DIY Turbo manifold.
DIY Turbo manifold.
I've talked myself into learning welding, buying a MIG setup and building my own manifold. I plan on using schedule 40 piping as it's relatively easy to work with, but am unsure about the size. The om606 head port measures something like 2 1/2" x 1 1/8". I was thinking about 1 1/2" pipe but that seems monstrous and could potentially decrease exit velocity where 1 1/4" would be closer to that smaller head port dimension.
All of the references I could find were in MM and none seem to match up with schedule 40 metric charts.
Thoughts? I'd like to start working on the collector as that seems like something that will take time. I found trupply.com has great pricing on mild steel els but want to knock out the collector first to start setting up for mock/fitment.
(02-28-2018, 02:02 PM)winmutt All of the references I could find were in MM and none seem to match up with schedule 40 metric charts.
Thoughts? I'd like to start working on the collector as that seems like something that will take time. I found trupply.com has great pricing on mild steel els but want to knock out the collector first to start setting up for mock/fitment.
(02-28-2018, 02:02 PM)winmutt All of the references I could find were in MM and none seem to match up with schedule 40 metric charts.
Thoughts? I'd like to start working on the collector as that seems like something that will take time. I found trupply.com has great pricing on mild steel els but want to knock out the collector first to start setting up for mock/fitment.
Thanks. I am using this guy as my inspiration https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQzM3ZxxQYE and he is using 1.5" schedule 40.I'm unable to find any 6->1 collectors in mild steel.
I pulled a 603 gasket out of the mess and it is 1.5" NPS, so 1.25" would be a downsizing. The 606 exhaust outlet is a wierd 73mm X 28mm oval or 174mm circumference which equates to ~ 2.18". 2" doesn't sound like a lot but once I got it in my hand at the home depot it seemed monstrous. I can't seem to find mild steel elbows in 1.75" or something else between 1.5" vs 2".
Scraps are hard to come by but schedule 40 pipe is pretty cheap.
Another challenge I have is the flared oval. I'm not sure your average tail pipe expander is going to be able to take a 1.5" schedule 40 thickness and expand it to 2". I have a shop near by with a huge hydraulic pipe expander and I'm not even sure thats up to the task. I thought about getting a conical die on a press and doing it that way. I've seen where people have cut the schedule 40 pipe and inserted a wedge along the but but that seems less than graceful. I've found buttwelds but I am pretty sure they are cast and I am not sure how they would respond to getting ovaled out (assume they would crack).
I've found trupply.com to have the best pricing and options on mild el's.
Have you sourced your manifold flange yet?
2" seems to be what they "oval up" to weld to the flange. Some flanges have the oval to round transition machined into them, so you don't have to worry about the cone fabrication.
There was a thread on here a while back with a video of a guy who was knocking up and machining these cones and offered them up for sale. Would have to check my pm's for his username...
If you have a 606.962 factory turbo manifold, I'd be down to trade my 1/2" laser cut/ water jet/ flange for it.
Simpler=Better was the guy, same one I got my flange from
(03-04-2018, 09:54 AM)Bigpanda16 Simpler=Better was the guy, same one I got my flange from
(03-04-2018, 09:54 AM)Bigpanda16 Simpler=Better was the guy, same one I got my flange from
Well, I got started.
My welds are terrible and will probably crack but we'll deal with that if and when it happens.
I'll take more pics tonight but I have a collector. Currently the angles are all too wide so I haven't tack'ed it up, but it's looking good. Fitting 6* 1.9" OD pipe in roughly 1.5* the side of one 1.9" pipe is a bit of a challenge but so far so good.
I started with 3x 1' sections of pipe and cut them at a sharp angle (I'll measure it later) in the middle to make my V's. This made the fitment almost 99.9% perfect as my chopsaw rolled a bit at the end.
Try "weldingtipsandtricks.com" for some great instructional videos on mig welding everything pipe.
Lots of practice and patience will be useful, too.
Decided I wasn't running hot enough and went up a notch. Way better penetration. I ended up re welding all of the welds from the inside to make up for the outside welds. Stepping up my noob level a notch. Cleaned up most of it with a deburr bit and need to chase it with a brillo bit. Now I'm down to the last bit before the flange goes on.
Looking good so far brotha!
Looking good. Not a bad effort for a first start. Deffo turn the amps up tho. She’s running 2 cold. Also turn your gas up a little and you will be able to run more stick out so you will find it easier getting into the tight joints.
(03-06-2018, 01:36 AM)Mallinman Looking good. Not a bad effort for a first start. Deffo turn the amps up tho. She’s running 2 cold. Also turn your gas up a little and you will be able to run more stick out so you will find it easier getting into the tight joints.
(03-06-2018, 01:36 AM)Mallinman Looking good. Not a bad effort for a first start. Deffo turn the amps up tho. She’s running 2 cold. Also turn your gas up a little and you will be able to run more stick out so you will find it easier getting into the tight joints.
It’s all about the practice bud. Just keep messing and you will get it. At least you are getting stuck in. As posted above, Jody does some really good useful videos on weldingtipsandtrucks on YouTube.
I couldn't find any pipe vids on that site, however I've found a few others that cover butt-weld pretty well
Primarily for cage welding
Too cold still. Weld should be fused into each tube and even/slightly convex between them. These spits will crack at first start.
Here's a mild steel manifold I built back in 2004 and it's still in service. TIG welding makes it so much easier to control the weld quality and get welds that
penetrate through the entire thickness of the material.
You can still do it with MIG, it just takes some practice.
A little tip, grind the pipes so that there's a gap between them at the top and you have a little groove that allows the weld metal to get in between them.
That way it'll be easier to get some penetration. Also make sure the wire isn't feeding too fast. You may clog some MIG nozzles if you go too slow but too slow
is better than too fast, as too much wire feed cools the weld down.
(03-20-2018, 04:23 PM)baldur Here's a mild steel manifold I built back in 2004 and it's still in service. TIG welding makes it so much easier to control the weld quality and get welds that
penetrate through the entire thickness of the material.
You can still do it with MIG, it just takes some practice.
A little tip, grind the pipes so that there's a gap between them at the top and you have a little groove that allows the weld metal to get in between them.
That way it'll be easier to get some penetration. Also make sure the wire isn't feeding too fast. You may clog some MIG nozzles if you go too slow but too slow
is better than too fast, as too much wire feed cools the weld down.
(03-20-2018, 04:23 PM)baldur Here's a mild steel manifold I built back in 2004 and it's still in service. TIG welding makes it so much easier to control the weld quality and get welds that
penetrate through the entire thickness of the material.
You can still do it with MIG, it just takes some practice.
A little tip, grind the pipes so that there's a gap between them at the top and you have a little groove that allows the weld metal to get in between them.
That way it'll be easier to get some penetration. Also make sure the wire isn't feeding too fast. You may clog some MIG nozzles if you go too slow but too slow
is better than too fast, as too much wire feed cools the weld down.
Yes gap is a must even with TIG for full fusion. But I would say you will destroy turbo with MIG because there is just too much shit flying and balls everywhere. There is a reason for TIG-clean weld.
Has anyone here ever ruined a turbo compressor housing by welding on it? I was told by a guy that sometimes it will warp the whole cover and render it useless.
I have a few head flanges for cheap if ya need.
(04-06-2018, 09:42 AM)firen456 I welded a lot comp housings (v-band clamps or hose connectors) and there were never issues about wrapping.
(04-06-2018, 09:42 AM)firen456 I welded a lot comp housings (v-band clamps or hose connectors) and there were never issues about wrapping.
(04-05-2018, 05:54 PM)atypicalguy Has anyone here ever ruined a turbo compressor housing by welding on it? I was told by a guy that sometimes it will warp the whole cover and render it useless.
(04-05-2018, 05:54 PM)atypicalguy Has anyone here ever ruined a turbo compressor housing by welding on it? I was told by a guy that sometimes it will warp the whole cover and render it useless.
(10-22-2018, 01:09 AM)g wizz(04-05-2018, 05:54 PM)atypicalguy Has anyone here ever ruined a turbo compressor housing by welding on it? I was told by a guy that sometimes it will warp the whole cover and render it useless.
i tig with stainless 308l rod most the time i mess with cast iron cause it wets the best or si bronze if im really worried about precipitation cracking. to warp a housing you would have to throw a bunch of heat at it, or really a BIG glob of weld. wich realistically is user error not cause of the process.
(10-22-2018, 01:09 AM)g wizz(04-05-2018, 05:54 PM)atypicalguy Has anyone here ever ruined a turbo compressor housing by welding on it? I was told by a guy that sometimes it will warp the whole cover and render it useless.
i tig with stainless 308l rod most the time i mess with cast iron cause it wets the best or si bronze if im really worried about precipitation cracking. to warp a housing you would have to throw a bunch of heat at it, or really a BIG glob of weld. wich realistically is user error not cause of the process.
(10-23-2018, 08:06 PM)atypicalguy(10-22-2018, 01:09 AM)g wizz(04-05-2018, 05:54 PM)atypicalguy Has anyone here ever ruined a turbo compressor housing by welding on it? I was told by a guy that sometimes it will warp the whole cover and render it useless.
i tig with stainless 308l rod most the time i mess with cast iron cause it wets the best or si bronze if im really worried about precipitation cracking. to warp a housing you would have to throw a bunch of heat at it, or really a BIG glob of weld. wich realistically is user error not cause of the process.
Thanks but I was talking about the compressor housing, i.e. aluminum. Aluminum shrinks when you weld it so it always distorts a bit, but I think welding a vband flange on the outlet should be OK.
(10-23-2018, 08:06 PM)atypicalguy(10-22-2018, 01:09 AM)g wizz(04-05-2018, 05:54 PM)atypicalguy Has anyone here ever ruined a turbo compressor housing by welding on it? I was told by a guy that sometimes it will warp the whole cover and render it useless.
i tig with stainless 308l rod most the time i mess with cast iron cause it wets the best or si bronze if im really worried about precipitation cracking. to warp a housing you would have to throw a bunch of heat at it, or really a BIG glob of weld. wich realistically is user error not cause of the process.
Thanks but I was talking about the compressor housing, i.e. aluminum. Aluminum shrinks when you weld it so it always distorts a bit, but I think welding a vband flange on the outlet should be OK.