I just got a PM from Reggie and it looks like my Turbo will be repaired and a wet turbo option is available.

Now I need a tutorial on wet turbo's

 

Does that include the lines and fittings to route the water lines?

All you've got to do is find the two radiator hoses on the back sides of the engine bay (same place that APS t's their water lines in). Get some big cutters and cut straight through the hoses, and then put in the T fittings. Attach the lines to that and then route them around to the turbo and screw in the bolts. It doesn't matter which side the feed/return go in.

Oh, and you have to drain and refill the coolant to do this.

I'd take pics of mine if it were here. Maybe this friday I can get some. It's pretty simple.

 

Agreed. Its more of a PITA then difficult to do. Only because the heater core lines (the lines you are tapping into) are at the back of the motor and difficult to access. As Craig said there are two tee fittings. You cut each of the heater core lines somewhere on a straight shot not the curved section of the line. Install the tee fittings with some hose clamps. Worm drives will work. Connect the -16 AN fittings (I believe they are -16 AN all I know is they are HUGE AN fittings) to the tee fittings. Run the two SS braided water lines up to the bearing section. On either side of the bearing on the opposite sides of the oil feed and return are two threaded holes. The end of the water lines has a large banjo fitting. Attach the lines to either side of the bearing section using the supplied banjo bolts and a copper wash on each side of the bolt (bearing side and water line side) Thats it. The direction or placement of the lines doesn't matter. Water will flow in one side and out there other and the direction doesn't really make a difference. Like I said its easy just time consuming.

 

Good news bro.

 

LOVE IT! Now where do I sign up?

 

Everyone see this thread:

https://my350z.com/forum/forced-induction/277085-turbonetics-oil-seal-smoke-issue-official-fix-thread.html

for the official details...

 

you could just as easily (probably easier) cut and T into the smaller, more accessible lines that go to the throttle body. thats how i installed my water lines on my 240. actually you dont need to T, just take the piece of hose out, go to the turbo, then back to the throttle body. i cant remember what size line it is, but even the one on my 240 throttle body was small but works great, plus you can clamp that hose since its more pliable so you dont have to drain the system.

 

Sounds a lot easier but will this flow enough to keep the turbo cool?

 

yes, it should, the line going to and from my TB is not very big.

 

Thats the problem though. The line going to throttle body is FAR smaller then the water cooling lines for the bearing section. I would stick with what Turbonetics has for install which is to tap the heater core. APS does the same thing as well as PE.

 

remember MIA, im running the gt35r that comes with the APS kit, and the 240guys running MUCH larger turbos than that are using the same place I am. even the guys at AMS say its an adequate source using that location. im using 3/8 inch ID hose for mine, IIRC, thats way large enough, remember the water jacket isnt very big, you dont need tons of coolant flowing thru it. i was just offering an easier, effective method, you guys do what you want. heres a pic of my TB with my water lines coming off of it. also the lines coming off the VQ TB are bigger than mine.

 

Really, installing the water lines onto those heater hoses isn't very hard. I'd be more comfortable doing it right in a proven spot (used by the other turbo kit manufacturers) than going out on a limb with it.

Just make sure you cut the lines back there on a STRAIGHT portion of the line so the T fitting will fit in there. The rest is simple.

 

What size are those water lines/water jacket banjo bolts. They look a LOT smaller then the ones Turbonetics has on their bearing sections. The lines are also a bit larger diameter it seems by looking at the pics but of course its hard to tell from pics. I'll dig around my email but I'm pretty sure Turbonetics is using -16 AN water lines and fittings. I don't know how that compares ID wise to 3/8" though. The water tap fittings Turbonetics has are 5/8" diameter barbed galvanized tee fittings. Of course in the end the customer can set it up however they like. Turbonetics recommends using their fittings and water lines and tapping the heater core feed lines of course. Also maybe its just me but it seems like the coolant lines on the 240 are larger then the ones on the Z but again hard to tell from pics.

 

Meh I figure safer and better to just do what TN wants. I'm just super excited because my motor is all broke in and ready for some power again. NA is sooo slow.

 

well, since TN recommends it, ITS GOTTA BE THE BEST WAY! ever thought that TN just used APSs plan and didnt look anywhere else? and we know that APS knows what they are doing!

they are 14mm banjos, the size recommended for the gt35r housing. the same size as APS supplies with their kits, actually i think its a little larger than the APS fittings. oh yeah, the ID of the SS water lines supplied by APS are smaller than these. just offering another suggestion, like i said, im satisfied with the way mine is setup, you guys can do what you want. ive seen both the 240 and the VQ TB water lines, and trust me, the VQs are bigger. plus this way you dont have to drain the system.

 

Turbonetics didn't make that plan. Rob and I did when we put in my turbo. I remember discussing alternate points at which we could tap into the system, but decided on those as it was "safe". If you want to experiment you can. Besides, the turbonetics water lines were cut to a legth to tap into those heater lines. Tapping anywhere closer with those lines will just leave a bunch of slack and twisted up SS braided line all over the place.

 

tig I'm not saying that and I'm not saying your idea isn't good. I'm just sharing how Turbonetics did it. I know, I was there the first time they looked at this and first time they set up a water cooled bearing on any VQ35. I remember sitting there looking at the motor and going over the FSM to determine the best place to tap the water lines. In the end the R&D engineer decided the heater core feed and return would provide more then ample coolant flow to cool the bearing and are constantly fed coolant regardless of the thermostat position. Not saying the throttle body won't also just that they decided to use the heater core as the -16 AN lines and banjo bolts (I believe its a 19mm banjo bolt) were quite large and they wanted to maintain the closest ID to that as they could on the source and return lines. Since then I also installed the water cooled set up on another car (Craig's) to validate the install. It worked well as well and the ease of install was enough to make this a snap. As for the throttle body coolant lines aren't they 1/4" lines on the Z? Just curious. I'll look at my FSM tomorrow to make sure though.

 

That too. Reggie's G sedan had the water cooled lines on it well before mine, but we wanted to make sure it worked on a Z by dropping it in my car.

 

Exactly. Me, Johnny, Shaggy, and Reggie actually looked at the motor and FSM pics of the coolant system for over an hour trying to come up with the best place to mount it. We knew the Mustang was tapped on the heater core and after some deliberation we all agreed the heater core on the Z would be just as effective. Reggies was the first car EVER to have a water cooled Turbonetics bearing installed on it (with a Turbonetics kit of course). After that Turbonetics wanted to validate the install on a Z as well as Reggie has a G35 sedan. When Craig needed to swap his turbo it was the perfect opportunity as I was going to be in the Tampa area at the same time. We did the same setup as on Reggie's car on Craigs to validate the install and of course it worked like a charm. Again I'm not saying there aren't other ways to do this I'm just saying this is how Turbonetics recommends it be done and I have done two personally now and it works just fine. As I said in the new thread the customer has the option to route the water cooling lines wherever they want and use whatever parts they would like. I know this way works as I've done it. And FYI Turbonetics uses a quite different setup then APS to do this. I looked at the APS install instructions after the fact. But APS wasn't even mentioned during the first install.

 

youre right, all things being equal the heater lines are larger and allow more flow, to each his own, i guess its best to do what TN recommends if you use their kit, but at the end of the day, its just a water supply line, your CHRA wont know the different between an 3/8 ID or a 5/8 ID. just offering an idea for those who like to spice it up a bit. im looking forward to seeing the results of the new wet TN setups.