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I would use the Subaru exhaust side piece tho,
better design for the location the Kick needs
to have the turbo mounted in. I cut and welded
the cast Iron Mazda unit, and found that I wished
I used the Subaru piece instead.
This is the whole header finished before the engine ran.
The problem with this design
was the main pipe started to bulge
between the center ports from
the heat and pressure.
Generation 3 was the same design as 2 except
the heavy wall tube was replaced with schedule
40 black iron pipe and elbow, it failed from
the weight of the turbo hanging from it.
In this pic the waste gate tube runs
over the cam cover from the intake manifold
it is made from aluminum 1/4" tubing and
plumbed into a spare 1/4" NPT plug hole.
The lower pic shows the compressor housing
rotated to clear the header pipes, this required
reworking of wastegate bracket to fit below
the compressor outlet.
This pic shows all the header pipes in place, this
view better shows the reason to rotate the compressor housing.
After 3 nights of fitting and re-fitting these weld elbows
I removed the header and was ready to begin the final welding
of all the parts together.
to do this you must break apart the tubes carefully,
mark locations of the tubes, and weld all seams. Then
re-locate all the tubes to the flange and weld to the
flange. this header weighs more than the stock manifold.
Now that the tubes are all together, you need to fill in the
gap between the collector and the tubes, as well as the center
where the tubes leave a diamond shaped opening.
In addition to the turbo more fuel is needed,
I bumped the fuel pressure with a Bosch
CSI pump, like from a VW Jetta, to about
80 PSI, still this only allows me to run
about 4 PSI max and it still tends to run
lean under hard acceleration.
To get enough fuel to run 8 PSI
boost, I need about 100 to 120 PPH
injector flow, stock injector is about 50
If I were to build this header again I would have
the header under the turbo, better design and easier
to change plugs, as it is now I have to remove the
intercooler tube (blue rubber) heat shield and aluminum
crossover just to access the sparkplugs, so I installed
a set of Bosch Platinums to keep it all firing good for
a long time to come, 1 range colder is better.
Also I installed a 160F thermostat to reduce ping
and engine temps in general, still need to vent the
hood to help get the hot air out and cool the radiator better.
This big aluminum thing, looks like a radiator, well it is, sort of,
it's the intercooler, 17"x22" 2 core rows, and it does an excellent
job.
The past few months have been eventful.
I finished the MegaSquirt EFI Computer
and have it installed into the SideKick,
Ohh Boy, What a difference fuel makes.
I put the little Trucklet through a 1/4 Mile
marked off hunk of street that is well off the
beaten path, and pushed it for all I could while
running 87 RON Octane fuel, well the results
are in, and we got 87 MPH in the unofficial 1/4
This in the Poor Mans Dyno, courtesy of
Gives me about 125 Rear Wheel HP
a very healthy increase and the Trucklet
is every bit as fast in the 1/4 as my wife's
2.4L 16V 98" Chevrolet Cavalier which
was reportedly supposed to have 165 HP
with the 2.4L motor known as the Quad 4
which was developed for racing.
Well it's been several weeks since I have
returned from Moab Easter Jeep Safari
I have 20,000 miles on the turbo motor
and the EFI is tuned in nicely, in short it
was time for something to go wrong, and
the carnage of EJS was just the place for it
to happen. No I didn't roll it or put a stick
through the Intercooler, it was the Turbo.
I was having a grand time, we had just finished
the Golden Spike Trail, and were on the fast
rally section heading to the Zukiworld.com
dinner when the most awfull noise arose from
under the hood, at first I thought it was the
Trans, Then I thought it was the T-case, then
after trying to drive back I realized, I had no
boost, and not only that, I could barely go
45 MPH as the turbo was now a major
restriction in the exhaust system.
After tearing the turbo apart, and replacing the
thrust washers, I though I'd be good to go, no
such luck,the turbo is toast, and not only that,
I'm 800 Miles from home, and can only go
45 MPH floored, Bahh.
Well to the rescue comes Sky from
Sky Manufacturing, not
only
did he offer
to help, he pulled the header off his Sammy
and gave it to me to get home with, said
just send it to me when you get back and fixed.
Thanks Sky, now all you Track/Kick drivers
check out his billet Idler Arm, bullet proof
and worth the peace of mind on the trail.
I have purchased a new Turbo, this one
comes from a Subaru 1.8L and we will see
if it changes the way this Trucklet runs, might
just be the next best mod I've made, I'll post
the results of the new turbo install, stay tuned.