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Hello to everyone, I am very excited to become part of the Cobalt SS community. I have the need for speed! I just bought my 2009 cobalt ss turbo with the idea of turning it into a Goblin kit car which is a step by step kit for the simple minded with less technical skills, but I learned after purchasing the car that a few things were disassembled under the hood. So here's the good and bad of it:
The GOOD:
- The car is in great condition. I found this car at the auction with a clean title, with a "runs and drives" status.
- I was able to contact the previous owner to find out what was up with the car and he was willing to tell me everything it needed and what he had done to it.
- he put in a new block
- new, larger BorgWarner S257SXE turbo
- forged pistons low compression for boost 30 thousandths over on the pistons (the cylinders were drilled and the pistons are oversized) (I think the low compression for boost part is what he said. if that doesnt make sense then I might have miss heard it)
- Stock exhaust valves
- New stock crankshaft
- new manifold exhaust
- OBD 2 Tuner with 6 purchased tunes (bought off original owner)
- extra wastegate springs (I bought off original owner)
- 2 Stage clutch
- new lower control arms
- new swaybar in the front and back
- new coilovers
- upgraded suspension
- new upgraded brakes
The BAD:
- All that stuff I mentioned above, most are terms that were new to me till now. I like an adventure so I was excited to learn about engines and cars doing this kit but now I feel like I'm in the wild west trying to fix a car that is different than a stock service manual I expected I could buy and follow. So I thought I'd reach out for some help. Luckily, I think it's close to a complete car and just need a few tips from the experts.
- the plumbing for the turbo is incomplete and don't know what to buy or where. The places we have looked in town don't have the sizes and don't know if we can buy just any tubing, rubber or aluminum, etc.
- the new turbo has a different cooling system (oil cooled now and no longer coolant cooled?), so I believe* some of the lines used to cool the stock turbo aren't needed anymore and can be removed and ports plugged.
- I don't know if the car needs a blowoff valve or not.
- I'm not sure if the mods done will cause problems for other parts of the engine that haven't been upgraded yet. And I'm not even sure what those things would be.
- Ultimately, I feel like I am going to have to rely on help or become an expert in engines to figure out how to put this thing back together.
- he said it needs a tune before it can be driven and I have the tuner he was going to use for it and he already bought 6 tunes for it that I can do what I want with.
- I don't know anything about tuning or dynos and figure after talking to one of the not so nice dyno companies in town that it would be nice to know someone or have a solid referral.
OK - I think that's most of it. Ultimately his words are "all you need to fix is the oil leak on the line on the turbo, get a pressure pipe, and tune it".
Below what I do know is that #1 won't stay plugged in. #2 used to be used to cool the old stock turbo and can be removed because it's not just oil cooled and the hole plugged? (what he said) #3 are the vacuum lines and sensor that attached to the wastegate. But that's a lot of lines to plug in and not sure of the configuration.
Would a website like alldatadiy.com still be a good resource to figure out where all this stuff goes?
Thanks for any help or pointers!
Last edited by Grant Cropper; 06-18-2019 at 06:16 PM.
1. I wouldn't worry about that until you get the car running. That is the fresh air inlet for the PCV system. You'll need it working properly when the car is running, but you can cross that bridge later. You may need a new hose/valve because the coupler is likely broken.
2. No clue
3. I'm not 100%, but I would assume it works exactly like the bypass solenoid.
I believe the "boost pressure" line would be the cut line you're holding with your right hand in the last picture. I'm not sure where the vacuum source would be for the wastegate, and the other line would go to the wastegate. I have zero experience with non-stock turbos, so I'd have no clue how well that solenoid would work with an external wastegate like that.
You'll need either a bypass or blowoff valve, unless you want that turbo flutter noise when you lift off.
Wow ur doing some advanced stuff for your knowledge on this stuff. But lucky for you your in the right place. Zzpperfomance.com will have pretty much everything you need. Looks like you have everything though from pics. Ask any question you got. Inbox me any question you have. I have same turbo setup so I know this setup pretty well
Here is a video of the engine that gives more detail to what I'm trying to figure out. Am I missing a blow off valve? I think the first hose in the video is supposed to go to the blow off valve?
I just realized I posted this 2 years ago and never posted an update. I'm at work and have the stuff to do so forgive me, I will give you a quick condensed version of what has happened since this post. Since this post, and largely due to the help of this forum, I have taken an entire 2009 Cobalt ss apart, bought a DF Goblin Kit car, put the engine/drivetrain in the kit car, modified the wiring harness, figured out the engine stuff and put it all together and even added pumps and fans for heat exchangers and built an entire kit car. I love the cobalt engine! Here are some pictures of the kit, I hope that since this isn't a cobalt anymore that I'm not breaking any rules. I hope you enjoy
!
Thanks, Blackie. Now I just need to get it on a dyno and tuned just right. I have done so much searching and asking around and it seems like no one wants to recommend or has a good recommendation for a good dyno in my area of Las Vegas, NV. Whats a good way about going about this do you think?
Thanks, Blackie. Now I just need to get it on a dyno and tuned just right. I have done so much searching and asking around and it seems like no one wants to recommend or has a good recommendation for a good dyno in my area of Las Vegas, NV. Whats a good way about going about this do you think?
06-18-2019, 05:47 PM
