DeadPool DEFEATED! -- 540i6 Front Mount Turbo Build

[tptrsn]

Is that just an M60 thermostat housing and thermostats with paper gaskets? What ever it is, it's excellent if it works!

[tptrsn]

Ok, one more chunk of the journey is behind me. Despite my resolution to stop setting goals for myself, I still was secretly hoping I'd be able to knock out the expansion tank coolant tube this weekend. Made it! Haha It isn't exactly what I had in mind when I started to work on it, but I'm pretty sure it will work, and therefore it's good enough for now!

x-tank pipe 1.jpg

x-tank pipe 2.jpg

For anyone who may wish to replicate something like this setup, or for myself when I forget what I did here, the piece of hose that connects to the water pump is the expansion tank end of the 540 expansion tank hose. The hose that connects to the expansion tank is a piece of one of the heater hoses from the rear of the engine in an e38 740i I guess. The tubing is .050" wall 7/8" aluminum tube.

Welding note: I ended up with the welder set on 78-ish amps, which was in the ballpark of where it wanted to be. I used about 30% cleaning on the A/C balance, about 60pps, with the background current amps bottomed out, and is there one other pertinent pulse setting I'm forgetting? I started with the rule of 33 and worked from there until I got the setup working decently. Seems like there are three parts to the rule of 33 settings......? I'm drawing a blank at the moment.

[philly98540]

Nice alum welding. Routing looks good. Only 700 more things to do now!

[tptrsn]

Thanks! And exactly right.

[tptrsn]

Not much progress to report over the last week or so, due to having to spend too much time on making money type activities...

Anyway, bolstered by some WinOLS related misadventures late last week in a vain attempt to assist one of our esteemed e39 brethren with his tune, I actually mustered up some motivation to get cracking on my MegaSquirt3 build while the frigid weather deterred me from the garage. Amazing how (for me anyway) spending some time struggling with WinOLS motivates the crap out of me to avoid dealing further with it at all costs haha... Got all of the diodes, capacitors, polyfuses, and a couple of other items on, plus the small chips and the 40-pin connector for the MS3 daughterboard. Here is a pic of the current MS3 build status:

MS3Feb5th.jpg

This is a really good thing that I have achieved some clarity on exactly how I want to proceed in terms of engine control, since I am at the point where I need to fabricate my charge pipe setup and my downpipe, and I was sort of at a crossroad. I wasn't sure if I wanted to flare out the charge pipe to a diameter slightly larger than the factory MAF diameter and include a provision for mounting the factory MAF in it, or if I wanted to just say screw it and stick to 2.5" charge pipe sans MAF of any type (the now chosen approach). Similarly, I wasn't sure if I wanted to setup my downpipe and exhaust with five bungs to accommodate a wideband AND four factory O2 sensors, or just one bung for the wideband -- One it is!

I also made some lists today for what is necessary to achieve levels of completeness on the turbo project build, for "can start the engine," "can make the engine run decently enough to drive the car and begin tuning," and "pretty much stage 1 complete." Also I started a list of stuff I need to buy to achieve some of these levels. Overall the "can start the engine" level list isn't looking too bad, other than I probably will drop the upper oil pan to make the oil drain, and that means dropping the subframe, which will probably mean putting in the M5 steering box and cleaning up some grimy-ness on the lower portion of the engine.

I'm trying to avoid "while I'm in there" stuff, so there is a possibility that I just won't do any of that stuff until I actually yank the engine later. As always, we shall see.

[philly98540]

Glad to help you make the fork in the road decision easier!! Now lets see some metal getting welded before the next cold front shuts you down. LOL.

[tptrsn]

Haha, yeah, thank you!!

Good progress today planning and prepping for turbo oil feed and oil drain. Also, I have to think about it a bit more in terms of coolant flow routing (thanks again for the tip on that great thread!), but I think I will mount the coolant temperature sensor for the MS3 in the top surface of the rear water manifold. I think that will give a nice prompt read on coolant temp changes, and it's a nice flat surface to tap a 1/4" (I think it is) NPT hole into.

Burning metal again soon, but maybe not until the oil feed and drain are done. Things are looking up for the "get it to where I can start the engine" standard.

[tptrsn]

By the way, my current plan is to pull the oil feed from the handy dandy 1/8" NPT oil gallery plug at the rear of the passenger side head unless anyone has a compelling reason to do otherwise?

[philly98540]

Yeah I think that rear mani should be good. Flow end up there after the heads iirc? Jim Lev could likely answer about the oil galleries and best places to tap.

[tptrsn]

Yeah I think that rear mani should be good. Flow end up there after the heads iirc?

That's the way I understand it. Assuming this guy's assessment was correct:

19_CM.jpg

I'm thinking I will probably go with the top surface of the driver's side, since it seems to be felt that it's the hotter bank of cylinders, and also there is no flow interruption from the heater core over there.

[tptrsn]

Ok, here's a quick semi-non-update:

I have the turbo oil drain is pretty much done I think, and pretty slick assuming there is sufficient oil flow and pressure where I'm pulling the oil feed from. My plan for the oil drain looks promising, and with luck I will get a chance to work on that today so I can make a decent little update on that minor progress. At that point the engine will be able to be started so I can check oil flow through the turbo. Of course, it will be running on the DME at that point without a MAF, so it won't be driveable.

Beyond that, it's time to finish the downpipe and charge pipe (charge pipe will be easy), change injectors and prepare intake manifold to hold pressure, finish up the MS3, wire up, and FINALLY start tuning...

With that stuff in mind, and with the first drifting event of the year around here scheduled for April 30th, my plan is to give myself the rest of February to do whatever with the 540 project as long as I have it at a point of being able to be driven out of the garage by the end of the month. At that point it will go back on the back burner (hopefully for a short time), while I slap a turbo on, and a new driver's seat in, the LRS. I may also tear apart the parking brakes too, so I can free up the actuators and make sure everything is good in there for driftybrake action.

Once the LRS is setup sufficiently well to allow me to shred tires to my satisfaction for the moment, it will immediately be time to get back after the 540.

[JimLev]

By the way, my current plan is to pull the oil feed from the handy dandy 1/8" NPT oil gallery plug at the rear of the passenger side head unless anyone has a compelling reason to do otherwise?

That plug should be at the front of the heads, on the inside.
Didn't we discuss this moons ago or was it someone else?

[tptrsn]

That plug should be at the front of the heads, on the inside.
Didn't we discuss this moons ago or was it someone else?

Two possibilities Jim, it was someone else, or I forgot. So in other words, "Yes!"

I'm using a plug on the rear of the passenger side head..... No bueno?

[JimLev]

Will check when we get from Two Fools Tavern,

[tptrsn]

I found that plug you're talking about Jim. I think it might have been a tiny bit better for packaging than the one on the back of the head, but my guess is that they are roughly equivalent for supplying oil. Since the way I have it is already completed, I'll just let it live unless you think there is a problem with that feel location.

Looks like tomorrow will be the day I can fire the engine and check oil flow through the turbo.

What sort of libations are you enjoying tonight?

[JimLev]

Just a pint of Le Cumbre Elevated IPA along with Fish and Chips. Two Fools so far is the best Irish Pub we've found.
It's across the street from Kelly's.

OK, you must have been talking about this one....

HeadOilPlug.jpg

The back plug is the end of the line bored oil passage from the front which feeds the lifters.

HeadOilPort3.JPG

[philly98540]

Awesome pics Jim! As always! Irish pub sounds good. Must be rarer out in NM vs Mass.

Progress sounds great Thad. Looking forward to the startup vid!

[JimLev]

Philly, pretty much all of South Boston (Southie) is one big Irish Pub.
Thad, get that turbo spinning!

[tptrsn]

Thanks Jim, you are a fountain of information!! I guess from the perspective of simply being an oil feel location, that plug I used should suffice... One down side is that even with the extremely compact way I installed it, the fittings will take away a tiny bit of clearance for my downpipe routing. I may end up switching over to the source you mentioned when I have the intake off.

Hope the eats and drinks at Two Fools were as tasty as they sound!

Oh yeah, and I do hope to have the turbo spinning today, but not to any great effect.

[tptrsn]

Ok, fired 'er up and had a nice steady stream of oil out of the turbo.

Seems like the location I'm pulling my oil feed from will suffice for that purpose as expected. I have to finish the oil drain into the upper pan, and then I will start working on the downpipe to see if the feed location is going to cause a problem with my downpipe routing. Turbo, up-pipe, lower radiator hose, and A/C compressor have to come off the car to install the drain into the pan. Oh, yeah, gotta drain the oil and drop the lower pan, too.. Lol

[philly98540]

Glad to hear she's alive. Man, adding that drain is involved. You welding a bung or doing a bulkhead type threaded thing?

[JimLev]

Depending on how much oil your turbo requires you may want to use an oriface to restrict some of the oil to keep the oil pressure to the lifters up.
How about drilling and tapping a hole in one of the upper timing covers to return the oil to the engine?

[auaq]

That's actually a nice piece of information and great explanation on oil flow in the head Jim.

[tptrsn]

Well, I'm using a 36" -3 braided steel brake line for the oil feed line, and while the stream of oil out of the turbo is steady, it is a very thin string of oil. I think I'm probably at the lower limit of oil flow through the turbo that I'm comfortable with. I will consider it though. I've previously run a .080" restrictor on one of my old Precision turbos that had an intermittent smoking problem without it, but I'm pretty sure that was with a -4 feed line, and taking the feed from the oil pressure sending unit location. If I hear any abnormal tappety-tapping from the lifters, I will investigate further.

As far as the drain is concerned, there seems to be one particularly opportune location on the top surface of the right side of the upper pan toward the front that is asking for it! Haha. I'm planning to pop a 1/2" NPT threaded hole in that, and then use handy dandy pipe adapter I have sitting around to go into that. If that location works, this will be the absolute best turbo oil drain I have ever seen, with a super nice slope and large capacity.

As soon as I get done working this morning early afternoon, I'm going to get back after it.

Oh, and having that exhaust roaring directly out of the turbo reminded me how stinky gasoline exhaust is. I can't wait to get this thing switched over.

[auaq]

Should have made a quick video of starting up.