ID marks

[KamperBob]

Update: earlier this month I got back to where the truck is stored in SoCal. I first confirmed an exhaust restriction. The 3" hot exit from the turbo was reduced to 2" then split to tie into the original dual exhaust system. The soot trail on the third pic indicates where smaller pipe was inserted inside a larger diameter upstream but the imperfect weld leaked. It was also inserted at an angle, probably to help make the turn from down to back. But excess inserted smaller pipe further restricted flow inside from circular to oval. Sheesh!

 

[KamperBob]

To quantify things I found a port on the intake and plumbed a boost gauge into the cab. There's currently no radio so I jury rigged by stuffing the gauge there. The max boost I saw was about 2 psi at WOT. After cutting out the restriction for open exhaust at the downpipe it woke up noticeably. Boost increased to about 5 psi at WOT. But! Suddenly I could hear the turbo whistling. It still rolled a little coal mashing the pedal at low RPM before any boost pressure. At that point I had an exhaust shop run straight 3" pipe. No muffler. Yet. Maybe later. The muffler shop kid was young but sharp and realized the turbo boost to intake must be leaking air because it spooled up too quickly. That started me chasing leaks. First was a blown out silicone coupler between the steel and aluminum hard plumbing. Electrical tape under the hose clamps was a good clue that some prior buggery was in play. For quick and temporary I cleaned and patched that wound with RTV, splinted with aluminum flashing, and moved that coupler to the suction side from air cleaner to turbo.

 

[KamperBob]

That moved the leak downstream where the in/out diverted plumbing sits between intake manifold and air cleaner. Then I realized that connection was actually a bit loose. Tightening the air cleaner stud nuts was a problem because the nuts were so far down at the bottom of long studs too close to the front/rear edges for a wrench or socket to grab. So I improvised shims to shoulder the nuts up above the rim of that canyon to get a gear wrench on them.

 

[TotalyHucked]

Awesome that you're sorting through this thing, seems like a killer truck! Got any pictures of the whole truck?

 

[KamperBob]

While it sealed that joint the shims themselves leaked. So then I found metric threaded rod and couplers and built studs that shouldered at the bottom while extending hex sides for gear wrenching up above the rim. I also tried sealing the bottoms with rubber washers and RTV. So far so good there. At this point boost was still only 5 psi at WOT but the whistling indicated more air movement and I could tell from behind the wheel it was running a bit better with each iteration. Then I noticed it was pushing apart the boost side coupling. Trying to torque the hose clamps tighter started resulting in snapped hose clamps. So I locally sourced some heavier T bolt clamps and heavier hose. They didn't have proper silicone so for temporary I'm using higher quality Gates reinforced water hose. I don't expect it to last but I only had a few days this trip to get some answers. So now it's running better. There should be more boost pressure. I found a shop that specializes in rebuilding turbos. He and the muffler kid agreed that this simple old turbo seemed healthy since it's not unbalanced and lack of play indicates the journals are not shot. However! At this point I'm thinking there is a lot of blowby oil. Maybe the turbo is internally leaking air. Effectively acting like a waste gate. Which this old style turbo does NOT even have. But I'm out of time this year. Hopefully early next year I can remove the turbo and have the guy go through it. He knows that Roto-Master brand and said he's worked on them before. So I'm optimistic.

 

[KamperBob]

Awesome that you're sorting through this thing, seems like a killer truck! Got any pictures of the whole truck?

Thanks. It has good bones and potential. My other half even took a fancy to it. Here's a pic from when I got it last year from my buddy's widow. It was stolen and recovered in the mid 90s minus bed and messed up dash and interior. After getting partway through putting it back together he got disgusted and moved on to other projects. So it sat garaged but neglected until I came along last year. This pic is with the wrong bed (mid 90s) and nice but wrong wheels. They're too big and can rub the front fenders. I'm currently running spaced out deep dish Dodge mags because they were available. After I finish sorting out the suspension to make sure alignment is good, then it'll get new mag wheels. The originals were also taken by thieves who abandoned it with split rim junkers. Anyway, it's a great project. It rides like a lumber wagon. And it's a bucket of bolts. But it's mine.

 

[TotalyHucked]

Man, that's a great truck! Looking forward to the progress!

 

[82scottsdale62]

Hello KamperBob. I hate to interrupt your thread, but I was wondering if could post some pictures of the oil drain for your turbo. I am putting my turbo kit on my truck for mock up, and I'm having a hard time figuring out a clean way that routes the oil return properly.

Thanks

 

[KamperBob]

Hello KamperBob. I hate to interrupt your thread, but I was wondering if could post some pictures of the oil drain for your turbo. I am putting my turbo kit on my truck for mock up, and I'm having a hard time figuring out a clean way that routes the oil return properly.

Thanks

Sorry, but the k30 is stored in CA and I'm now in AZ. However, the bottom line (return?) was problematic. It touched something hot like the crossover exhaust pipe. I'll look through pix on my PC later but given the tight location I doubt I have any shots that could be helpful. But I'll look all the same.

 

[KamperBob]

Quick update. My travels finally got me back to the truck yesterday. After sitting all winter (garaged) it started almost immediately. No more lost prime since ditching the WIX box fuel filter. I'm very pleased the spin on conversion held prime! We drove the RV here (toad-less) so good excuse to take the truck out last night for a Walmart run. That growly open exhaust puts a smile on my face! This morning I got some tools and went test driving. My new baseline is 5 psi boost at WOT. Negligible boost cruising. Pulled over and disconnected circuitous air inlet to turbo then drove again (paved roads, no dust). Boost bumped a bit more to solid 5+ and possibly as high as 7 psi peak. Obviously I didn't leave the turbo unprotected so reattached that crazy air filter pathway. The whole intake needs replumbed (custom plenum). Rather than hack what's there I plan to fab from scratch. That way I can put it all back if needed for whatever reason. Lots of decisions. Custom box for rectangular filter or open cone, for example. How much steel vs alum for hard lines from turbo to intake will mostly turn on my abilities. There's a smaller tube currently piped inside the OEM air filter that smokes a bit. Some kind of EGR? That needs research first then probably an inlet port between the new air filter and turbo. Meanwhile, it's running so much better just removing that stupid exhaust restriction that I'm satisfied for the moment. Besides, other life priorities means a narrow window of opportunity to do more now. At least I get to drive it home (AZ) when we leave SoCal this trip. Exciting stuff. I guess that wasn't such a quick update. shrug

 

[KamperBob]

A couple pix of the turbo plumbing and that crankcase vent or whatevertheheckitis that pipes inside the OEM air filter. It's a small hose maybe inch or so ID...

 

[KamperBob]

Hello KamperBob. I hate to interrupt your thread, but I was wondering if could post some pictures of the oil drain for your turbo. I am putting my turbo kit on my truck for mock up, and I'm having a hard time figuring out a clean way that routes the oil return properly.

Thanks

I know it's been a bit. Do you still need a pic of turbo oil drain? My brain thinks you shelved this turbo project in favor of a Banks sidewinder instead...

 

[Blue Ox]

Quick update. My travels finally got me back to the truck yesterday. After sitting all winter (garaged) it started almost immediately. No more lost prime since ditching the WIX box fuel filter. I'm very pleased the spin on conversion held prime! We drove the RV here (toad-less) so good excuse to take the truck out last night for a Walmart run. That growly open exhaust puts a smile on my face! This morning I got some tools and went test driving. My new baseline is 5 psi boost at WOT. Negligible boost cruising. Pulled over and disconnected circuitous air inlet to turbo then drove again (paved roads, no dust). Boost bumped a bit more to solid 5+ and possibly as high as 7 psi peak. Obviously I didn't leave the turbo unprotected so reattached that crazy air filter pathway. The whole intake needs replumbed (custom plenum). Rather than hack what's there I plan to fab from scratch. That way I can put it all back if needed for whatever reason. Lots of decisions. Custom box for rectangular filter or open cone, for example. How much steel vs alum for hard lines from turbo to intake will mostly turn on my abilities. There's a smaller tube currently piped inside the OEM air filter that smokes a bit. Some kind of EGR? That needs research first then probably an inlet port between the new air filter and turbo. Meanwhile, it's running so much better just removing that stupid exhaust restriction that I'm satisfied for the moment. Besides, other life priorities means a narrow window of opportunity to do more now. At least I get to drive it home (AZ) when we leave SoCal this trip. Exciting stuff. I guess that wasn't such a quick update. shrug

Boost is almost entirely related to load. So, unless you're maxed out climbing a hill you're not going to see big numbers. If you're seeing a pound or two at cruise, unless you're towing, that's normal.

 

[KamperBob]

Boost is almost entirely related to load. So, unless you're maxed out climbing a hill you're not going to see big numbers. If you're seeing a pound or two at cruise, unless you're towing, that's normal.

Right. The truck is currently empty so my drive test was pulling a slight grade. I gather this ROTOMASTER HI-FLO turbo is laggy. Don't expect quick spooling. Try to avoid mashing pedal at low RPM. That makes soot of course. But also suggests IP turned up when turbo added (probably early-mid 90s as best I can surmise without paperwork). They just botched air flow. Much better now. Eventually this K30 will carry a slide-in camper. Then pulling grades, plus elevation, I hope the turbo shines. In summer 2024 after buying the truck and getting it road worthy (after 30 years neglect) I towed a small camper and motorcycle 1400 miles. I could tell it ran anemic. That helped put me on a clue trail that led to exhaust restriction and correction. Again, much better now. Thanks for sharing your experience!

 

[Blue Ox]

Right. The truck is currently empty so my drive test was pulling a slight grade. I gather this ROTOMASTER HI-FLO turbo is laggy. Don't expect quick spooling. Try to avoid mashing pedal at low RPM. That makes soot of course. But also suggests IP turned up when turbo added (probably early-mid 90s as best I can surmise without paperwork). They just botched air flow. Much better now. Eventually this K30 will carry a slide-in camper. Then pulling grades, plus elevation, I hope the turbo shines. In summer 2024 after buying the truck and getting it road worthy (after 30 years neglect) I towed a small camper and motorcycle 1400 miles. I could tell it ran anemic. That helped put me on a clue trail that led to exhaust restriction and correction. Again, much better now. Thanks for sharing your experience!

Well, yes, the fuel delivery needed to be turned up. Otherwise a turbo system is just a heavy whistle.

I thought I was familiar with most of the aftermarket systems, but I must admit I've never heard of that one. However, there were probably a few companies that did prototyping or made a short production run that didn't really catch on. Doesn't look as dopey as a Banks system though. So that's a plus.

Do you have a pyrometer?