Plumbing in Water Cooled Turbo's
Turbo Mini Forums

I was thinking plumbing it in off the heater take off, but...

How do i get any sort of connectors to fit it?

The only ones i could find are about 4 inchs long, which obviously will not fit with the tubo so close to the block using the mirage kit.

Greypride - - if my memory serves correctly you use a mirage kit and a water cooled turbo - - so how did you do it???

Dan

You need to use a bit of 'nouse' and put together somethign to do the job... The unions on the T2 water cooling are 10mm dia - and 10mm copper pipe is available from plumbers, as are reducers from the commonly available (15mm???) tube size... So all you need to do is knock somet up...
Alternativly - If you have a welder, get to B&Q and buy a few lengths of steel tube, then 'make' some adaptors to suit your hose sizes.

The ideal place for the 'turbo' is connected parralel to the radiator - ie bottom hose into the turbo, then out of the turbo into the top hose / top of rad.
I did run my old T2 straight oout of bottom hose and into cyl head take-off for 3+ years however!!!

Hope that helps...
Either way, you won't find anything to 'fit' - you'll have to make somet.

I dont even have the unions, spose i had better head down the local pirtec pipe maker

i might have some spare unions, i'll have a look later!

TD how did the turbo recieve its water flow then? as water isnt "pumped" throught the botom hose. or am i missing something!

turbo 16v k-series 11.9@118.9 :)

Denis O'Brien.

ok very briefly because im in a rush...

i bought some 14mm banjos to fit the bolts needed for the hole, then cut off the pipe connection from the banjo becuse it was a very small diameter. Then i got a guy to braze on some 13mm pipe connections so i could run the pipes the same size as the heater.

i then went out and bought some 14mm bolts with the not very common fine thread ptich, and using my lathe (a very handy tool that im luckt to have) i put an 8mm hole down it and then through it side ways were the banjo would meet it.

for the water connection closest to the turbo i had to make up a spacer out of aluminium so that the banjo would clear the compressor housing, i then used some funky washers with a rubber seal (for the same place as the banjos) to seal it all togther

then i use the silicon heater hose to connect it all together, the connection closest to the block goes to the heater take off on the head, and the one on thge bulkhead side goes to the top hose (using a cut down bottom hose and connected the heater take off on that, though im going to change it to the plate that is found on the metro under the thermostat)

im having over heating problems though with this set up, nothing to do with the unions on the turbo though!

im pm-ing you with my mobile no so you can ring me in the week when this doesnt make sense

Cheers for that - it all makes good sense, the only thing is ......

Using Daves way of plumbing it in - what makes it flow through the turbo? As its bypassing the water pump isnt it?

damn i havent posted anypictures of this on tinternet and my mums computer is so old it doesnt have usb!!! i cant post any pictures till friday, sorry

i got all the stuff from a local hydraulic pipe suplier

Where els3e would you suggest? It is compromised however you do it, but basically connecting it in parralel with the rad is supposedly ideal in these instances

ok some piccys are up on my unfinished mirage fitting pics, http://www.netsnapshot.com/pcw/buildalbum-...T=13975&KEY="3"
its only now that i wish i took more pictures

i would have thought anywhere else that recieved flow from the pump would be beter, for example, ou tthe head tapping (heater takeoff) through turbo, through matrix(or extra radiator) into bottom pipe of rad.

But i guess if youv plumbed it in that way and it worked, who am i to argue

turbo 16v k-series 11.9@118.9 :)

Denis O'Brien.

well that's the way i had mine plumbed for many years - but in order to get more heat (flow) out of the far end of the head, i changed it slightly - basically adding a larger connection from heater tap point straight to the top hose. I then Tee'd into this pipe, the pipe going through the turbo and into the bottom hose....