IHADAV8.com - Turbo Buick Tech, and Nonsense
Tech Area => General Buick Tech => Topic started by: phil_long on July 31 2018, 05:15:38 PM
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Wish me luck gents. I'll keep you posted on install and results.
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Good Luck! You'll wonder why you didn't do a long time ago. :cheers:
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Best advice I have is keep the alky tank topped up.
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Every time I park my T, I routinely open the hood to allow the heat to escape........ .I leave the hood up all the time. When I'm ready to go for a drive, I habitually go over a number of things under there.....one of those items is to top up the Meth tank. Close hood, look for Fedora hat, Caridgan sweater and pipe
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Phil is moving to the dark side!
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Ah yes...alky. Fond memories...qui ckly followed by the 2-3 shift slipping like a whore.
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Every time I park my T, I routinely open the hood to allow the heat to escape........ .I leave the hood up all the time. When I'm ready to go for a drive, I habitually go over a number of things under there.....one of those items is to top up the Meth tank. Close hood, look for Fedora hat, Caridgan sweater and pipe
Do your subscriptions to the New Yorker get automatically delivered to the passenger seat of the car so that you have reading material while you contemplate your next stock purchase?
What's it like being a history teacher in New England? Are the wine and cheese socials still as lively as ever?
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Yeah I figured the most important thing would be to keep the tank topped off. I think I'll let my gas tank get lower than the Alky. Lol. I had buyers remorse immediately after the purchase, but I'm hoping that it subsides sooner than later. The fedora hat is always within reach :rock:
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Did you get a chip as well?
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Nah....I'll tune through the chip I have. I plan to keep the timing low right now anyways. I'll get more aggressive when I get the 02's worked out.
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Eric incorporates different fuel and timing curves to his alky chip along with a few other things. It also has more timing in it for alky. If you have a volt booster...it'll make the alky pump run harder which richens the AF.
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Eric incorporates different fuel and timing curves to his alky chip along with a few other things. It also has more timing in it for alky. If you have a volt booster...it'll make the alky pump run harder which richens the AF.
OP- what chip do you have?
A volt booster will not richen your AFR, unless your engine was being starved for fuel because the fuel pump was previously not putting out it's rated flow, due to a drop in voltage.
If you have a hotwire kit and a good fuel pump, your fuel flow should be close to what the fuel pump is rated to put out.
If you add a volt booster, and it simply raises the voltage to the fuel pump, the fuel pump will flow more fuel, however your fuel pressure regulator will simply be returning more fuel back to the tank, since you have not changed the amount of fuel required by the engine. You have only increased the available fuel supply. Since that fuel supply is not all needed, more of it will now be sent back to the fuel tank in the return lines.
The only way your O2's / AFR will become richer when you install a volt booster, is if you had a poor electrical system that was starving your fuel pump for amperage, PRIOR to putting the volt booster on the car. If you had a bad electrical system prior to the volt booster, and your engine's O2s /AFR were lean because you were near the limit of what the pump could supply, adding the volt booster will cause an increase in the O2s / AFR because your engine needed more fuel than what the low-flowing fuel pump with the voltage issue, could supply.
Fuel Flow from an electric fuel pump is directly related the voltage and electrical wires attached to the pump.
Things like the Kenne Bell Boost-A-Pump work by increasing the voltage to the fuel pumps, which increases their outputs by upwards of 50% sometimes.
For example, a DW400 at 13.5v at 80psi puts out something like 325lph, but at 17.5-18v at 80psi, it puts out about 465lph... that is actually MORE than a 680lph double pumper that uses those Racetronix/Walbro/Aeromotive 340lph fuel pumps.
Those 340's are so shitty, that at 80psi they drop to something like 220lph-ish. That means that two of them at 13.5-14v will only be supplying 440lph-ish...
Just some food for thought next time you want to spend $800 on a brand new double pumper setup...instea d of like $500 on a DW400 and a BAP, and actually have better performance...
;)
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Eric says a volt booster will richen the AF...not me. Do a search on his forum.
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Julio is the one that does not like volt boosters. He has said upon several occasions that he has seen cars lose a tenth with a volt booster.
The problem is that the alky pump is not voltage regulated and the pump jumps up in flow appreciably when the voltage surges and over richens a properly dialed in system and reduces the engines output power because the programmed curve is no longer being honored. YMMV
As far as the fuel pump in the tank is concerned, output often increases 15-20% per one volt increases. If the regulator responds instantly. the engine does not know it. Volt boosters were popular in the old days because we did not have fuel pumps that had the flow of modern alternatives.
These days, cars with good alternators and batteries do not benefit from volt boosters as long as they have have a decent fuel pump. Red Armstrong's burned up a few alternators, I remember that.
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Eric says a volt booster will richen the AF...not me. Do a search on his forum.
edited:
If the return line and fuel pressure regulator are free-flowing and have little-to-no restriction through them, then the engine should theoretically not have a fatter AFR. If the fuel regulator or the return line is not able to freely move the volume of flow provided by the pump, that fuel is now restricted in its' movement, and begins to "back up" as it experiences a flow restriction. The fuel becomes stuck in the fuel rail and needs a place to go. The more it is stuck in the fuel rail and increases the backpressure/flow restriction, the more pressure builds in the fuel rail.[/size]High pressure fluid always wants to move to a low pressure environment, so when an injector opens up, providing a low pressure cavity/space for fuel to move through, the fuel that is backed up in the fuel rail tries its' best to make its' way into the injector and into the now low pressure space. Basically the fuel tries to force itself into the injector because it sees it as an available space to move to that has lower pressure and is not restrictive (unlike the fuel rail the fuel is currently in). This reason is why I always suggest people upgrade their fuel rails. NOT because aftermarket fuel rails can flow anymore fuel than the stock fuel rail, but because the aftermarket fuel rails allow you to use much larger fuel pressure regulators, which can flow way more fuel through them! A new high-volume fuel pressure regulator and a new high flow return line will help prevent any backpressure / flow restrictions in the fuel system, which also will aid in the longevity of the fuel pump and help to provide a more accurate fuel system as a whole.
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Dude,.... that last post has damn near everything in it wrong (I think a couple of them were clerical mistakes though). You started to pull it back, then lost it again at the very end.
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Dude,.... that last post has damn near everything in it wrong (I think a couple of them were clerical mistakes though). You started to pull it back, then lost it again at the very end.
My response in the other thread was what I meant.
What, specifically, was wrong? Genuinely curious now.
If I was wrong, I'd truly like to know why the AFR becomes fatter?
I'll delete that last response and past the other one.
EDIT:
Here is my other response. Everything I'm basing this off is from either the Kinsler catalog, or conversations with Kinsler's tech people...altho ugh the fuel rail analogies are more my own descriptions, but I'm not exactly thrilled with their wording, but I think it "works" for the point I was attempting to articulate.
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If the return line and fuel pressure regulator are free-flowing and have little-to-no restriction through them, then the engine should theoretically not have a fatter AFR. If the fuel regulator or the return line is not able to freely move the volume of flow provided by the pump, that fuel is now restricted in its' movement, and begins to "back up" as it experiences a flow restriction. The fuel becomes stuck in the fuel rail and needs a place to go. The more it is stuck in the fuel rail and increases the backpressure/flow restriction, the more pressure builds in the fuel rail.High pressure fluid always wants to move to a low pressure environment, so when an injector opens up, providing a low pressure cavity/space for fuel to move through, the fuel that is backed up in the fuel rail tries its' best to make its' way into the injector and into the now low pressure space. Basically the fuel tries to force itself into the injector because it sees it as an available space to move to that has lower pressure and is not restrictive (unlike the fuel rail the fuel is currently in). This reason is why I always suggest people upgrade their fuel rails. NOT because aftermarket fuel rails can flow anymore fuel than the stock fuel rail, but because the aftermarket fuel rails allow you to use much larger fuel pressure regulators, which can flow way more fuel through them! A new high-volume fuel pressure regulator and a new high flow return line will help prevent any backpressure / flow restrictions in the fuel system, which also will aid in the longevity of the fuel pump and help to provide a more accurate fuel system as a whole.
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On the opposite side of this, if you aren't going to a pump that supplies fuel in excess of what the engine can use, the rail and regulator can flow you don't encounter this excessive restriction and resulting higher pressure. As pointed out some of the tech is aimed at race cars when most are just street cars and cruisers. Goes back to putting together a "system" of parts that work together. And the flood of money that could change hands once an individual start to do some upgrades and needs additional parts to make the "bigger, better, faster" stuff work on their car.
Not that it is bad to upgrade, just don't want to build a race car when you are just taking it out for frozen custard.
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WHOA!!! Came back to quite a bit of reading. Ok let me see what we can tackle here...
I have Eric's chip in my car right now but not his alcohol chip. I don't need the alcohol chip for what I'm trying to accomplish right now. Right now my issue is, no matter what my boost is at, my 02's will not cooperate in 3rd gear. Steve and a few others probably remember me discussing this some time back when my boost wouldn't go above a certain amount and I had to remove the factory boost control solenoid and switched to and RJC unit. Someone stated that my o2's should have been pig rich at WOT based on the programming of the chip and my boost being pegged at 10 lbs, but they weren't. My goal right now is to see if it's an octane issue, or just the narrow band not being nice to me and reading lean conditions when it might not be lean. Whatever the case may be, if I can't get the O2's up with the boost I'm running currently with an Alky kit, I have a problem...peri od. So instead of changing multiple things at once, I'll change one thing at a time.
I have a fuel pump and hotwire kit installed and the FP rises 1 to 1 as it should. My interest right now isnt to take "full advantage" of this alky kit, but to check and see what's going on with my o2's. Simple as that gents.
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You will be fine :rock:
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What/which fuel pump? Are you measuring with the meter a voltage amount similar to the battery and back of the alternator? When you make a run with the fuel gauge taped to the windshield is the pressure steady? New fuel filter? New O2 sensor?
Lot of things in play with a low O2 and it definitely needs sorted out. Good to do one thing at a time. Takes longer but unless you know you really don't know.
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I don't remember the part number for the fuel pump. I think I ordered it from Turbotweak. It was a walbro 255 lph or something. Let me scan some convos from the past and see if I can dig it up. I'm sure I probably made up that part number. :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:
I do want to upgrade my alternator though as it's pretty dated. I was looking at the ones for the 96 chevy impala. Give me a little extra for my sound system.
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The fuel filter was replaced when the fuel pump was replaced.
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The best test for the fuel system, I'm, is checking for correct pressure at boost. Be sure there are no cracks in the exhaust or leaks at the cross over pipe joints. Or, under the turbo
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No doubt on the header cracks. Look em over carefully. You really need a gauge to see about the fuel pressure. And a long strip of seldom travelled road for testing. Also a good place to try out tire and if you have one, air bag pressures for launching.
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I may have to check for leaks actually. That legit could be the culprit. Thanks....beca use for how lean the o2's read, the KR reflects otherwise.
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I may have to check for leaks actually. That legit could be the culprit. Thanks....beca use for how lean the o2's read, the KR reflects otherwise.
Some times, you have to lay under the car and stick your hand up around the back side of the headers and around the crossover connections to feel for hot air puffing out...or you can dribble something in the throttlebody and watch for smoke coming out of places where it should not be able to come out LOL
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The dribble in the TB sounds more likely for me. Lol. Carb cleaner maybe?
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something that makes smoke...top engine cleaner, marvel mystery oil, transmission fluid, or such...unplug the maf, pull the inlet pipe off the throttlebody, stick a penny under the throttle lever to get a fast idle and slowly dribble the stuff into the tb..you don't want to kill the engine so don't go to fast. Look for smoke coming out of all the wrong places
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that'll work! thanks steve. i got the alky kit installed yesterday. no tests yet though
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And just so I'm clear, because the street chip is tuned for boost set to 17-18 lbs of boost, the injector duty cycle will max for that boost level correct? And "x" amount of boost beyond that the meth will be covering?
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I have a 10$ stethoscope with vacuum line attaches great for exhaust and vacuum leaks
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
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And just so I'm clear, because the street chip is tuned for boost set to 17-18 lbs of boost, the injector duty cycle will max for that boost level correct? And "x" amount of boost beyond that the meth will be covering?
Contact Eric with what you wanna do. Erics alky chip is tailored differently than his pump gas chip.
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And just so I'm clear, because the street chip is tuned for boost set to 17-18 lbs of boost, the injector duty cycle will max for that boost level correct? And "x" amount of boost beyond that the meth will be covering?
No, You will have to add some fuel in the chip programming to cover some of the fueling to get to whatever boost you run. The alky will cover part of it but not all of it depending on what you actually run.
Eric's alky chip actually removes a little gas as the alky comes on but not all of it. You will be fine but it might run a bit better with the alky chip because it won't be too rich down low...
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Oh ok, makes sense then. I always remove all of my fuel in first gear with the TT chip because of how rich it runs. Now i just need to get some meth( :rofl: ) and see what it does. Thanks for the response.
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Alrighty, so my car has been sitting all week due to an excessive work load on my part. I haven't had time to touch it since install. I literally drove it for 2 min. Everything from the alky kit is functioning as it should. I put the 8 oz of water and checked for leaks and all checked out. I'm going to pick up some meth in the morning.
So for the 2 min I drove the car since the alky install, I noticed it feeling pretty good pulling in first gear just spraying water. :O It continued to try to turn the tires over so I never really got an opportunity to get into it. I'm guessing that's a good sign.
My question to you all is, when I do put meth in the car and start tuning, I'm to add fuel to the Overall WOT through the chip correct? Since I'm only running the street chip tuned for 17 lbs of boost? I'm hoping I can get the car to be rich in 3rd with the way it's set up now so I'll feel comfortable knowing it was a fuel related issue. I also intend to check for leaks this weekend if the time is there.
Have a good day gents. :cheers:
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If your chip was burned for say 17 psi and you add alky, then I would expect it to be slightly richer at 17 psi than it was on straight gas. You should be able to raise the boost a couple or so psi without adding fuel to the chip...I think.
You have to stop worrying about the theoretical and find out what the car is doing...:)
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Good point Steve. I'll report back the data sir!!
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Eric pulls fuel on the alky chip.
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I'm sure he does, but I'm confident after he pulls the fuel that there is still enough for the desired boost level. Given that my chip is burned for 17lbs, adding fuel would be the logical choice for any boost above that number...aside from buying another chip of course.
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The SD chips in my cars don't pull alky and they work fine....
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Aside from burning a new chip how do you add fuel ONLY above 17 lbs of boost?
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Aside from burning a new chip how do you add fuel ONLY above 17 lbs of boost?
You can add/subtract 20 percent of low/high gear fuel with Erics 5.7 chip. Air quality will determine how far the 20 percent will get him. I use a cheapass digital thermometer/barometer to keep an eye on things. Humidity trumps temperature.
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I talked to Scoob...and he says he'd have an alky chip burned for 25 psi. Set the boost to 23...and as long as the fuel pump and alky pump were in good working order...then you could flat foot it all day long on the default settings. If you were to add a whole whack of high gear fuel to the street chip he's using now to get past 17 psi...and there was a break in the 12 volts to the ECM for a split second...
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Aside from burning a new chip how do you add fuel ONLY above 17 lbs of boost?
You can add/subtract 20 percent of low/high gear fuel with Erics 5.7 chip. Air quality will determine how far the 20 percent will get him. I use a cheapass digital thermometer/barometer to keep an eye on things. Humidity trumps temperature.
Brad read my comment again . your comment doesn't answer the ?
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I talked to Scoob...and he says he'd have an alky chip burned for 25 psi. Set the boost to 23...and as long as the fuel pump and alky pump were in good working order...then you could flat foot it all day long on the default settings. If you were to add a whole whack of high gear fuel to the street chip he's using now to get past 17 psi...and there was a break in the 12 volts to the ECM for a split second...
Why are you second guessing ERIC?
Is this on a dedicated race car?
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I give up...
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FWIW I set my fuel in high gear at 75 mph [or whatever you cruise at] on cruise using the MAF. I feel that eliminates most of the variables. Tweak the fuel pressure so the MAF reads close to 128.
Just the way I do it.
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Is it possible that instead of second guessing Eric, he probably just wanted an additional margin of safety for fuel for the desired boost level(23lbs) he intended to run?....and just in case he intended to run 25, he could? I'm thinking that's the case in that situation.
In my situation, I'm just chasing down O2's, so I'm not concerned too much with the boost and WOT fuel. The questions I asked were just for my own knowledge.
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Just do it, Phil!
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Oh I'm all over it. Hoping to find some time this weekend to find exhaust leaks. Been working two jobs so during the week absolutely out of the question. You sure about tranny fluid being trickled into the TB to create smoke? I have some laying around and that's what I planned to use.
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yup....
they used to sell top engine cleaner at the parts store that was supposed to clean carbon off valves and such. I don't know if they still do, or not. that stuff made a ton of white smoke and that is what we used. I don't know if that is still available these days, or not. But tranny fluid will smoke so that is why I suggested it.
Seems to me like you used to have a fuel pressure gauge problem and we had to turn your fuel pressure up to about 50 psi to get it to run closer to right. Did you ever get a better gauge?
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Cool, tranny fluid it is!!
After you sent me your fp gauge, you directed me towards an expensive gauge that I ended up purchasing. We narrowed everything down to the fuel pump being bad. This stuff happened right before the timing chain problem. We've been through this car in and out Steve, and you've been there the entire way. Lol
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Yeah, we have
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I could use a good fuel gauge! :) I adopted by buddy's gauge but then he moved. :(
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If you guys do a search for the thread "Pending" you will find all of the meat and potatoes of what all the guys on this board helped me through. That was one of the most stressful, yet knowledge filled moments with my buick that I have had. Between Steve and others, that thread is filled with so much intricate detail and knowledge on things not usually discussed. It's a 19 page book ranging from no start diagnosis, to tuning and seeing differences in certain upgrades. I skim through it every now and then to keep track with what I've done to my own car.
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Phil, did you change the pump?
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That was the first thing I did...after the fuel filter...then I got the injectors cleaned and flowed...and then my timing chain went out. :D
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Gotcha :)
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FWIW I set my fuel in high gear at 75 mph [or whatever you cruise at] on cruise using the MAF. I feel that eliminates most of the variables. Tweak the fuel pressure so the MAF reads close to 128.
Just the way I do it.
I'v officially lost it, BL at 128 not the MAF, the block learn.
Senility is setting in.
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Lol!! I knew what you meant.
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So apparently there is a nice hairline crack in my header, right around #2 in the groove. :hmm
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been there, done that.
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that ain't good
Does your car have the turbo brace going to the front of the passenger head installed?
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Damn!! That looks identical. When the new turbo got installed the guy welded up a new brace that goes to the head. I want to recheck it now though since you asked. Is that something that could get welded up? :(
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the brace should have been swapped from the old turbo to the new one. It connects to the turbo mounting bolts on the top end and runs down to the head. It supports the turbo weight so that it is not all held up by the up pipe. It also stops a lot of vibration which can sometimes crack the turbo drain line, or the header pipe.
I have seen many of them that were left off because some one decided it was not needed.
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Oh ok ok. Well, my turbo hadn't been off since I had the car, so whatever the factory setup was is how it was setup. I know the new turbo has an even larger supporting brace attached to it going to the head...it was one of the first things I noticed. I can't imagine how long this header leak has been present because now I'm aware of it, I've been hearing it for years. Could explain my shitty O2's in third?
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Yes, it could