Official Turbo LSJ thread!!!
You can gap iridium, just have to be very careful not to bend or disturb the center electrode.
Copper cores like the bkr7e you can pretty much insert your desired gap feeler gauge and smack it on a table.
Copper cores like the bkr7e you can pretty much insert your desired gap feeler gauge and smack it on a table.
that's what i do 
changed plugs at the track once after some time trials. walked over to this metal railing and started hitting them. guy runs over like "wtf you doin man!?" "oh just gappin muh plugs.."
changed plugs at the track once after some time trials. walked over to this metal railing and started hitting them. guy runs over like "wtf you doin man!?" "oh just gappin muh plugs.."
Senior Member
Joined: 07-29-05
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From: AZ
Got some stuff done today, turbo rebuild was a success, painted some stuff, put heat wrap on everything even though my stuff is ceramic powde rcoated I wanted to be sure the summer heat wasnt going to cause issues with brake lines, AC lines, or my coolant hoses back there.
As for the ratchet on the impeller shaft... I rebuilt per gpopshop.com (where i sourced my rebuild kit), talk to them if you would like to improve on their rebuild directions. They are well known in the dsm, sti, and evo community as the best place for all things turbo.
I cant even explain how happy I am right now, I feel like the car has faster spool. I am going to have to get on the dyno again to verify but this turbo really woke up. I have had 20g guys tell me their spool is faster than my 4500 and I think I know why. My bearings were shot. Fixed the seals, no more leaks and the car is a freaking raped ape. Smiles all day long and the hesitation I thought might be due to the tune is GONE. I cant wait to take this thing to the track. Problem now is traction, I never had wheel spin this bad before nor right after the dyno tune. My car is unreal again. I am so excited I am really trying to stay calm and collected but you all know how it is when your car is running like a beast. Oh I am bouncing off the walls, my wife thinks i have lost my mind
As for the ratchet on the impeller shaft... I rebuilt per gpopshop.com (where i sourced my rebuild kit), talk to them if you would like to improve on their rebuild directions. They are well known in the dsm, sti, and evo community as the best place for all things turbo.
I cant even explain how happy I am right now, I feel like the car has faster spool. I am going to have to get on the dyno again to verify but this turbo really woke up. I have had 20g guys tell me their spool is faster than my 4500 and I think I know why. My bearings were shot. Fixed the seals, no more leaks and the car is a freaking raped ape. Smiles all day long and the hesitation I thought might be due to the tune is GONE. I cant wait to take this thing to the track. Problem now is traction, I never had wheel spin this bad before nor right after the dyno tune. My car is unreal again. I am so excited I am really trying to stay calm and collected but you all know how it is when your car is running like a beast. Oh I am bouncing off the walls, my wife thinks i have lost my mind
Well it was a culmination of things. There was a 2psi leak in the BOV, its tuboxs H-RFL and has a brass plunger in the middle, its worn pretty good so using bearing grease every month or so fixed the leak, the turbo bearings were not allowing the turbo to spool but there was another leak in the Hahn manifold area, when I cleaned it before the build It washed out the sealant around the NPT threads for the brake booster, bov, and PCV to the head/intake gasket.
Took me pretty much refurbishing the entire turbo system to find it BUT the oil seals in the turbo were hard and brittle anyway so it needed a rebuild. The 20 g had 10000 north east winter miles on it before I bought it and then my popped motor, dirty oil, and collapsed oil filter (killed my oil pressure for a while) finished the turbo bearings. Its common for a turbo to need a rebuild after an engine build. Its a nature of the beast because particles of the first run in the new motor kill turbos no matter how you try and stop it it happens according to my local turbo shop (arkansas turbo, builds diesels and farm tractors).
So anyway after all this the car is a much better finished product. Everything is in harmony and the car just feels so much stronger. The confidence is there to punch the gas. This wasnt the case as I went through the process of issues for the past 2 months mainly due to low oil pressure in my best estimation. It killed the turbo, the timing bolts due to a low pressure tensioner and the car just felt like a dog. Best thing I did in the past 2 months out of all the mods was the innovate oil pressure gauge.
Took me pretty much refurbishing the entire turbo system to find it BUT the oil seals in the turbo were hard and brittle anyway so it needed a rebuild. The 20 g had 10000 north east winter miles on it before I bought it and then my popped motor, dirty oil, and collapsed oil filter (killed my oil pressure for a while) finished the turbo bearings. Its common for a turbo to need a rebuild after an engine build. Its a nature of the beast because particles of the first run in the new motor kill turbos no matter how you try and stop it it happens according to my local turbo shop (arkansas turbo, builds diesels and farm tractors).
So anyway after all this the car is a much better finished product. Everything is in harmony and the car just feels so much stronger. The confidence is there to punch the gas. This wasnt the case as I went through the process of issues for the past 2 months mainly due to low oil pressure in my best estimation. It killed the turbo, the timing bolts due to a low pressure tensioner and the car just felt like a dog. Best thing I did in the past 2 months out of all the mods was the innovate oil pressure gauge.
Yes and no, I am not sure how zzp does this when they build a motor for someone then turbo it so probably have to take into account how clean you get your block after the machine shop has its way with it. I built mine in a garage and it was a novice build so I probably had a a pretty dirty motor build compared to someone like zzp. I didnt tank my block which I should have but you have to do what you have to do. My turbo was already well used, I had a motor pop, and i hand washed my block, it was the best I could do. I know my local turbo place cant generalize everyone cleanliness and builds but its just a good idea to do a few oil changes after the build to really keep an eye on things.
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Joined: 03-22-07
Posts: 24,161
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From: Still fixing others mistakes.
the ratchet places a side load on the impeller shaft. the t-bar equalizes the pressure in a linear fashion. science!
zrated. per our hour long discussion. you know what to do.
zrated. per our hour long discussion. you know what to do.
Yeah instead of sending a finished injector harness they sent me an arm injector connector kit n I picked up a stock injector harness. Maybe il write up a how to. If I figure it out lol
Rent me! per hour
Joined: 03-22-07
Posts: 24,161
Likes: 20
From: Still fixing others mistakes.
This is kind of turbo related. I installed a turbo SS grille today. Gotta order a new BOWTIE emblem and SS emblem to stick on it. I know the car is covered in pollen and its been raining. I daily drive my 400 wheel. Notice the turbo duck in the window? lol
Notice the turbo duck in the window? lol
That is true but over kill for something this small. If I was loading that turbo with torque in the range it would take to tighten say a head bolt. The turbo is reverse threaded so its possible that it could possibly never back off based solely on that. Also I used red loctite and 100 inch lbs. Just barely snug. All these are DSM techniques that I found on another forum and in the directions by gpopshop.com
I would have gladly paid a local to VSR spin it but there were none available. Since the wheel itself is balanced individually (think a car tire, they are not balanced on the car) its fine. I had it checked out by a local shop (arkansas turbo) after wasting a trip down there to see if they would balance it. I am very confident that its safe. If the wheel was dragging on the housing I would never have run it. The car is a lot quicker to boost than it was even after the dyno day, I would worry if the car wasnt responding so well to the rebuild.
Rent me! per hour
Joined: 03-22-07
Posts: 24,161
Likes: 20
From: Still fixing others mistakes.