Custom EFI turbo kit with F150 Ecoboost turbocharger

[BFB]

[Dauz]

[Turbo Eddie]

Hey all! For the latest update the car is running phenomenally. Zero smoke and pulls very hard under full throttle. Water injection is dialed in and holding the IATs in a very safe zone. I'm running 30% methanal and 70% water, basically -20 windshield washer fluid. The best part of it is how cool the heads stay under full load. 260F after I let off the throttle from a hard pull. I can tell the carbon is being cleaned off the valves and combustion chamber. The car runs and idles so much smoother.

The only issue I'm dealing with now is that the car likes to lose oil pressure when I'm braking for a stop. Other that that my idle pressure is 15-20psi on 10w-30 oil. I think I have a hole in the pickup tube or it's not fully engaged in the case. The issue comes into play when the oil moves towards the flywheel. I'm going to pull the sump cover and investigate with a bore scope/camera.

[Dauz]

Try 20w-50 VR1. It's all I use

[oprn]

[BFB]

I’d be suspect of where the pick up tube goes into the case. Ive always been leery of this union for this reason, as long as it’s immersed in oil itd be fine but with a steep decent or hard braking , if theres not a perfect seal youd think itd suck air pretty easy. Ive thought about looking into doing something like brazing it or tapping the case for NPT to a compression fitting for the pick up tube.
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Forced induction can overcome a lot of obsticles that gets in it's way
"You are the Engineer and the Mechanic.  
Build it your way not the way someone else does it. Their way might not work for you." - clonebug
An interesting thing happens in forums where everyone starts parroting the same thing and "common knowledge" takes over.
“ The monkey see monkey do mentality seems to run deep in VW people. "Gene Berg said it was so 30 years ago so thats the way it is" “ - bdkw1

[txoval]

I remove the tube, clean the tube/case, and reinstall with Loctite Sleeve Retainer. Locks/seals it in there

Loctite 648

[Turbo Eddie]

So I haven't got to looking into the oil issue yet because I'm tackling installing a new steering box.

While I was working on the steering box I noticed that the lower trailing arm was moving around like the inner bushing was worn so I pulled it off. It turns out that the bushing had slid in and not engaged with the arm. Apparently it's held in position by a setscrew. I have an Atom Werk setup front and back on this car so it may be different than stock. I used a little rod to try and feel what was going on without removing the torsion springs or the other side. I ended up building a tool with a narrow aluminum flat bar by putting a short 90 deg bend on the end that could grab the back side of the bushing and pulled it back into position. I used the rod and bushing width to measure distance, and setscrew hole to set the starting point, and finally used the rod to push the bushing to the right position. I used the setscrew to hold it into position and successfully reinstalled the arm. Now it feels as tight as the other three arms. I was very happy I could do this without having to to take the other side apart!!

[Turbo Eddie]

This thread looks interesting..

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=712746

[Turbo Eddie]

I got the new EMPI steering box installed and it feels like new. The steering wheel is straight driving down the road with no slop! While I was at it, I primed and painted the cast iron part of the box black and installed new high strength hardware. I also cleaned all the arms and couplers and primed and painted those as well. I highly recommend ACE hardware's "rust stop" paint. I have been using it for a few years now and really like how it sprays, coats and its strength. I also like to use the green zinc self etching primer. I like to let the paint cure 48hrs before I start assembly so I know it's not soft. If you really want to get the rust off old parts, let them set in 100% vinegar for a few days or if you have pool/muriatic acid you can mix it 50/50 with water and that will clean the rust off much faster.

[Turbo Eddie]

If I blew in the oil pickup tube I could hear an air leak, so I carefully pulled the oil pickup back so I could see what was going on. It felt tight in the hole and I don't suspect the leak coming from this joint. I did see a hole above the oil pickup hole that i don't know what it is. I was able to take a tig welding rod and feel that it was open. I assume this leads to the oil pump area but i don't know. Is this hole suppose to be plugged and what's its purpose?

[txoval]

That top hole shouldn’t be there unless I’m seeing it wrong

[Turbo Eddie]

So I confirmed that the tube is not what's leaking so I put the pickup tube back on and added an EMPI pickup extender with an aluminum cover while I was at it. I'm suspect of the fitment of the oil pump to the case. it's suppose to be a tight fit and if not it can leak. I feel that is where my leak is and I may need an O-ringed pump housing to seal it. Fortunately those are not that expensive, I just have to pull everything apart to get the pump off and see what's going on. The engine is very solid otherwise so I plan to run it for another year or so.

I'm considering experimenting with ratio rockers because the turbo will definitely take advantage of the lift....

[oprn]

Yes that hole is supposed to be there. It helps drain the oil from the cam drive gear area back into the sump.

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Our cars get old, we get old but driving an old VW never gets old!

[Turbo Eddie]

Thank you for confirming!! Look what other hole is about the same height and could suck air if the oil level dropped while braking!

[oprn]

[Turbo Eddie]

I need to seal this area but may have to find a solution I can still slide the pump in.

https://www.lowbugget.com/oil_pump.html

[mikedjames]

On my 1641 I have a fast sampling digital oil pressure gauge. And when that starts flickering downwards from 38psi at cruise its usually time to top up the oil.
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Ancient vehicles and vessels

1974 VW T2 : Devon Eurovette camper with 1641 DP T1 engine, Progressive carb, full flow oil cooler, EDIS crank timed ignition.
Engine 1: 40k miles (rocker shaft clip fell off), Engine 2: 30k miles (rebuild, dropped valve). Engine 3: a JK Preservation Parts "new" engine, aluminium case: 26k miles: new top end.
Gearbox rebuild 2021 by Bears.

1979 Westerly GK24 24 foot racer/cruiser yacht Forethought of Gosport.
1973 wooden Pacer sailing dinghy

[txoval]

I’d recommend a Berg O-ringed pump…

Blueprinted and anodized, will last a long time

[Turbo Eddie]

I decided to start building an engine for this car and CB performance was having a sale, so I got a forged 69.5 crank, rods, K8 camshaft and new lifters. I found an AE block locally that I have to do a very minor repair on, line bore and install case savers on, and it should be like new. I also plan to do the oil flow mods and shuffle pins on it. I have a new set on 90.5mm pistons and cylinders for it I got from a buddy for free. The engine that is in the car runs very well and I don't want to take it apart. It's an AH/AS41 case with low hours so it's a nice setup.