Hey guys- I've been mulling over the possibility of putting a turbo on my 455 for a while now. I've done a good bit of reading and understand most of the basics, but maybe you guys who have done it could answer a specific question for me. I know the turbo has to get oil and then return it to the engine, so how did you accomplish that? Drill and tap a hole somewhere? Weld a fitting into the oil pan?
You can tee into the fitting for the oil pressure sender for a feed. For a drain, if the turbo is mounted above where your normal oil level is, you can put a drain fitting in the pan, or into the lifter valley if the turbo is up high enough. If the turbo is mounted low, you will need a scavenge pump to pump the oil back into the pan.
all of the above applies. also when i was building mine i was told to try and have a short and strait shot return to the oil pan.
Thanks for the quick response guys. So in the case of a remote-mount setup you would need an electric pump of some kind? Seems like STS has had some success with that type of setup and there are some things about it that appeal to my situation.
is that one of those that has its own source for oiling the turbo. If so i think that would be a good idea to help engine life.
Yes. I've installed a few STS kits on LS1 cars, long feed line from the engine and an electric pump to get it back to the engine. Return on most STS kits actually goes back to the valve cover, which is ok since it's being pumped in rather than relying on gravity.
Would an electric pump like that be pretty easy to come by? Maybe out of a catalog or something? Any opinions on scrounging turbos from diesel truck and/or tractor applications? This guy did it on his T/A: http://www.highperformancepontiac.com/tech/0309pon_1979_turbo_trans_am/index.html This is all theoretical for now, but maybe if I can learn enough about how this stuff works, I can cook something up over summer. The budget would be slim to none (hence the scrounging question). I know you get what you pay for, but I think it's time I did some honest-to-goodness hot rodding. No, my motor isn't built to take a whole lot of horsepower, but I'm not planning on squeezing every last drop of power out of it; I just want a bigger kick in the pants. Besides, if it breaks, I can learn how to put a motor together. :laugh:
