RRs Supercharger install help

[redronin]

Well its nice and sunny in happy valley so i am trying to get some work done
on a TECHNIK kit. this is the old tm12 asa kit, not the updates one with the larger fmic

1. Marvel's ESS kit needed special wiring from ESS to extend the MAF. there is no mention of special wires in the Technik install guide. can i just use regular old wires to extend the MAF plug?

2. How exactly does one attach the FPR, my friend who is gonna help said we are gonna get gas everywhere, i really hope this is not the case.

3. Drilling the oil pan seems not only difficult but requiring heavy duty tools i do not have. any advice on the subject or literature? is dropping the oil pan necessary?


finally i intend to run the kit at first with an fpr and ASAtronic, and later purchase engine software, if i get software now, can i skip the FPR?

any help would be great cuz technik is not going to give me any help until monday morning


TIA
RR

[NeoGeo]

Well its nice and sunny in happy valley so i am trying to get some work done
on a TECHNIK kit. this is the old tm12 asa kit, not the updates one with the larger fmic

1. Marvel's ESS kit needed special wiring from ESS to extend the MAF. there is no mention of special wires in the Technik install guide. can i just use regular old wires to extend the MAF plug?

2. How exactly does one attach the FPR, my friend who is gonna help said we are gonna get gas everywhere, i really hope this is not the case.

3. Drilling the oil pan seems not only difficult but requiring heavy duty tools i do not have. any advice on the subject or literature? is dropping the oil pan necessary?


finally i intend to run the kit at first with an fpr and ASAtronic, and later purchase engine software, if i get software now, can i skip the FPR?

any help would be great cuz technik is not going to give me any help until monday morning


TIA
RR

Redronin... why do you have to drill out the oilpan? Do you need some sort of oil supply line for the charger?

I'm just about to purchase a kit myself, and I'm trying to get as much information as I can before I go ahead with it... it's a good chunk of change and I want to be sure before I commit. At the moment I'm considering VF, especially because I want a local dealer.

You have more guts than I do. I'm pretty sure I could complete the install, but I don't wan to attempt it, at least not on my own car :) .

[TxZHP04]

3. Drilling the oil pan seems not only difficult but requiring heavy duty tools i do not have. any advice on the subject or literature? is dropping the oil pan necessary?

I'm no expert but if you have to drill the oil pan, it would seem essential to drop the pan to prevent any metal shavings from contaminating the oil. Good luck!

[NeoGeo]

I'm no expert but if you have to drill the oil pan, it would seem essential to drop the pan to prevent any metal shavings from contaminating the oil. Good luck!

Whoa...that seems so obvious now that you've mentioned it!

[maxnathan]

The Infinitas ASA SK kit requires drilling at the bottom of the oil pan, but they have a special drilling head for the job. I`m told it isn`t that difficult but i guess this depends on your level of competence.
When i removed my ASA TM12 , i had to remove the extension wires from the MAF ( 3 wires) but unfortunately this left me with a shorter than original connection. My local workshop (Simpson Motorsport) advised me that it`s possible to use any wires of a similar diameter .

BTW what is the FPR?

Good Luck

[NeoGeo]

The Infinitas ASA SK kit requires drilling at the bottom of the oil pan, but they have a special drilling head for the job. I`m told it isn`t that difficult but i guess this depends on your level of competence.
When i removed my ASA TM12 , i had to remove the extension wires from the MAF ( 3 wires) but unfortunately this left me with a shorter than original connection. My local workshop (Simpson Motorsport) advised me that it`s possible to use any wires of a similar diameter .

BTW what is the FPR?

Good Luck

I think he means Fuel Pressure Regulator, but I'm not entirely sure -- I assume this device keeps the fuel pressure in the system at a constant pressure, perhaps by sending excess fuel back to the tank via a bypass line... again I'm not entirely sure

[Titan 3]

Basic oxygen free copper cable of the same gauge and you are fine. There are no techy tools to drill the pan. I can check my drill bit to verify the size. Be careful to keep the shavings to a minimum, and flush the pan with a few quarts of fresh oil prior to running the car..... and change the filter often for the first few thousand miles.... and if you get the software from technik you can lose the fpr and the the asatronic.
Hope this helps!

-M

[redronin]

Basic oxygen free copper cable of the same gauge and you are fine. There are no techy tools to drill the pan. I can check my drill bit to verify the size. Be careful to keep the shavings to a minimum, and flush the pan with a few quarts of fresh oil prior to running the car..... and change the filter often for the first few thousand miles.... and if you get the software from technik you can lose the fpr and the the asatronic.
Hope this helps!

-M
very much so, i may skip the FPR now and wait for software, however i am concerned that i will need to rebuy software once i upgrade pulleys, tm15 etc.


thanks for the advice guys, indeed the oil pan tapping is for the compressor drain, and to add what you guys said my friend who is a mechanic told me to drill very slowly and use a heavy grease on the drill bit, this will pull the metal shavings to the bit, instead of letting them fall


my problem today is finding enough space to conncet the rubber hose from the FMIC to the compressor itself, needless to say space in there (basically the middle of the engine compartment, under the compressor but over the suspension, well there just isnt any)

[redronin]

THe boost output tube (from compressor out to FMIC in) is hindered by the presence of an air duct which seems to put air into the alternator. it is connected to the back of the alternator via some sort of plastic funnel thing and a big black bolt


also attached to the bolt is some sort of line, im not sure what its for.

can i cut or remove this ducT? what does it do for the alternator?

[redronin]

i cut a notch in the top of the ducts to allow for more room but there just isnt enough space to get the rubber boost pipe in past all the coolant lines


any once have experience?

[Titan 3]

My alternator was failing when I did my install, so I simply removed the duct from the back of it prior to installing the new one...... Have you gotten to the routing of the vacuum lines yet? This is when the real fun begins!

-M

[TxZHP04]

There was a thread around here a while back that seemed to link removal of the alternator cooling duct to premature alternator failure. You might see if you can find that thread.

[redronin]

oh great, care to elaborate on the vacuum lines? it seems like it should be easy, vacuum to both bpvs, oem fpr and brake booster, boost gauge, and the whole circuit should just plug into factory vac correct?


as far as the boost pipe im calling it a day, will try again tomorrw

i appreciate all the replys guys! :)

rr

[xmltok]

you will need a 90 degree drill to tap the oil pan. there is not enough room for a regular drill.

[redronin]

you will need a 90 degree drill to tap the oil pan. there is not enough room for a regular drill.

yeah someone has told me this


right now the only forseeable hitch in the rest of the install is the boost discharge pipe that meets up with the intake of the fmic

there is just no space there i try to just keep truckin but its really tight and extremely difficult to get that peice in that space, not to mention you have to rotate it once its in......

any advice? i know lots of you guys have been stuck on this part. its gotta be the hardest part of the install

[xmltok]

take off the compressor and take a dremel to the black plastic cover on the alternator

[redronin]

take off the compressor and take a dremel to the black plastic cover on the alternator

unfortunately my two problems with that are

1. taking of the compressor is something i want to avoid doing at this point. getting it on and off the bracket while its on the car is a huge *****, and ive already done it many times.

2. the cooling duct is probably there for a reason, i was talking to marvelphx and he said on his facelift there is no duct, which means they switched alternators, probably because the first one failed too much. i trimmed the bottom of the duct as much as i could without disasembling it.

i have finals right now but i think the next step is to take out the oil drainage and any other lines i can get out of the way and try to force that sucker up there. its just unfortunate that there doesnt seem to be a better way to design it, i know its under boost but that part of the system seems to be the most constricted. boo.

[redronin]

did you install your compressor yourself? did you run into the same problem? how many miles boosted? your alternator holding up ok? haha

[xmltok]

start chopping it up! no way around it. you've come this far, don't back down now!

i installed mine myself. i had to take it off to cut the alternator duct. don't worry it'll be fine. i have about 300 miles on my supercharger. but anyone with a asa kit that isn't ESS has cut off their duct.

there is plenty of room and it is very easy to get the hose on once you cut off the duct.

[redronin]

start chopping it up! no way around it. you've come this far, don't back down now!

i installed mine myself. i had to take it off to cut the alternator duct. don't worry it'll be fine. i have about 300 miles on my supercharger. but anyone with a asa kit that isn't ESS has cut off their duct.

there is plenty of room and it is very easy to get the hose on once you cut off the duct.

well how did you get the compressor off, the lowest bolt comes out directly in front of the radiator overflow tank and you have to like angle the bolt and hit it with a mallet just to clear the tank and start to ratchet in the compressor

/cry

if i can stay awake after my final im gonna give it a last try without taking the duct completely off

[xmltok]

i used a 1/4" ratchet to get to the bolt. i just pushed the tank away and wedged it in.

doesn't matter though, you can leave that bolt in there when its loose

[redronin]

i used a 1/4" ratchet to get to the bolt. i just pushed the tank away and wedged it in.

doesn't matter though, you can leave that bolt in there when its loose

wow i never even thought of leaving that bolt in and simply rotating the charger around it to make room, gonna try it tomorrow hopefully

(2/4 finals)

[redronin]

just to update on situation i took a closer look with xmltok's advice in mind. i found with the blade of a knife and a little prying the bottom portion of the duct will actually seperate, and you can then pull it out from the bottom


did that and reassembled the boost pipe (its a metal connector and 2 rubber hoses) and tried to slide it in as one peice, wow did that free up some space. the thing slides in like butter, a half turn in the top of the hose is kissing the compressor out.

i took some time with a little motor oil for lubrication, and i could ALMOST get it. i think with another pair of hands i could handle it but i was just runnin out to sneak a peak between tests. with new room and more light to see it became apparent the bottom edge of the top half of the duct (the part which connects directly to the alternator) was nudging the hose just enough to not allow me to slip it on.

what i would LIKE to do is remove the compressor and dissasemble the alternator duct by hand and reassemble everything

what i WILL do is take a dremel and try to trim the driver side edge of it. although with the thing totally gone, id practically have room to stand in there, i think a trim job will suffice and allow me room to do it with the compressor in place

for the present moment ive misplaced my dremel, hopefully i will have progress to post later.


rr

p.s. i would like to note 2 things
1. there is a 17mm hex bolt on the back of the alternator duct. i took it off but it seems to be to protect battery connection to the alternator so i put it back on, it did not loosen the duct itself

and 2. it seems two by pass valves are overkill and the new technik kit even does away with one of them. therefore i will be welding **** pipes in two places to cut the lower bypass valve out of circulation.
the first will be the metal squiggly pipe thats just a short connecter near the fmic in, im fairly sure its only real purpose is to provide air to the bpv by a little offshoot. delete
the 2nd is the non boost pipe at the top it has 4 offshoots, the lower two for the bpvs. ill seal one of those as well

[xmltok]

if you have a camera and can take pictures of the pipes, i can show you the differences between your kit and the current technik kit. I just installed mine 2 weeks ago.

If you already know then forget about it. It sounds like you have a plan.

I'm glad the alternator hacking is working out!

[redronin]

if you have a camera and can take pictures of the pipes, i can show you the differences between your kit and the current technik kit. I just installed mine 2 weeks ago.

If you already know then forget about it. It sounds like you have a plan.

I'm glad the alternator hacking is working out!

yeahits really amazing i pulled the bottom peice out and behold! light from below. it was like being lost in a cave and seeing the light. unfortunately someone either stole or misplaced my dremel so im going to have to wait again :mad:


i think i took some pics of the kit all laid out. ill try to post the pics i have taken so far this week, im going to fl and ill have loads of free time :thumbup:

[BMWintoxication]

so did you get the infinitas kit or the Technik kit?

[xmltok]

i'm impressed with your ability to put off the supercharger install for finals. I ended up installing my supercharger during my finals instead of studying. :)

[redronin]

so did you get the infinitas kit or the Technik kit?

infinitas although i purchased the upgrade samco hoses (i may have cut one too short tho)

figure if i really want the bigger fmic ill buy a bigger one later

didnt think about the price of software tho i think thats whats gonna kill me

[xmltok]

where did you order the samco hoses from?

[redronin]

where did you order the samco hoses from?

direct from samcos website theres a 45 degree one and a 90 degree one except the 90 degree one is about 50 times too big you have to cut a lot of material from it to get it to fit right.

go slow i think i screwed mine up im gonna see if itll hold but i may have to get another one or use the slinky hose temporarily up top.

[xmltok]

is that sporthoses.com? I don't see how to order from samcosport.com

I already ordered from sporthoses but they are out of stock for 4-6 weeks.

[redronin]

is that sporthoses.com? I don't see how to order from samcosport.com

I already ordered from sporthoses but they are out of stock for 4-6 weeks.

yeah i think so they are blue say samco on them. if they are out of stock call technik they may have them in the shop since they include them with the new kits.


i think the price is roughly the same too, samir quoted me on them at one time

[MachRc]

Kud0s you tackling it byyourself!

[redronin]

Kud0s you tackling it byyourself!

thanks its taken a lot of time and money, but its been a whole lot of fun. plus i gain intimate knowledge about my engine bay that i never had before..



i like installing things like this because if i know how something works, i can figure out what parts are good, and what are bad.

for example my plands to weld shut some piping and limit the system to a single BPV, i never would have known it was possible if i didnt have to figure out what the BPV did in order to install it correctly.


it also helps me spot ripoff shops when they charge me for 3 hours labor and i can be like "i installed it in the first place in an hour and im a 21 year old business student using jack stands, and you want to tell me its gonna take a garage full of mechanics 3 hours with a lift?"

[redronin]

anyways, im headed to florida for a week so my babys gonna have to take care of herself right now, i wish i had gotten the chance to finish, but thats life i guess


ive been taking pics along the way, will post them all when i get back

[MachRc]

your probably saving upward of 1300 bux alone on the install.

But you are correct about the pricey software. If you have the infinitas kit with the smaller IC, I think software from ESS was somewhere north of 1200 bucks. But definately can't go wrong with asa. Good luck again Red!

[redronin]

well its been a long while, but i got back from florida and finished the hardware for the kit. now i have 3 steps left in the SC install

1. install FPR
2. install ASAtronic
3. supply vaccuum to everything that wants it (FPR, bpv x 2, and boost gauge) i am planning on taking the vacuum from the F connecter that used to plug into the throttle body (as per zoltis reccomendation)


any information on the first and last would be helpful. it doesnt seem to hard once i get under there and orient myself, but the tips you guys supplied for the other problems i had, well i wouldnt be this far without them

TIA
any comments, criticism, advice, always welcome
RR

p.s. i DO have some pictures of mid install, my sister said she would host them for me, so as soon as shes done ill post (i dont have the patience to resize, and then host images, it just takes so GD long)

[redronin]

id also note that tapping the oil pan wasnt *exactly as easy as some people have said. zolti said i should have any problem with metal shavings, but i did. hell they were everywhere, including in the pan, i cleaned them out as best i could, washed some fresh oil over the tap, and sealed it, and then poured the rest of the quart in the top. im going to drain that quart, then full flush, then finally put in one more dose of oil for the road.

if you are religous pray for my oil system!

[redronin]

ok only vac to go

heres some random shots my sister hosted
oil drain. not fun.
http://photos-398.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v61/183/8/1476420592/n1476420592_30217398_2273.jpg
lol shes dusty, sue me.
http://photos-395.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v61/183/8/1476420592/n1476420592_30217395_1302.jpg
my masterful blend of old crappy tubing and new better tubing, because i had issues with the 90 degree pipe. :mad:
http://photos-397.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v61/183/8/1476420592/n1476420592_30217397_2016.jpg
well as far as the rest of my install this little pipe sucker is the last thing that i have no clue where it needs to go. ideas?
http://photos-401.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v61/183/8/1476420592/n1476420592_30217401_3069.jpg
the lower bpv clears the pulley by millimeters. i didnt route it according to the diagrams, but rather assembled the piping to fit the best clearence i could find. i believe it will work exactly the same. well see.
http://photos-399.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v61/183/8/1476420592/n1476420592_30217399_2524.jpg
hi my hood doesnt match my car because i cant decide on body panels.
http://photos-400.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v61/183/8/1476420592/n1476420592_30217400_2809.jpg
i post this for informative purposes. these two tubes were part of the original F connector that went to the idle control valve i think. well it dissapears to the manifold, as it turns out this is vacuum feed. the small connector which i broke off end up at the stock fuel filter. you can tap this like to connect to your bpvs. the other end used to go to the throttle body i think, well now its used to go to the asa FPR if you use one.
http://photos-396.ak.facebook.com/ip002/v61/183/8/1476420592/n1476420592_30217396_1754.jpg


ttomorrow i will connect the vacuum lines, drain the oil again, fill it with fluid and start the key, then try to tune it. i guess ill give it a hundred miles before i step on it. want to be careful.

[xmltok]

i would be worried about that bpv sitting so close to the pulley

[redronin]

i would be worried about that bpv sitting so close to the pulley

yeah a little worried as well, however all the piping connecting it is steel so its very rigid. it actually has moreclearance than it looks like


but what can i say, EVERYTHING is tight!

[redronin]

well the car runs, or idles at least. everything seems to be running smoothly with the exception of a massive oil leak at the oil p. switch.

this thing would be a lot easier to do if i knew how to take off the intake manifold. CAUTION: in Todds writeup (very very good)_ he says you dont need to make the oil connections super tight, the washers do the job of sealing. well this may be true but i took it too literally. make sure they are pretty tight. getting back at it while the compressor is mounted is less than fun.

in any case thanks so much guys, you have been infinitely valuable during install, of course ill have pics, but right now it basically looks the same as the install shots, once i get the body put back together ill take more, and maybe a vid or something



one more time thank you FI forum guys, and Zolti, you are a god. This man could by memory tell me the exact size shape color and thread count of any bolt in the car. and i often asked him to. how did he put up with me? not sure.

[sheefo2k]

you should rehost your pics man!!!