Articles to read: turbo oil feed/drain line, oil cooling your engine

[MarkEmark]

Hey all,

Hope it's been long enough since my last post that it doesn't look like I'm spamming this place, but I have some more articles for your reading pleasure.

And hopefully this post will come up when people search NICO regarding the topics I addressed.

All about plumbing the turbo's oil feed line and drain line, restrictors, fittings, etc. (I even linked back to a post on NICO someone did about piecing together your own kit!).

http://www.examiner.com/x-2621...-life

All about oil coolers, their benefits, installation, etc.

http://www.examiner.com/x-2621...olicy

As always, let me know if you see any errors and/or omissions, and feedback is appreciated!

Thanks for looking!

[Chris28]

Awesome article! Most of it is known by experienced KA-T members, but it's an informative article nonetheless.

One thing though. In the oil feed section, you might want to mention something about the danger of having a heavy oil pressure sending unit attached to the brass fitting. With engine vibrations, the T can easily snap, resulting in the loss of not only your turbo's oil feed but also all of the engine's oil.

A friend of mine ruined his Garrett 60-1 a few days ago because of this. The T snapped and his turbo got no oil for a few minutes. He caught it before his engine ran dry but he still lost the turbo.

[MarkEmark]

Awesome article! Most of it is known by experienced KA-T members, but it's an informative article nonetheless.

One thing though. In the oil feed section, you might want to mention something about the danger of having a heavy oil pressure sending unit attached to the brass fitting. With engine vibrations, the T can easily snap, resulting in the loss of not only your turbo's oil feed but also all of the engine's oil.

A friend of mine ruined his Garrett 60-1 a few days ago because of this. The T snapped and his turbo got no oil for a few minutes. He caught it before his engine ran dry but he still lost the turbo.

Thanks, I've definitely written the articles with the n00b in mind, because they're usually the ones searching NICO and posting basic questions (that have probably already been answered, he he), so I want these articles to come up when they search.

I've never heard of that brass T snapping off, but now that you mention it, it certainly seems possible (and obviously is if it just happened to your friend). Where did the T snap? What are you supposed to do if you don't use a T? I'd like to know exactly what type of setup he was running for his oil feed, because honestly I never thought that was even an issue. A pic would definitely help too!

P.S., now that I see your car in your signature (is that gas station the Han-Dee Hugo on western blvd?), I'll have to keep my eyes peeled next time I'm at state. I take it you're in the middle of exams right now, so good luck!

[Chris28]

I'm not sure where it broke, but he was running a prosport oil pressure gauge and he had the electrical sender on the other end of the T. I've read that if you want to keep the T fitting you should get a small braided feed line and mount the sender to somewhere else in the engine bay, like part of the chassis so it doesn't vibrate with the engine. Then run that feed line to the sender. This way there isn't any weight on the T, just 2 feed lines coming from it.

I'm running an oil filter sandwich adapter plate, it has 4 threaded ports in it so you can hook up 4 different oil related accessories. When I install my oil pressure gauge I'll still be installing it using the separate feed line technique due to both room constraints down there as well as the weight issue. The sender itself uses a brass adapter, I don't want that snapping either.

Haha nope, that's not at Handee Hugo's, it's actually at a gas station back home. I'll have my car down here after winter break though, so it's possible that you'll see it then. I also am in the middle of exams right now, I'm basically living at the library haha. Thanks for the luck!

[biggie]

I'm not sure where it broke, but he was running a prosport oil pressure gauge and he had the electrical sender on the other end of the T. I've read that if you want to keep the T fitting you should get a small braided feed line and mount the sender to somewhere else in the engine bay, like part of the chassis so it doesn't vibrate with the engine. Then run that feed line to the sender. This way there isn't any weight on the T, just 2 feed lines coming from it.

I'm running an oil filter sandwich adapter plate, it has 4 threaded ports in it so you can hook up 4 different oil related accessories. When I install my oil pressure gauge I'll still be installing it using the separate feed line technique due to both room constraints down there as well as the weight issue. The sender itself uses a brass adapter, I don't want that snapping either.

It is possible to break a copper T like that, though I ran one for an aftermarket pressure sending unit for 4+ years without a problem. Almost used it to run my oil feed from but decided to go the route you just mentioned (18" briaded line to the strut tower and T'd from there).

[Chris28]

Here's where I got my info from, it's in DammitBobby's oil feed/return thread linked to in the FAQ and KA-T info sticky.

The only thing I'd recommend is to actually run a line off the oil feel instead of T'ing it. Under hard acceleration the motor moves quite a bit, and this T has the chance to break. Instead if you run a line off the oil feed and run this oil feed to an oil distribution block you can isolate the vibrations with the line. This distribution block also gives you the option add various gauges, oil temp, pressure etc.

It was followed up with

One bit of advice: Get rid of that boost designs tee before it breaks. Replace it with some seriously heavy brass or steel. I only got through 200 miles or so before it broke off at the oil filter adapter. UltimaSE aint kidding about the fatigue that thing is goind to experience.

And later posted to answer another question regarding the T:

I think they meant don't tee off the feed line right there at the oil filter adapter.Run a line from the adapter to a separate tee and put the oil pressure sender (oem or aftermarket) there then continue the line to the turbo. Otherwise use a heavy duty, steel or heavy wall brass, tee at the adapter. I faced my oil pressure sender down instead of out to decrease the moment it sees when the engine shakes.

So I guess if you're using heavy brass or steel it shouldn't be an issue, but I'd rather spend the extra on either a distribution block or a sandwich adapter plate, that way there is no chance that something will break. I'll check to see what kind of T my friend was using, but either way it broke and cost him his turbo.

[MarkEmark]

Well looks like I might have a project for myself over Christmas...it definitely makes more sense to run a line straight to that female port (where the oil pressure sensor screws into), and then to a distribution block elsewhere. Plus, the distribution block will allow me to run an oil temp/pressure gauge too, which I've wanted for a while (just gotta find a place to put it, and I hate A-pillar mounts).

My main question: how long/flexible is the wire on the electrical connection that plugs into the oil pressure sensor? It's tough to imagine how long it is in my head, and my car's 650 miles away...How far away would this oil distribution block be from the oil pressure sensor port on the engine?

[MarkEmark]

So I've been looking for inexpensive oil distribution blocks. I found a 5 port one for only $9.99, made out of anodized aluminum.

http://www.northerntool.com/we...39556

Unfortunately, the description of that distribution block says that it's rated up to 1000 psi for pressure, but only 200 degrees F for temperature, which well definitely be exceeded if you're not using an oil cooler. So does anyone know where to get one made out of brass or steel that's cheap?

Also, I understand that the whole oiling system is a closed system, so the pressure should be the same anywhere it's measured, whether at the port where the original oil pressure sensor went, or at the oil inlet of the turbo (but not at the oil outlet). I would be interested to see if there was any difference in the pressure measured directly at the engine, and the pressure measured at the oil distribution block. I'd certainly think any difference in pressure would be negligible. I'm just thinking about the fact that the oil pressure sensor activates the dummy oil light on the dashboard at a pretty low oil pressure, and I was wondering if it were possible that the oil pressure at the engine could be low while the pressure at the turbo was still high enough not to trigger the relocated oil pressure sensor.