i have a general question for you welders out there. i don't know very much about welding and i have searched in these threads, and stickys etc. i have a turbo kit that i am installing but running into some clearance problems between the turbine outlet and the ac compressor. i've already looked into the price of a replacement v band turbine housing to replace the 3 inch 4 bolt housing i already have(@$400...FT). what i was thinking to make this thing fit would be to cut off the 3 inch 4 bolt downpipe output closer to the turbine housing itself and have someone weld on a 3 inch v band outlet instead. basically the general question i have is "can you weld stainless steel to cast iron and have no problems?" I'm sure it has been done but i've never seen it. the average price i've found for a replacement housing is anywhere from $350-$400 but the average price of the v band assembly with the clamps is @$50-80. the average going price for a new ac/ps compatible manifold is around $1000...FT. i can have a friend of mine weld it if it is at all possible.

it's a STREET car, not a trailer queen, and i take my son on road trips with me, so during the summer it needs to stay cool in the cabin...so for those of you who are about to say..."take the ac out"...go on another forum and waste space there.

from below (looking almost straight up)


from above


from above...again


what do ya think? i'm figuring if it's not possible than i would have no other choice but to get another mani but i don't really have the money right now. mods... feel free to move to another section if i'm in the wrong one.


Modified by jz98ctr at 1:38 PM 4/25/2007

 

Well, you can certainly weld a Vband to the turbine housing...that isn't an issue. TIG works well for welding dissimilar materials. It's certainly going to take a little work on your part, but it can work from what I see. Your going to sacrfice a little because of the tight radius, but to avoid having to do major modifications that'll be your best bet.

From the looks of things though, the V band will buy you at least an inch minimum.

 

i cant tell how much room you have, but have you thought if relocating the ac compressor?

it seems to me that you can easily fab up a bracket that will raise it a few inches and your downpipe would clear it with no problems.

effectively, so long as you keep the pulley on the same plane as the corresponding pulley on the crankshaft, it doesn;t really matter where the compressor is. in other words, keep the z axis the same, and adjust teh y and x as you need to and then put a longer belt on it.

i dont know **** about v bands so there may be a much easier solution, but my macguyver instincts tell me to move the compressor.

my car is rear wheel drive and i am strongly considering making the ac compressor run off of the rear axles and putting the damn thing in the truck.

 

first see if u can move the a/c whether it be up and down or out farther.

second i would find an old a/c compressor and see how much u could shave off the back and then run a 2.5 inch down pipe i know not ideal but your trying to do something thats not supposed to be.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Mr.E.G. &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i cant tell how much room you have, but have you thought if relocating the ac compressor?</TD></TR></TABLE>

i have approximately 3 inches between the ac compressor and the turbine housing with the dp flange bloted on to the turbo.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Mr.E.G. &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">it seems to me that you can easily fab up a bracket that will raise it a few inches and your downpipe would clear it with no problems.</TD></TR></TABLE>

with the way the turbo is bolted up to this particular manifold the ac compressor is basically parallel to the dp flange...if anything i would have to lower the ac compressor to gain more clearance...not raise it. it is not perfectly parallel however. you can clearly see from the first pic just how parallel it actually is. but the turbo does sit a little bit higher than the ac compressor. i would venture to say that from the center of the ac compressor to the center of the dp flange is approximately 3 maybe 4 inches higher (the turbo).

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Mr.E.G. &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">my car is rear wheel drive and i am strongly considering making the ac compressor run off of the rear axles and putting the damn thing in the truck. </TD></TR></TABLE>

i was thinking of something similar to that by mounting the ac compressor in the trunk and have it run off of an electric motor and just run new hard lines under the car...but that's definitely way too much work right now. for the price of a decent motor and all the custom lines i'll have to have made for me...i can buy the FR AC mani and send it.

 

the compressor is on the passenger side as you can tell. if the t3 flange on the manifold was askew to the block a little bit higher on the passenger side the compressor would be aimed slightly upwards and subsequently the turbine would be downwards probably giving me enough room there to squeeze in a 3 inch DP.

thanks for the suggestions guys...keep em comin'.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RC000E &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Well, you can certainly weld a Vband to the turbine housing...that isn't an issue. TIG works well for welding dissimilar materials. It's certainly going to take a little work on your part, but it can work from what I see. Your going to sacrfice a little because of the tight radius, but to avoid having to do major modifications that'll be your best bet.

From the looks of things though, the V band will buy you at least an inch minimum.</TD></TR></TABLE>

thank you sir!
that 1 inch might just give me the room that i need. plus a v band's a lot easier to get on/off than the 4 bolt flange. i was thinking i could have the 4 bolt flange on the turbine chopped off at a downwards angle and weld the v band on it. the only reason i'm kinda skeptical is i only have one of these turbine housings which means one shot to get it right the first time.

 

dumb question, maybe i missed it...


is it possible to flip the turbo?

 

upon flipping the turbo, the compressor side hits the block and will not allow the flanges to align.

 

i got a couple more pics

compressor


angle shot


i also took a few rough measurements.
from flange bolted on turbine to ac compressor @ 3 inches.
approximate distance from turbine wheel to outer edge of 4 bolt exit @ 1.5 inches.
turbine 4 bolt flange @ 1/2 inch thick.
4 bolt downpipe flange @ 1/2 inch thick.
so i'm thinking maybe if i get rid of the 4 bolt flange on the turbine side and take another 1/4 inch off towards the turbine wheel...i just might be able to make this work. i can pick up a SS v band kit for about $30...



Modified by jz98ctr at 10:54 PM 4/25/2007

 

if you got one of those donuts, you could probably pull it. The radius is tight enough, it should fit. Another option you could go with is take a 1/2" plate, and use it as an adaptor between the manifold and turbo, so you can rotate the turbo a few degrees. Not sure if it would gain you any clearance.

Also, since the AC compressor is lower, if you dropped it another inch or so, you could definitely use the donut method. Just make it about 120 degrees, aiming back toward where it will go under the oil pan. Then you have a limited amount of surface actually coming close to the compressor.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Bakeoff &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">if you got one of those donuts, you could probably pull it. The radius is tight enough, it should fit. Another option you could go with is take a 1/2" plate, and use it as an adaptor between the manifold and turbo, so you can rotate the turbo a few degrees. Not sure if it would gain you any clearance.

Also, since the AC compressor is lower, if you dropped it another inch or so, you could definitely use the donut method. Just make it about 120 degrees, aiming back toward where it will go under the oil pan. Then you have a limited amount of surface actually coming close to the compressor.</TD></TR></TABLE>

i got about 10 or 12 of those donuts cut up....about 1/4 inch on one side and about 3/4 inch on the other side and i also tried with a few pieces that i cut from a cardboard tube to get the general idea on sizing and angles but still to no avail. the main problem with the 4 bolt jammy is it sticks out to far from the turbine and i would also have to get bolts on it after i fit the DP to it (major pain in the ***). the v band setup would be a cakewalk compared to the 4 bolt.