and whatnot this weekend??

By the way, for the sake of keeping their insanity I'll not mention names, but there's a guy on this forum, and one on m.net and both have been a HUGGGGGGEEEEEE help....Without their knowledge,support, and guidance this would still be a wish instead of becoming a reality...upon completion I'll do a much more formal thanks, but didn't want to be the cause of them having5000pm'd questions from now till then...But again, a HUGGGGGE thanks, and I'm sure they will jump in as well!

If you're trying to keep the budget down, you could save a fair chunk of change by not going PNP on the Megasquirt.

That and if you're gonna be running 460cc injectors, I don't see why you wouldn't want a better fuel pump. Seems like a possible weak point in your setup. However, if the two guru dudes you've consulted with don't think you need one, I'd take their word over mine.

Go ahead and do the DIY DF fuel rail... super easy and inexpensive.

Get your 460's serviced if you haven't already

Have Corky/Corky's people install a WB bung in your downpipe, and have them put it FACING UP. I still see WB bungs on the bottom of the downpipe :confused:

Install the clutch now. You want it in and ready before the FI device.

You don't need an o2 clamp with MS

I would get the Innovate WB instead of the AEM because it's cheaper. Get it from DIY-Autotune with your MS or MSPNP. Their service is great.

You won't need to replace your fuel pump unless your original pump fails from age.

I guess that's it.

Sorry guys, power was out last night due to a bad storm...

OK, SO...
Fuel Pump should be up to the task, from what I've read its only necc. when not using MS (or other ecu), or if it fails...so for now its off the list..

Steph T. already assured me that the dp comes w/ 2 bungs..1 for oem o2, and one for wb02...also with a plug if ur only running 1...and 1 of them is facing up..

MSPNP is more of a hope as no release date is out yet, so prob wont get it =(

I'll see about gettin the clutch in before, but wouldnt mind holding off to recoop from my spending!!

I figured I didnt need the 02clamp, but was leaving it till I know...off the list now.

Will look into the Innovative Wb vs Aem...thanks

****still looking for someone local to service the injectors...but may have to send them out.....anyone know of a good place in South FL??? Or a good/fair priced place I can send them out to??

You do not need to upgrade the fuel pump as you are not sending massive amount of pressure though your system with an ECU. You do not need to upgrade it till it can not support the flow.

http://witchhunter.com/

Great service and quick turnaround.

Picsssss
 

Okay, so first here's a couple quick "before" pics I guess...let's call them the innocence...lol

Also, Stripes thanks for the withhunter site...looks like if by mon/tues I dont find somewhere local thats where I'm sending them...at $17 each that's some affordable insurance...

hell yeah witch hunter is the shit.

Day 1 Work!!!!--pics
 

Ok guys, down to some work finally...Pics are in random order, but pretty obvious anyway...

1--took the front fascia off, since I'll need to get in there to mount the I/C and whatnot....Followed the Hayne's manual to the word, no need for any improvising...
***TIP-1***--do NOT pull or "rough it up"...if it fights you at all you forgot something..STOP, reread YOU FORGOT SOMETHING...Luckily i was patient enough to realize, and actually laughed at myself...
***TIP-2***--while I had the fascia removed a CAREFULLY took a strong wire brush too the front of the *AC condenser or whatever its called*...WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!!! be careful not to bend the fins as this is easy to do...I used up and down strokes:gay: and the amount of crap that came off was HUGEEEEE...when else do u get a chance to..and this probably will help..def cant hurt....

2--Removed the air intake assembly....again, no need for any improvision, 2 clamps, and a couple 12mm bolts...Kept the hose near the throttle body connected per previous reading...

3--Removed heat shield/headers and down pipe/lower exhaust....Ok is there anythign to "figure out" no, just remove all the nuts...did it take a LONG time, with alot of cursing, some busted knuckles yes!!! I DID improvise here, haven't heard of people doing it liek this, but it worked for me...maybe everyone does it, and just doesnt say it..so...
***TIP***It seemed almost impossible to get to the bolts just below the o2 sensor to remove the downpipe....So I went under, and removed the 2 bolts on the flange just before the cat....THEN removed the bolts connecting the headers to the cylinder head..and YES you have room to literally pull the entire assembly UP and OUT of the engine bay...See pics, I removed as 1 piece the headers, downpipe, and exhaust up to the cat....I was soooo happy that I didnt have to tackle those 3 nuts on the dp...whew!!!

4--***TIP*** As you know the car is a 1995, everyone knows that on a 90-93, the oil feed is right under the headers on the block...some people talk about a 94 as well...typically its generalized as early 1.8's....1995 HAS THE SAME LOCATION FOR OIL FEED LINE AS 1990-93 CARS....It's almost impossible to see with the heatshield/headers on...If you have a 95 or older, you have your oil feed...96+ looks like the other side of the block..sorrry:td:

5--Mocked up the mani+turbo....NO GO...Gonna have to readup on clocking the turbo to pointdown...You can ee in the pics it interfere's with the manifold...I thought this was more of a preferance thing for I/C piping....But for me it's a must....I've heard its pretty simple, but takign the 1st turbo I ever own apart has me biting my nails...We'll see how it goes...

Thats it for today as the wifey had a nice long "honey do" list ready for me...
But tomm should yield a few hours under the hood...Enjoy the pics...

Pics Continued
 

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Last set
 

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Clocking Help**
 

Guys did some searchign here and didn't find what I was looking for...there was a link in a thread but its been deleted??

From what i understand I just loosen the bolts on the turbine housing, rotate and retighten?? Also need to make some kind of wg bracket since it wont line up after that...BUT I have a feeling that Murphy's Law will prevail and I will prob have to clock the chra AND comp seperately...It'd be nice if I could just rotate the 2 together, but knowing my luck.....:td:

Tell me this much, the oil DRAIN is the one that has a flange/2 screw holes, and the feed is the one without?? AND if I understand the drain really needs to be 100% vertical for proper drainage??

If thats the case gimme some write up please...worried about messing up...

Clocked***
 

Ok guys, pics will be up a lil later, not too much to show...

Anyway, I clocked the turbo...thanks 4 the tons of responses on the help:nono: :cool:

Here's a quick rundown...
1-unbolt WG bracket, 2-remove clip on wg flapper & remove WG assembly...
3-unbolt turbine housing bolts (just enough), and rotate turbine housing..and retitghten.
4-(if needed to)-unbolt 4 bolts holding brackets to comp housing, CAREFULLY/SLOWLY rotate comp housing, retighten...
I didn't find much info, so I just went at it trying to be as careful as possible, and all seems fine...I tried mocking up after only rotatiing turbine, and although drain was perfectly pointed down, the comp outlet was hitting the engine bay...So I had to rotate it without disturbing the oil drain's angle

Once this was done I mocked up the turbo/mani, and was able to figure a few things out...Oil/coolant lines, used a piece of flexible tubing to measure
1-Oil feed line-need 30'' give or take
2-Oil drain--26'' give or take
3-Water in--27'' give or take
4-Water return--26'' give or take
--Gonna order these tonight or tomm along with fittings...need a quick glance to see if I need any 90/45 degree fittings...

Also I can see its gonna be tight as far as piping goes...My inlet/outlet adapters will be here this week, and then I can see how much that adds to the fitment...Gonna have to figure out an alternative for the lower radiator hose for SURE...PS line seems like a squeeze, but should be OK...

And lastly I guess I'm gonna have to use trial and error for Air filter/air filter inlet piping...it looks too tight for anything, but I know thats not true...Just wish I could remove some things to make a lil room...The PS reservoir and the cruise control make it hard...Gonna look into ditching the cruise control...dont use it at all anyway...

Pictures will be up in a couple hours...:bigtu:

2day's Pics
 

here ya go...

I see alot of views, but no posts...are u guys just following along, or just dont care abuot another build thread??

Anyway, i guess I'll keep it going to document the build, and hopefully it'll really help someone eventually:ugh2: ...

No more work today...gonna do a lil shopping for those lines/fittings, and mayyyyybe I can swing by the hardware store tomm after work and pick up some bolts, and a couple straps to mount the I/C......:cool:

Looks good, I will soon be following in your footsteps on my 97, I appreciate your effort in making a step by step walkthrough on this. Keep it up!

Looking great! You should see what I did with mine and give yourself idea.... for routing the coolant hose and intercooler pipes.

That turbo looks great....Glad I was able to find that source for you.

Thats what I'm talking about!!!! Some opinions, ideas, debates, etc...I dont want this being just a boring story of what I did...I wanna hear people throwing ideas, opinions, debating things, etc...All on topic, but this way people who read can really see all the details, diff options, and why certain things are done certain ways, etc...

Karter glad to hear this is helping...if it helps just 1 person it's worth it!:bigtu: , but hopefully there's afew more "quiet onlookers"...

Brain, what can i say man!!!?? Thank youuuuuuuuuuuuuu It's practically brand new! U da man! I bow down to you sensai!! :bowdown: (<-not worthy)
Seriously BIG thanx!

I'm gonna check out the vbgarage, unless u have some specific pics you're talking about?
My thoughts were...
-Oil feed up from source, over heater hoses (away from mani, dp, etc), and onto turbo..
-Oil drain straight down slightly arched (self expl)
-Coolant In/Out--I was just gonna basically follow the current orientation, through the PS and whatnot, and just be sure to stay away from mani and whatnot...That said, I would LOVE to get ideas/pics whatnot to see if there's a better way......Also, what do people use to keep the hoses in place?? I was thinking some twisted wire since zip ties might melt near all the heat, or maybe somethign similiar??

Thanks guys!

oh, see my "i blew my engine" thread.

Duuuude, I was subscribed...was cheering u along from the sidelines and watching the man at work! Just didnt see the last update with pics...

I wanna print those things and just make an identical set of pipes!!lol/jk
That answered alot of my ''I wonder if I could just......'' questions...(ie: comp. outlet to a 90* bend should work, at an angle maybe??... I wonder if need to mount the bottom of the IC to anything..the pipes should hold it tight I hope!)......Those two alone prob saved me a few headscratching moments:bigtu: ....And ''flex hose'' I was JUST hoping there was such thing...Perfect solution!

It's like u read my mind when u took those pics man....Your kinda like a turbo version of ''Ms Cleo''...could start charging $3.99 a min soon!:D

I see many turbo kits perform a coolant re route to alleviate that problem. I think they use a flexible rubber line to get it to the lower radiator inlet.

From my research into DIY turbo kits, everyone seems to recommend reading the BEGI installation instructions. It helps with getting through many trivial road blocks. For example, cutting a piece out of the frame to allow the compressor more clearance.

Keep up the good work man, and thanks for documenting. I am familiar with turbos, but not familiar enough with all the various parts and varieties of parts that go into making a system. Therefore I am in my research and planning phase reading every thread and asking every question I can so I know what to get when the time comes.

Im going to print this entire thread out and reference it in october when I start my DIY build on my 97 M.