Hey guys Im getting ready to start collecting parts for my latest project, turbocharging my 302. Right now im looking for a decent turbo. Im looking for something that will spool up relatively quick and will make about 7 psi of boost. Im looking for recomendations on a good make/model of turbo. Im trying to find something fairly common and reasonable in price. ( not brand new.) If someone could start me in a good direction on where i might look (junkyard?) for a turbo and what brand to look at and what to stay away from i would appreciate it.
Thanks,
jt

 

your best bet would probable be scambay as they usually have a wide selection of new used and rebuilt for a good price. also what are your plans for this truck is it a race truck mud truck there are a lot of things to consider when selecting a turbo. if your unsure a very good book that was suggested to me was maximum boost by corky bell. it tells you just about everything you need to know. with out knowing your plans for this truck its hard to say what turbo would be best.



tony

 

Turbo Thunderbirds are good sources for a pair of turbos sized perfectly for the 301. Also, Dodge FWD cars in the 80's and early 90's had turbos as well. Daytona, Spirit, 600, sundance, etc. Again, a pair would be idea.

You take the turbo out, and freewheel the turbine shaft with your fingers. If it spins freely, and the vanes that you can see aren't pitted, and you can't slide the turbo shaft in and out more than say, 1/16" inch, it's a good turbo.

Rebuilding a turbo isn't a big deal either... couple of bearings, some seals, and some bolts. THey come apart and go back together easily enough, and the rebuild kits are reasonably priced unless you need the shaft with the two turbine wheels, that's what costs the big bucks.

 

Thanks for therepplies so far guys. That is exactly what i wanted to know. I know what size turbo i need, just need to know where to start looking. Im familiar with ebay but there tends to be so many things listed i dont know where to start. Frederic, are those vehicles you mentioned all equiped with twin turbos? I think im looking for more of a single larger one. Ive contemplated using a used diesel turbo but i need to do more research as i dont want to build much over 7psi.
My plan for the truck is to be my daily driver with the ability to tow and off-road once and a while. Ive been kicking ideas around for about a year and a half now and ive decided on fabricating a single turbo system with an intercooler. Ive contemplated twins as they generally will spin up a little quicker (right?) but then theres twice as much plumbing to do and with this intercooled system, im afraid ill run into a clustered engine compartment. Im not building a fast race truck, just a fairly reliable 4x4.
thanks,
jt

 

yes it is easier to get twins to spool faster but it can be done with one. as far as plumbing goes you either have a lot after the turbo(s) or before. one takes a lot in the exhaust side and twin will take a lot after so its really what do you wanna do.

 

Yeah, i would kind of like to do a twin turbo setup but becuasei want to use an intercooler, im afraid the pluming would be unblelievably cluttered. Plus i would have to use 2 intercoolers and worry about running air tubes to and from them. I think i can arrange the exhaust to come around to a single flange without much trouble. I plan on doing all of the custom exhaust and turbo routing myself to keep costs down. I did see a great set of turbo manifolds (for a single turbo) that fit the 5.0 truck motor on ebay once.....they sold for over $600. too cashy for me.

 

you can get intercoolers that have two inlets and a single out but they are prob pretty pricy also. what i would do is lay everything out and see what you can and cant do. lay the pipes in place or something close to the same size and see what you can get away with. then make your discision off that. you might have more room then you think. just a thought for ya


tony

 

The vehicles I mentioned have a single turbo, as they have a 2.2-2.6L engine depending on the make, year, and model. Grab two

Plumbing twin-turbos is no more difficult than single turbos. For a single turbo, you have to make a crossover exhaust tube that connects both sides of the engine to the turbo.

For twin turbo, both sides are seperate, until a "Y" you have to make at the intercooler.

I find the latter much easier to fabricate, like so (ignore the port shape, I haven't port-matched them at the time the picture was taken):




Entire process, if you're interested:
http://frederic.midimonkey.com/_index.html



As far as spool up time, if the turbo is sized for higher RPM use, it will take longer to spool. Undersize them a bit for lower/mid RPM range, and they'll spool up faster.

 

Frederick,
I followed you post on making you manifolds and it looks like they turned out pretty nice. I realize that on the exhaust side of things, it is easier to plumb two turbos. I think the more difficult part of twin turbos is running each tube from each turbo to the intercooler. I know it can be done, but i think it wll just take careful planning to make sure the tubes are run efficiently and without interfereing with anything else.

Ive done some looking around for different types of turbos and it looks to me that a garret t-3 or t-4 would fit the bill for my application just fine. They seem to be common and rebuild kits are readily available. what do you think?

 

Turning a single inlet intercooler into a dual-inlet intercooler is nothing more than making a "Y" pipe. The correct way to do this is to tig weld two tubes together, after you notch them so they form the "Y". Much like an exhaust collector, except out of aluminum. You can also braze them together if tig welding is not your thing. Or have a shop do it. We're talking two 5" sections of aluminum tube of whatever diameter you need for your hoses, that's really all it is.

T-4's as a single are probably reasonably close, depending on the RPMs. What you have to do is calculate out the CFM your engine will require (as if you were sizing a carb), then read the compressor map(s) for the turbo you're thinking of, and see where that cfm falls on the map. If it's too low, you're not going to get any usable boost, if it's too high, the turbo will max out at a silly low RPM. WHich might be okay for you, in a heavy tow vehicle.

My twin-turbo 500cid project is going to have a 4000 redline, for example.

 

Mine is a single turbo setup..check my Turbo pics for details....I have the air to water intercooler now, starting the fab work on getting it in the truck.

 

Mine is a single turbo setup..check my Turbo pics for details....I have the air to water intercooler now, starting the fab work on getting it in the truck. I used a TD06 turbo...spools real quick and is capable of over 20psi.

 

Thanks for all the ideas and replies guys.
Skinsey: that looks like a pretty nice setup you have and its exactly what i was initially thinking of doing with a single turbo...with the addition of an intercooler. Where is your redline and do u have a blowoff valve or wastegate? Does that turbo seem to have decent boost between 1500-3000 rpm? Thanks for taking time to post all those pictures.
Frederick, you have me thinking of a twin turbo setup now, but i can tell it would require more planning and preparation. I need to do a little more research and see what i can find out before deciding anything.
I need something that can spool quickly and give me good power up to 3500 rpms.
thanks

 

Sure, happy to help. When you're planning out a twin turbo system, remember that each turbo does half the engine, so for sizing your turbos, think of it as a 150.5cid engine for each turbo. That translates to 2.466 liters. So a turbocharger off a 2.2-2.5L car is about right.

 

I have the air to water intercooler, and will be installing it in the next few weeks. It redlines at 6k but it hasnt seen that in years, usually around 5k. I have both the BOV and internal wastegate. This turbo is somewhat small nut packs a good punch, it spools fast with all the 3" pipe I would say it starts at just over 1000rpm and holds 7psi through 5000rpm. I have seen this model turbo push over 20psi, this is why I chose this model for flexibility.