How important is it to run coolant to a turbo (aftermarket)?

[ZFast300Z]

If its a non ball-bearing turbo you dont need to run coolant to it.
If its a ball-bearing turbo you absolutely have to run coolant to it if you except any longevity out of the turbo.

Pull the housing off and have the crack properly tig welded.

NPT seals without the need for a liquid sealant. If the threads are slightly off, usually it will still seal without sealant. Ofcourse a little extra protection sometimes goes a long way. The other thing you can use its Loctite. I believe in this case 567 would be the best for the application. Its a low stength (disassemble with hand tools) thread sealant that works well in high temperaturs (400 Degrees). It will help keep the fitting in without having to snug it up so hard in the housing, and it will also seal the tapered pipe thread.

 

[MarkIII4Me]

Pull the housing off and have the crack properly tig welded.

So pull the head, pull the front engine cover, flatten the block, redo head gasket, etc, ect.

Not gonna happen. I need a fix where the housing stays where it is.

 

[ZFast300Z]

If you can get in there with a propane torch and not burn anything else brazing the crack should sufficiently seal it without welding. Its not going to be the prettiest looking thing, or the best fix, but it will work.

 

[Doward]

At this point, I'd just pull the thermostat housing off and replace it. Seriously, you could be in for more headache than its worth.

 

[MarkIII4Me]

At this point, I'd just pull the thermostat housing off and replace it. Seriously, you could be in for more headache than its worth.

I wish it was that simple. But pulling the thermostat housing isn't going to help one bit seeing on how that water outlet is not located on it. It's part of the front engine cover. It's where the coolant return line runs from the turbo.

 

[Muzy]

Just so you know, NPT seals on the theads. If you look close you will see the diameter
of the fitting increases as you go futher up the threads. Sounds like you over tightened
and split the housing. Muzy

 

[MarkIII4Me]

Just so you know, NPT seals on the theads. If you look close you will see the diameter
of the fitting increases as you go futher up the threads. Sounds like you over tightened
and split the housing. Muzy

Ya think? :icon_roll

 

[supraguru05]

you can pull the front cover without pulling the head (not sure if its recommended though) i have done it before because of a coolant leak form the gasket in between the front plate and the block

 

[Muzy]

Ya think? :icon_roll

Ya I think. Do you? Or Maybe you want to continue over tighten fittings
and bust shit. Obviously you had no clue, as indicated in detail play by play. :3d_frown:

 

[solpower]

what about a turbo thats only oil cooled are they ok to run on these motors?

 

[Muzy]

http://www.supramania.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=109. Here a little help. Take a
tour of the form, lots of info here. And or use the search function. Muzy

 

[jonny87turbo]

I have a bolt-on 62-1 Turbonetics T4 (look at avatar) that has ports for both oil and coolant. The issue I have is, the previous owner of my engine never ran coolant to his turbo's and welded up the coolant outlet on the engine.

When I called him and asked if I could route the coolant from somewhere else, he told me not to even bother, leave the coolant port on the turbo open, and that he never runs coolant on any of his turbo's. His theory is that turbo's only house roughly 3 ounces of coolant and that coolant runs hotter than oil anyways. The guy races supra's all the time and even owns his own dyno shop, so I wasn't going to argue with him.

If I don't run coolant, will it harm the turbo and/or hinder performance. I figure if the turbo has a port for coolant, it was obviously designed to run coolant for a reason.

So what say you, am I better off just running no coolant at all? Otherwise, what's the best way for me to route coolant to the turbo now that the engine coolant outlet is welded shut?

I've got a question its some what off topic but is your turbo inlet 3in or 4in?

 

[MarkIII4Me]

I've got a question its some what off topic but is your turbo inlet 3in or 4in?

4" inlet. Beast.

Inducer housing is so big and thick that it hit the manifold. I recently added a spacer and cut 60mm studs just to clear it. It's still a little close and I may need to add another spacer depending on how I need the housing turned to properly fit the actuator.

 

[bustedknuckle]

you can pull the front cover without pulling the head (not sure if its recommended though) i have done it before because of a coolant leak form the gasket in between the front plate and the block

Can you tell me if you sealed the leak and put it back together?
Did to remove the oil pan?

 

[dumbo]

If its a non ball-bearing turbo you dont need to run coolant to it.
If its a ball-bearing turbo you absolutely have to run coolant to it if you except any longevity out of the turbo.

Pull the housing off and have the crack properly tig welded.

NPT seals without the need for a liquid sealant. If the threads are slightly off, usually it will still seal without sealant. Ofcourse a little extra protection sometimes goes a long way. The other thing you can use its Loctite. I believe in this case 567 would be the best for the application. Its a low stength (disassemble with hand tools) thread sealant that works well in high temperaturs (400 Degrees). It will help keep the fitting in without having to snug it up so hard in the housing, and it will also seal the tapered pipe thread.

No sealant on NPT fitting!?!?! You on drugs?
IMO Loctite567 is great shit. It's all I use.

 

[MarkIII4Me]

I just ordered some Aremco 568 aluminum epoxy.

http://www.aremco.com/a7.html

I'm pretty sure I should be able to fix the crack no problem with this stuff. It;s aluminum based and chemical resistent. Since the crack is too narrow to get anything in between, I plan on putting it along the outside of the crack and maybe even around the entire area to built up some strength. Then I'll pull the fitting, tap deeper, and screw the NPT fitting in, dressing the threads with 568. This should seal the crack from the inside.

Now this stuff can handle some pretty high temperatures, but prolonged exposure to anything above 400 degrees will weaken it over time. I'm not worried about the 568 that will be inside along the threads since coolant does run anywhere near that hot, but the outside is very close to the exhaust manifold. Even with a heat shield, the heat will pass right onto it. How hot can I expect this area to get? If I cover the outside of the cast aluminum housing with thermal wrap will this alleviate the heat issue?

 

[CyFi6]

Why is it so hard to pull the head and use a different rear cover? You have thousands of dollars in your engine and you are fixing it with epoxy? WTF?

 

[ZFast300Z]

No sealant on NPT fitting!?!?! You on drugs?
IMO Loctite567 is great shit. It's all I use.

I rarely use any sort of sealant on NPT threads. Ofcourse most of the NPT threaded stuff i deal with is actually NPTF and the fine thread seals well enough that no sealant is required.

Standard NPT will seal without any sealer on the thread, however sometimes you get fluid that wicks its way up the thread.

 

[dumbo]

I rarely use any sort of sealant on NPT threads. Ofcourse most of the NPT threaded stuff i deal with is actually NPTF and the fine thread seals well enough that no sealant is required.

Standard NPT will seal without any sealer on the thread, however sometimes you get fluid that wicks its way up the thread.

Ahhh npt fuel is much better than regular npt, but I thought your supposed to use sealant those too....

 

[MarkIII4Me]

Why is it so hard to pull the head and use a different rear cover? You have thousands of dollars in your engine and you are fixing it with epoxy? WTF?

First off, this isn't just some cheapo epoxy. It's aluminum based, chemically resistant, thermally conductive, and will even expand and contract with the aluminum. It is specifically designed for this sort of thing. I feel more confident using this stuff then just having the outside of the cover welded.

Now, if the crack was any worse, or in spot that was under higher pressure then I absolutely would pull the engine. However, that's not the case. I honestly doubt it will leak the way it is now, but the crack may open over time, so I'm trying to strengthen the area to prevent this in the future. I just want to get this engine fired up already and I'm not looking to go backwards just yet. Plus, the engine has already ran 3500 miles before I bought it with no leaks or compression lost. The whole reason I bought this engine and pulled my last one from the machine shop and sold it is because I wanted an engine that has already been put through the paces. The last thing I want to do is pull the perfectly assembled engine, remove the head to remove the front cover and then have to have the the replacement cover and block resurfaced together. That's just more to worry about and plenty more $$$. Plus I'd have to decide whether or not to reuse the studs and MHG, and that may end up failing as well.

I'm just going to repair the area now and keep an eye on it. If it does start to leak, it will be a small one. The engine can always be pulled at that point.