By Brian
Most would agree a
beginner upgrade turbo wise for the latest bird would be a T3. If the turbo you
get came from a ford chances are the compressor housing is a .60 A/R and the
exhaust is either a .48 or a .63. The .48 has faster spool up then the .63 but
will run out in the higher end before the .63 will. Depending on your
application choose the one that’s right for you. To start will be a list of
items I needed to make the install a success. Take note this is for guidance
only work at your own risk and be safe.
1) T3 turbo
2) T3 return line, has a larger bolt flange then the IHI return line
3) T3 elbow w/ waste gate actuator this setup is totally different then the IHI
waste gate
so
nothing can be used from the IHI.
4) Two 5/16 brake lines one 12” the other 20” both sold at AutoZone.
5) One street L ¼ npt
6) Two ¼ npt flared fittings so the 5/16 brake lines will screw right into them.
Bring the brake line with you and the turbo if you can to ACE
hardware.
7) Teflon tape for supply lines
8) SVO compressor housing, unless you are going to make a pipe flange to mount
the
stock IC or grind
off the ears from the TC compressor housing.
9) 10.9 class bolts to mount the elbow to the turbine housing. I used 8MM X 20MM
which
were
bought from
www.mcmastercarr.com
10) VAM hose adapter to the compressor. You can use the IHI one and it will be
angled
down
but can work with the VAM attached to a K&N filter and no air box.
So to start off I drained the coolant, now is a good time to flush the system
anyway since your draining it. While that is flowing out unhook the intercooler
and remove completely. Unhook the O2 sensor electrically and unscrew it. Unhook
all steel lines to the turbo this way you have full access to the nuts holding
the turbo on. By this time you can put the drain cock back in for the radiator
as it should be empty. Once all the steel lines are removed unhook the VAM hose
from the compressor housing. No need to remove the VAM as it doesn’t get in the
way.
The 17 mm nuts holding the turbo to the manifold are tough. I went to the local
re-tool and picked up a used 17MM wrench that had a good box end. I had to grind
it down to make it skinny enough to fit in the walls of the exhaust man. I also
had to grind down the outer part of the wrench to make it as thin of a wall as
possible. With this I was able to remove the top two nuts and the front bottom
nut. With another wrench you can put the box end onto the wrench side of the
17MM wrench to get a bit more torque.
Once everything is taken
off the top time for the bottom. I jacked the car up and put the front end on
stands. Remove the exhaust down pipe completely, whether you can do it before or
after the cat, it doesn’t matter. The more room the better. I was able to do
the job with it still hooked up but it was tight even with my skinny arms. Next
take the starter out. This is another I did with it unbolted but stuffed towards
the front or you can unbolt the cross member bar and take the starter all the
way out. Now you have clear view of the bottom. This is where it is nice you
drained the radiator because when you remove the coolant return line coolant
would flow out like it did all over me. Have a catch pail there just in case.
With the coolant return gone, remove the bottom turbo support bracket bolt. Then
work on the last back 17MM nut from the turbo. The brace once pulled off the
studs will fall down and out of the way. Now I unbolted the oil return from the
turbo b/c I knew the flared nut attached to the block would be a pain and it
was. Do not twist the return line or it will leak. The turbo should pull off the
studs now. Take the car off jack stands and take the turbo out and remove the
return line. You need the 45* elbow that screws into the block so don’t trash
it.
Now to the install, which is where the fun is. Put the new metal gasket on the
exhaust man studs at the turbo flange. You might need to use a deep socket and
hammer it onto the studs. Make sure the new turbo is put together correctly.
Meaning the compressor housing is clocked correctly. This way the waste gate
will work. The best way to get it clocked or close is to loosen the bolts
holding the compressor on with the waste gate on slide it clockwise or
counterclockwise which ever points the compressor exit at a 110* angle from the
exhaust manifold. This will get you close enough to the correct position. Final
adjustments might need to be made if the waste gate hits the manifold or
anything else. Make sure the elbow is attached and tight. Put the oil return
line on as well using good Teflon tape on the ends. Clean up the return line
fitting on the block too. Don’t forget the gasket for the oil return line on the
turbo either. I didn’t tighten the turbo down all the way until I had the
coolant lines mocked up. For the supply I used the street L turning straight up
and the flared fitting screwed into that. Attach the 5/16 brake line and come up
about 4 inches turn it towards the head and when you get about 3 inches from the
steel coolant line that was used for the IHI, which will allow you to reuse the
rubber line from the IHI. Cut the steel line with a die grinder, or small tubing
cutter.
The return line you need just the ¼ npt flared fitting to attach the 5/16 line
to come out and make a hard left towards the back of the car. Run overtop and as
close to the exhaust manifold as possible, drop down and about two inches loop
it towards the passenger side and then run it back into the block. Once this is
setup tighten the top two nuts, and all the new steel lines. Don’t forget the
Teflon tape on all threaded seals. A side note on the return line; there should
be a fitting on the block to screw the 5/16 reverse flair fitting into. If not
there this is where you might need a 1/4" brake line. After these are tight put
the O2 sensor in, hook up the water supply and hook up the original oil supply
line which will need a little bending. The Oil supply line should be handled
with care you could risk the chance of damaging it. Don’t install the water
return yet that will be later. This way you have room under the car to install
the rest of the parts.
Bottom again, jack the car up and put on stands. Reattach the oil return, and
now put the turbo support bracket on. You can modify the support bracket as
shown to make it easier to work with Slide it over the studs and put the bottom
screw nut thingy back on. Tighten the bottom two nuts.
Reach over the top and
attach the water return. I said wait this way you don’t hit it and crack it or
break it or you will have to bend a new one. Also a side note. If you don’t have
a tubing bender, use a small glass bottle and push on it. Go back under and
install the water line. On my turbo (IHI) it used 5/16 water lines so the
fittings went pretty simple. You might need to use ¼ lines. Attach the return.
The exhaust down pipe flange needs to be ground down to have the holes elongated
towards the center because the T3 elbow studs are closer together. I cut it with
a wheel and ground with another wheel so that it was slotted. Also watch the
location of the water return so it doesn’t hit the exhaust pipe. Now you can put
the exhaust back up and reinstall the starter. Make sure everything underneath
is put back on and tight.
Take the car off stands. Make sure all the lines are tight. Put the VAM hose
adapter on so that it is facing down. You can still get the hose on it. It might
be a little tight with the A/C stuff there but it can be done. Bend the breather
line to mate the fittings new location. Depending on your compressor setup hook
up the IC and make sure all your vacuum lines are back on and everything it
cleaned up good and tight here. Refill the antifreeze. Take it for a drive and
enjoy the new horsepower.
Notes:
The wrench is the trick, grinding it is the only way to go. Use Teflon tape on
all your fitting connections. Be careful and don’t put any on the last thread,
so you don’t risk it getting into the fluids. Take your time; don’t drink till
you’re done. It took me 11 hours to finish this and still had problems because I
did it in one day with a couple mess ups which is the reason for this write-up.
Make sure you have all your parts before you start, so you don’t have to run out
every 10 minutes for new parts. All thread pitches are 1.25 and are all metric
bolts and nuts. Watch the bends on the tubes you don’t want to close the tubing
this will hinder flow. It might happen so just be careful.
Tools:
10mm, 12mm, 13mm, 16mm ,17mm, 18mm wrenches, channel lock pliers, I used a
flaring tool for the tubing to shorten but it isn’t needed, pipe cutter,
adjustable wrench, die grinder, files, jack stands, jack, sockets for the above
wrench sizes with extensions. I could be missing some but this is a good start.