Monday, August 07, 2006 - 08:56 pm, by: Ben Lipman(Ben12a)
Righto. I took plenty of pics so if you need something clarified I should be able to help.
1. Remove pipes from engine bay. Remember to have a tray or clean area to place all the bolts, nuts, gaskets hose clamps etc. If you are doing this for the first time it is easier to lay it all out in on a flat surface as the bolts are all different lengths etc. It also makes it easier to put it all back together without missing anything.
a. I started with the plastic intercooler pipe. Release both hose clamps and pipe slides off.
b. Next is the alloy Y pipe from the turbo’s to the plastic intercooler pipe. This is held in place by two bolts to the front turbo outlet and a hose clamp front the rear turbo. Remove the bolts and loosen clamp and slide pipe towards front of the car. Be careful not to drop the bolts or any debris into the turbo. I use masking tape to cover each opening as I go.
c. The next thing is to remove the centre T shaped alloy junction pipe from the air box to the turbo inlet pipes. Do this by once again loosening the hose clamps off. I struggled to get this piece out and had to pry it out using screwdrivers.
d. Next remove the front turbo inlet pipe by undoing the two bolts on the front of the turbo. There is also a small hose joining this pipe to the cam cover and a bracket on the underside that needs to be removed. I think in hindsight it would have been easier to remove the front turbo inlet pipe and wriggled it out of the hose clamp and then done the T junction.
e. The rear turbo inlet pipe is next. This pipe caused me heaps of drama because of all the crap (coolant lines, blow off valve etc) that is attached to it. There are three brackets holding all this crap on and very little spanner room. Patience is required here. I just felt my way through removing lines to the blow off valve etc. The blow off valve has a large hose running back to the turbo outlet tract. This is held by hose clamps and needs to be loosened. There is a hose that runs around the back of the engine that needs to be disconnected. The clamps are spring loaded and can be released with a set of pliers. The actual turbo pipe is similar to the front and has two bolts holding it to the turbo.
f. The last pipe is the outlet from the rear turbo and is easily removed by undoing the two bolts holding it. Once again do not drop any debris into the turbo.
2. You are now ready to start polishing. At this stage I took the opportunity to take to the turbo heat shield with steel wool and metal polish. I just used the cheapest metal polish I could find as you are going to use heaps of it.
a. Place pipe in a vice or hold with clamps. If you have a steel jawed vice pad the jaws with cardboard and cloth/masking tape to avoid damage to your pipes.
b. I used a 4 inch (100mm) grinder with a flap sanding disk to remove the cast marks and unwanted protrusions. It was an old disk but I think it was about 80 grit. c. Next I used a drill fitted with flap sanding attachment (first 80 and then 120 grit) to remove marks from the grinder and smooth out the pipe work. I also used a Dremel and sanding drum to get to the fiddlier bits. Using power tools simply speeds up the process. This can all be done with a combination of files and wet and dry sandpaper.
d. Once the pipes are reasonably smooth it is time to roll up the sleeves and get out the 180 grit wet and dry. Keep going until the pipe has the same texture all over and no marks/scratches are left from the power tools.
e. Keep working up the grades from 180 to 400, 800, 1200. After the first pipe I skipped the 800 grit and went straight from 400 to 1200.
f. After 1200 the pipes should have a satin like sheen. Next I used the cheap metal polish and plain steel wool to polish up the pipes. I bought a 500g box of SIFA steel wool (grade 00 fine) from the supermarket. Make sure it is the fine grey stuff not the shiny thick coils. Remove the grey residue with a soft cloth.
g. After the steel wool and cloth polishing I used a bench grinder fitted with a stitched sisal and loose leaf calico buff polishing wheel. On the sisal wheel I used Josco black compound and on the calico buff I used Josco white compound. I found this gave excellent results after a few minutes of each. These are the most expensive items to buy at about $35 per wheel and $10 per bar from memory. If you don’t have these the same results can be achieved by persisting with the steel wool/ cloth/ metal polish technique.
3. Replacing the polished pipes.
a. Firstly refit the rear turbo outlet pipe, remembering the gasket. Replace the rubber hose on the end of it as it is harder to get to later.
b. Next refit the rear turbo inlet pipe. Once again this pipe is the fiddliest of the lot. Connect the brackets under the pipe on the rear right and front. Connect up the hose on the rear right and tighten clamps. Position the gasket and bolts and start the threads. Reconnect the hose from the blow off valve to the rear turbo outlet pipe. Once you are sure all the brackets, hoses etc are in place and done up then tighten the pipe to the turbo.
c. Replace the T piece by first placing the rubber hoses on each end then refitting the T piece to the rear turbo inlet pipe. Leave the clamps loose as you need to adjust it slightly later on.
d. Next is the front turbo inlet pipe. Position the pipe in place on the front of the turbo and slip the other end into the hose on the T piece. You will have to jiggle things here to get it all together. Be patient- it is very easy to scratch your shiny new pipes here. Once the hose is connected position the gasket and bolts and tighten. Refit the rubber hose to the cam cover and do up the hose clamps. Replace the brackets on the front near the turbo and the underside of the alloy pipe.
e. The last alloy pipe is the Y shaped outlet pipe. Carefully slide it into place and join it up to the rear turbo outlet. Position the gasket and bolts and tighten. Once done tighten the hose clamp next to the cam cover.
f. Replace the plastic pipe from the air box to the T piece and tighten clamps. You can now tighten the clamps on the T piece also.
g. Replace the rubber hose from the intercooler to the turbo outlet pipes. Tighten the hose clamps.
h. Do a final check of all hose clamps, vacuum lines, bolts etc are done up and replaced. Make sure you have not left any tools in the engine bay.
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