got a couple of turbo and intercooler ?'s

[jaynes]

1st questions is:



How hard is it to change exhaust housings on the turbo? Is the old one hard to get off? What care should be taken in swapping housings? If it is being difficult, what do you do?



2nd question is:



How hard is it to put an aftercooler in a non IC truck? Would there be some cutting required? How invovled and pricey is it?



Thanks!



jaynes

 

[dan brooks]

I just swapped housings over the weekend. I was fortunate and it came off without too much of a problem. I did have to remove the turbo from the truck, but the housing came with the necessary gaskets and it was pretty simple to do.



To get the housing off the turbo I used a couple longer bolts and a piece of 1/2" thick flat stock. Unscrewing the bolts against the flat stock helped break the housing loose, then a few whacks with a rubber mallet and it was off. Of course, my truck only has 70k miles on it, and is an Arizona truck, so rust wasn't an issue... I'd suggest you start soaking the bolts and joint between the housing and turbo with PB Blaster now.



Can't help on the IC, sorry.

 

[AlK]

1st questions is:



How hard is it to change exhaust housings on the turbo? Is the old one hard to get off? What care should be taken in swapping housings? If it is being difficult, what do you do?



It is quite simple. It can be a bit of a pain separating the exhaust housing from the turbo, but don't let that scare you. Get a good quality penetrating oil (Blaster) and give the four nuts on the exhaust manifold and the four bolts holding the exhaust housing and turbo together a good soaking and continue give them a good shot at least once a day for 3 to 4 days.



First remove the clamp that holds the downpipe to the exhaust housing.



Second remove the four nuts on exhaust manifold that hold the exhaust housing.



Third remove four bolts holding the turbo to the exhaust housing. If I remember correctly you will not be able to remove the top one, but that is ok. In fact also do not remove the bottom one completely but take out the other two. Place spacers between the heads of the bolts and the turbo and then slowly turn both of the bolts out so that they will act as jack screws. This should be sufficient to separate the two parts. If this does not work you may have to use wooden wedges to drive them apart.



Do not separate the two parts at an angle or you may damage the blades on the turbo shaft - so be careful and take your time.

---

Al

 

[Jonesy]

Just replaced the housing, for me it was a real pain the a. . , one bolt even after soaking would not come off. had to hacksaw and grind bolt off and stillhav'nt broke housing loose. put a new pdr hx-35 in so hav'ntput a whole lot of time in.

Also before you put it in, get it ported and polished and maybe ceramic coated. will help with EGT's and boost

 

[paccool]

Never did get mine off when I first changed the housing. I had another spool and air side housing anf finally put the new exhaust housing on that and then put it on the truck.



Now, when I put on the new PDR HX-35, the exhaust housing was real easy to get off. Had only been a year or so and it slipped right off.

 

[tugboatphil]

I had to take mine all the way out. Tried the rubber mallet, but after reading a couple of other posts (and there are some really good, detailed ones in the archives) I used a small ball peen. Took about 8 well placed hits and it broke free. Key thing is keeping it from binding, which will bring the housing close to the fins.



Good luck!

 

[EZGZ]

I didn't have to much trouble going from the stock 21 to the 16.



I was excited to get the job done and only let mine cool off enough so I could touch it with my bare hand.

A little penetrating oil and a few tapps and it popped right off. I was more worried about the exhaust clamp but it worked out to.



I depend heavily on Luck and that time it worked out.

 

[prototech]

I took mine apart while it was hot. best advice I can give is to loosen the bolts about 1 turn each and wail on the exhaust housing with a ball peen systematically around it, having the bolts barely loosened will limit the amout of binding on the impeller. I used my port-a-power to apply pressure while I hammered on it. Also I turned the impeller periodically to make sure it wasn't binding, and be patient it might take some time!!

proto

 

[AlK]

jaynes,

By the way if you don't have a pyro then I would suggest that you drill and tap the exhaust manifold prior to reassembly.

 

[jaynes]

Thanks guys, it sounds like a real pain in the a--, but I will just take my time and be patient. Would a rubber mallet work too? And I don't have the resources to drill and tap my manifold. So I don't what i'm gonna do about that. I'll just pick a weekend after I get the housing where I don't have anything to do or anywhere to go. Thanks again. Anyone have any comments about an IC?



Jaynes

 

[cerberusiam]

The manifold drills pretty easy with just a 3/8 drill and a tap is realtively inexpensive at the local Home Cheapo. If there is a way to do it while the turbo is off its a lot easier. Make friends with your local machine shop and maybe they will do it relatively cheap.



The IC is another matter entirely. The design of the grill on the early trucks make sit hard to put one in there without some mods. You will have to replace the grill with a custom one and if you have AC its adds a bit of complexity. A kit from banks would fit with the new grill but price is steep. You will have to cut holes in the radiator support and get a set of hoses and tubes plus the turbo outlet and possibly the intake neck unless it can just be turned around. A cheap IC would be find one from a PS in the junkyard if its available and mount it. Its wider but roughly the same height and maybe a bit thicker. AC condensor could be a problem and getting the grill to fit could be an adventure. The PS IC has bigger tubes than the stock Dodge IC so you will need some adapters but haunting a local pipe shop may yield some ideas.



An IC will make a difference but you may have to look at truck missing its face while its getting fitted. Depends on whether you can afford to have it done, do it yourself and have another vehicle to drive. Good luck.

 

[dpuckett]

TURBO-

It isnt that hard to do, if you use a little cussing and an 8# persuader. Bubt dont damage the housing TOO much, I'm interested in it. You live close enough shipping shouldnt be that much. Or if I can spend a weekend with that vet student I know (God, THAT makes me feel old- we were freshmen, and she's now in her 2nd year). Start using PB Blaster about 3 days before the surgery to get it all loosened up. Spray all bolts, and around the seam where the housing connects to the body of the turbo itself- that is where they stick most often. Pretty self- explanatory if you look at an exploded view of it.



INTERCOOLER-

Guys, he has a 91- just like mine. Set up for an intercooler, they just forgot it at the factory. You will have to cut holes in the front clip/ support dealie (look at a later 1st Gen, and you'll see where I mean). I have all the piping and intake for a 2nd Gen cooler, just not the cooler yet. I DO have access to all the necessary shop tools to cut, weld, and in general afro- engineer it in there. If you go with a stock 91-93 cooler, you may run into issues with the elbow running up in front of the brake master cylinder; THat's why I went with a 2nd Gen set up; and the fact I got the piping, boosts, and intake horn for under $60. I'll post on here about how mine goes, if and when I get the money for a cooler. Being unemployed makes that kind of difficult.



Daniel