Something Every Turbo Owner Should Own!!!!

whitdmilkman · Mar 2, 2012

I was up way too late one night and came up with this a few years ago....I have seen these also used in the automotive world.....

It has helped me many times when trying to figure things out on one of my turbo sleds.

I am sorry about the terrible video.. I took it with my phone and it was meant for my buddies so I am messing around in it...

I hope you are able to get the just of what this system is and how it works..

It is very easy to build on your own (no rocket science here) and works great... I do this test on my sled every couple rides just to make sure she is tight...

Here is the Video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Qa56wuyQXs

(may have to copy and paste link in address bar to get this to work)

As you can see in the Video I test for leaks by filling up my sled with air pressure from an airline and compressor. I usually put as much pressure in the sled as boost I am running.. I also kink the line going to my fuel controller just to make sure I do not damage the internals or boost sensor at all during this test.. So if I am testing a pumpgas sled i will fill it up to 8 lbs air pressure or so....

If you find leaks in your donuts do not be too alarmed because most of the time they will seal as the sled heats up and these expand and close off.... If they are major leaks then replace the donuts.....

It really is amazing the things I have found and how air tight I have been able to keep my sleds by using this periodically.

I promise you will find boost/air leaks places you would of never thought...

The other thing that is interesting to me is that some of the boost leaks do not show themselves until a certain air pressure.. For example in the video I hit 7lbs of air pressure before the air leak on the coupler by the turbo started to leak and it was like opening the flood gates from 7 pds up... Leaked big time...

After I fixed this air leak I rode the sled the next day... I was boosting 2.5 pds above what I had been the previous ride. That tells me this boost leak was costing me 2.5pds of boost and making my turbo work much harder than it needed to....

Boost is for Heros!!!!!!!

Good luck to all you Turbo Heads out there!!!!!!

catmanm7 · Mar 2, 2012

Cant see nothing in your video. But I think I have the same setup.
Went to the hardware store and into the plumbing section... picked up a rubber adapter that would fit my turbo inlet, and on the other end of the rubber adapter i put abs pipe and pipe cap on. Drilled and put a tire valve stem in it. Also put a rubber plumbing cap on the exhaust exit...
Works alright, hard to seal those rubber pieces up on the sled exhaust and turbo inlet though.

whitdmilkman · Mar 2, 2012

yep thats right... I use a scotch bright and clean in the exhaust with a little carb cleaner and it seals nice.....

whitdmilkman · Mar 2, 2012

Instead of a rubber cap on the exhaust side I use a inflatable stop... They use these in plumbing when testing abs pipes in a home to make sure they seal... You put it up the exhaust pipe and inflate.... works great......

catmanm7 · Mar 3, 2012

so how sealed do you get them. Can you put 7-10lbs in there and walk away, come back late and still have pressure. Mine will deflate almost instantly but slow. With all the connections between airfilter to the exhaust, I find it hard to believe these seal 100%.
I just keep pressure in it and go around to every connection with a boost line in my ear, and listen for leaks. Donuts seal once heated like you said, so I dont worry about those.

whitdmilkman · Mar 3, 2012

If I have my sled to where I like it I can hold about 5 to 7 pounds of pressure pretty consistent for 3 to 5 minutes or so.... I have never tested longer than that.. I see no reason to..............

But to do this I have to high temp silicone the exhaust donuts on the pipe... I know the high temp silicone wears off pretty fast but its kind of fun to see your sled sit there and hold an air tight seal for a while.......

When you get into the higher boost levels is when stuff starts leaking more... Like the throttle bodies and stuff... I fill my race gas sleds up to about 12-15 lbs of pressure and if they slowly creep down and then hold a consistent 7 pounds or so I am happy......

spray25 · Mar 4, 2012

Any pics of the cap you have on the turbo that you use to pressurize the system? What pieces and parts did you use and where did you get them?

whitdmilkman · Mar 4, 2012

To be honest it has been a long time since I built this so I do not remeber the exact sizes I used... I have one for my 1200 and the other for the M8's.... Both are a little different because of the size of the turbo inlet..... You will have to measure your stuff and build to suit.....

You just need a rubber coupler that fits the front of your turbo. Clamp to turbo.......

Other side of that same coupler needs to clamp to a plug (you build the plug). I built my plug out of ABS pipe from home depot... Clamp coupler to this plug.... Dont forget to drill and tap the plug for a "Thread in Tire Stem" so you can fill with air from compressor......Cant remeber where I got the tire stem..Think I had one laying around in the shop. I'm sure someone on this form can give us an idea of where they sell these....

To plug the exhaust I use a Plumber's Plug... They use these to test for leaks in a home.... You can buy these at the plumbing store as well... You will push it up the exhaust pipe and inflate it.(Make sure you get the one that inflates with air) Not the twist one that expands......

Be sure to spray a little brake cleaner of some sorts up your exhaust pipe and wipe with a rag to ensure a good seal......

whitdmilkman · Mar 4, 2012

Ill try to get some better pics up soon......

bradburck · Mar 9, 2012

Well??

I'd love to do a simple leak down test like this.. the ole girls got some miles on her... love to look for boost leaks. (Pants dyno says it's working fine but....) love some more info milkman

whitdmilkman · Mar 10, 2012

ill try to get some more info up.. and a video you can actually see.... give me a week or so....

INDEEP · Nov 7, 2012

Ttt

This is good stuff.

WesG · Nov 7, 2012

Works very well in between weekends.

I used a very similar setup when I was running my apex and will be again on the new turbo. Plumbers plug for the turbo exhaust outlet and silicon hose with a homemade plug that has an air fitting quick coupler. For the homeade plug I used an abs fitting and took most(but not all) of the threads off so the silicon hose would grab and seal better. I then threaded the plastic and glued the air style quick connector into it. Make sure you test fit before building as some setups don't have much room in the sleds body work. My air compressor has a regulator so I can just hook up to the quick coupler and set it for whatever test pressure I want and go. Shut the compressor off (for the noise) and snoop/listen for leaks, the air bottle will keep the system at the set pressure for awhile aiding you in finding leaks as the pressure does not just drop out and allow the leak to seal itself. Doing this regularly really, really helped me keep that sled running consistent. For note I ran it above 18lbs for most of one season and 15-18 for the other two. 15-18 was pretty easy to keep sealed up and running crisp but 18+ was much, much harder almost exponentially so. Also I found it worked best when I tested at slightly higher pressure than I planned to run for the weekend, potentially exposing future leaks.

bradburck · Nov 7, 2012

Got pics of your set-up??

INDEEP · Nov 7, 2012

Intake cap: Rubber reducer down to 2 inches of capped pvc with a tire valve threaded into the cap.

Exhaust plug:

http://m.grainger.com/mobile/search/ecatalog/N-1z0doqx

You could also build something similar to the intake side w/o the valve.

Thanks for the tip Whimp.

Tonysnoo · Nov 7, 2012

I was very impressed after doing a pressure test last year. Definitely worth every penny and ounce of effort building a setup.

supra_power2 · Nov 11, 2012

that plug just goes in the muffler outlet inside the tunnel? or do u have to remove exshaust? will this work for us tunnel dump guys? also are those plugs universal or what size?

sawyer33 · Nov 11, 2012

You would Need what is called a 2"cherne test ball, and yes this will still work with a tunnel dump exhaust. The parts needed for the intake side of turbo are as follows. 3" x 2" fernco coupling, 2" slip x 3/4" Female iron pipe PVC bushing, 3/4" x 1" galvanized nipple, and a 30 psi gage with body. These are parts found at most homedepot but may have better luck going to a plumbing supply hous such as a ferguson or Keller supply. The 30 pound gage will allow you to fill the system with air and monitor the pressure. :yo:

INDEEP · Jan 13, 2013

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=lfbl9eaO3A0

Here's mine being tested. My pressure dropped really fast but the only leaks I could find were the exhaust donuts. The ones in the video only have one ride on them and are cold at the time. I think once they heat up they seal better.

INDEEP · Feb 8, 2013

vid added

Something Every Turbo Owner Should Own!!!!

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