Pre turbo egt gauge probe

[RichBennett]

Just curious if the turbo has to be removed to prevent metal shavings (drilling the manifold) from being sucked into the turbo ?! Or maybe I should just ask how you guys did it ?

 

[Joe G.]

I removed the turbo. I did NOT want to take any chance that there would be any chips go thru the turbo. Too expensive to take any change like that. It's easy to remove. Don't forget the oil drain hose on the bottom.

 

[Bigsaint]

I removed mine also, but I have to tell ya, I know plenty that didn't and never had a problem. Your choice obviously. If you choose to leave the turbo on, get a mechanics magnet and sweep the hole alot to get the shavings out. Grease the drill bit and clean that alot while drilling. After tapping, again sweep with the magnet.



Scott W.

 

[RustyJC]

I left the turbo on and used the grease/magnet approach. On startup, any remaining metal shavings will be blown out through the turbo's turbine section. Remember that the turbo will be cold, and at startup exhaust mass flow is relatively low, so the turbo will not be spinning up to high RPM, so the risk of any damage from small metal shavings is minimal.



This was done 15,000 miles ago, and the HX35-W is still happily making 33-34 PSIG boost!



Rusty

 

[MGordon]

I left mine on. If you are careful drilling and tapping with grease, and very thorough cleaning with the magnet, you wont have any problems.

 

[Dkevdog]

I've now done 7 leaving the turbo in place and using the grease/magnet method. I've not had a problem. There are many well respected individuals here who are not willing to take that risk- and YES there is a chance, albeit small, of damaging the turbo.



Kev

 

[MPatrick]

pre-turbo EGT install

I loosened the 4 bolts, slid it away from the flange (about 3/8"), cut a piece of cardboard and placed it between the flanges. Drilled and tapped, removed excess with small magnet, ran engine for about 15 seconds, re-tightened 4 bolts and is still running good (about 15K ago).

 

[LEEH]

Pre turbo egt guage probe

I used a shop vacuum with the suction end right down on the area being drilled. This coupled with grease on the drill bit left very few shavings that could drop into the manifold. Then I used a pencil magnet to get down into the manifold through the hole I just drilled to remove the few shavings that got away from the vacuum. After installing the probe, I started the truck and idled it for a minute. No problem at all with damage to the turbo vanes. This was done about 40 K miles ago, so apparently it is a safe method to use.

 

[tajensen]

It did it the same way that MPatrick described. In my opinion, that's the safest way to do it. Even if 1 in 1000 guys fry a turbo by drilling with the turbo in place, that thousandth guy is a one unhappy camper. I say if you're gonna do it, take the time to do it with care and you won't be sorry .



-Tim

 

[BV]

pyro installation

I pulled the turbo off and stuffed a clean rag into the manifold past the hole location then drilled and tapped without worry. When all done a magnet was used to clean up the majority then pulled the rag out to wipe it clean.

 

[Hohn]

I am with Rusty on this one (which is usually safe footing). I left my turbo on and did the greased bit and magnet thing.



One other thing I did when drilling the hole was to drill just shy of the point of penetration, then start the engine and finish drilling the hole. The exhaust pulses blew out any shavings as the bit broke through.



As for the tapping portion, just go slowly and clean it a bunch and you'll be fine.



PS-- don't tap the hole too deep, or your probe will bottom out in the manifold and have screwy readings. Better to just tap it enough to hold the probe. Ideally, the tip of the probe would be about centered in the manifold passage.



Justin

 

[dresslered]

Eeks, Hohn. I don't think that would be a method that I would recommend. You essentially blew every piece of remaining filings through an already lubricated and spinning turbo if I understand you correctly. Not to mention, you usually get some pretty big chunks as you make the final break through.



I personally would remove the turbo, but as Rusty says, during initial startup, the exhaust flow is low and the 'cold' turbine will be spinning fairly slow during the first few belches of smoke.

 

[Hohn]

Actually, David, almost all the little shavings blew out the hole and into the air, exiting the exhaust system completely.



And since my engine, too, was already cold, and the turbo was barely spinning it's pretty much the same situation as if I had done it exactly as Rusty did.



I haven't had any problems so far at all. The pressurizaion of the manifold from the running engine did a good job (imho) of keeping the particles out of the turbine.



There's definitely more than one way to skin the pyro probe cat. For me, I was more afraid of damaging the turbo from an R&R than from a few shavings getting in it. You raise a good point, though.



Justin