How much prior mechanical knowledge did you have? Did you work on any cars prior to this, or was this your first time doing your own wrenching? I'm asking because I just ordered my powerlab ST kit, and am planning on doing my own installation; yet after reading Jeffie's thread, it seems as if he had more wrenching experience than I, as well as having to massage some piping to fit.

thanks for the responses; i'll post pictures as the kit arrives and i throw the car on jackstands.

 

Well it depends how much wrench time you've had. If your not comfortable it may be best to have at least another person with more mechanical knowledge to help you. I installed my own turbo kit and it first helped to have a fiend help my in the beginning. I learned about easing out bolts (to avoid stripping threads) and torque specs and all that due to his help. I ended up doing the 80% of the install myself (with previous car work being oil change and brake pads) and ran the kit for 3 years. You'll learn alot about your car in general if you work on it and save a ton of cash too. I'd have someone help you if I were in your shoes.

 

My bro installed my PowerLab kit over a little more than a weekend with basic tools in his garage.

I have zero mechanical experience so I probably wouldn’t attempt the install by myself. But, the PowerLab kit is a pretty simple install overall we didn’t have any issues with the piping, it’s just really a tight fit, so just take your time and utilize the form for help.

 

that's kinda my problem: the friends who are willing to help me, have the same mechanical knowledge as I. One friend did do his own b-series swap into his EK, but i wonder if that's enough experience to help on this install. really, i don't want to take it to a shop, simply because i want the experience and understanding about the kit and how everything works...as well as saving the money. However, i would be willing to fork out a bit of cash to a local board memeber, if anything, for the things that you gained from your friend.


thats part of the reason i elected to go ST vs TT, was the fact that it was RELATIVELY easier to install in your own home, especially since I don't have a lift, a driveway...only a garage. i will have some buddies who are willing to help, but i'm fairly sure that 75% of the work will be done by myself, after work...similar to Jeffie's thread. Doesn't help that my buddies and i all work different schedules.

But i'm about to install an LCD monitor in the garage, so i can have a computer in there so i can log on when i take m f-bomb breaks during install

 

Man if a person was able to swap an engine, that's pretty good experience imo.

 

Let's see. I have done stupid little things. Exhaust, intake, oil change, and full brake change ( Rotors / Pads on a Honda )

I managed to pull the motor, twin turbo it, all electronics / wiring ( Except 2 wires, fuel pump, and tune ) Didn't go to school for it, just researched and learned from here and the instructions I took from their site ( 80 pages ) Did it in a 1 car garage with no lift. Front of car was on jack stands, Trans was left in, but everything in the front was off. ( lights, bumper, supports, rad, AC, rad support ect ) Just walked the motor out.

If you do it, take your time and look for threads on here from people who did it to learn and find tricks/tips to help you do it.

 

i did the pl install with a buddy and found that everything went easy, but the kit arrived without parts, late, lack of pictures on instructions. IMO the biggest PIA was the exhaust inlet on outlet pipes on the turbine housing, spent most of the time on that

 

I think the most important factor is to have the right tools!

For example, when I was installing my BC Racing BR Coilovers and SPL Front A-Arms, SPL Rear Midlink, and other suspension parts, I was waiting on a some tools to ship in from Harbor Freight.

The rear suspension (Easy Install) took me 4 hours because of not having a stupid Breaker Bar (VERY IMPORTANT) to break free the extremely tight bolts. Also I needed a couple wrenches that I didn't have, thus making me use a cheap adjustable wrench.

However, I waited for the parts to ship in to finish the front suspension and that went extremely fast. With the right tools, everything goes much much smoother!

 

As long as you have time, you can do anything. If you''re on a time crunch. DONT DO IT. You'll just hate life and get burnt out.

As far as tools, all your basics, plus a handful of extensions/wobble extensions. Everything is super tight, You will need to be creative with using tools to get to weird spots you'd never think you could reach. Just take your time and allow yourself to walk away and go back to a WTF issue at a later time when you can view it in a different light.

 

^ agreed also buy ziplock bags, sharpie, and take pics if you think you will not remember where specific stuff went. Takes a few extra mins but will help you out in the long run. I bag and tag every build I do.

 

well sed sir..FSM and tools is KEY..

 

If I were you, I would get a local forum member to help you out and pay him some money. So that way you can also help him out, and learn at the same time.

 

Agreed.

I was working in oil change shops for a few years before I started modding my own car. I had very basic mechanical knowledge but no real in-depth experience. The first thing I ever did to one of my cars was change the clutch and install a new flywheel. Way over my head, took me 3 days to get the car back together. But I just dove in head first with a Haynes manual and got to it. I think it was less to do with knowledge and simply knowing what to do, and more about will power.

After that, I was doing the basic stuff like intake, headers, exhaust, brakes, etc. And then I met my friend who was into 300ZX's and it was another "dive in head first" experience because he was doing NA > TT swaps and automatic to 5-speed tranny swaps. I helped out on a few cars here and there and learned a lot from him. IT got to the point where people were bringing their 300ZX's to him for work, or diagnosis, and I was assisting him as much as I could.

I'd say now I'm pretty comfortable pulling engines and trannies, but I'm still very unlearned about their internals. I mean I know how and engine works lol, and what parts do what task...but I've not actually sat there myself and assembled an engine by memory. Especially not a TT V6.

I guess I jsut have the attitude now of ,"If I don't know how to do it, I'll figure it out." Whereas before if I didn't know how, I just didn't do it. I'm definitely glad for the experience, and there's still a lot to learn.

 

I've built plenty of cars and utilize a full size shop, but you have to learn somewhere! Mechanicing is pretty straight forward, so grab a FSM, instructions for the PL kit, a descent set of tools and have at it. I think you will surprise yourself!

ross

 

Thanks for the replies. As far as grabbing tools and the like, I was planning on using some of the funds allocated for shop installation and investing in some tools. Really as I said I'm not familiar with wrenching, so what are the bare minimum tools needed? Or would one of those sets at a auto shop be sufficient?

Also as the install progresses I was going to ask any local forum members for help and I would reimburse their time. I figured 500-1000, depending on how many hours he invested during the install??

Luckily my G sedan only sees about 4-800 miles a month so downtime for it won't be a problem.

 

You’ll need a nice set of Allen wrenches that’ll fit in tight spaces. Aside from that just basic tools should really suffice (ratchet wrenches a huge plus, a socket to remove O2 sensors, a few ratchets and extensions in various sizes) and a nice cordless 18v impact.

Also, remember that you need to clear the A/C system since you’ll be replacing the A/C lines with the PowerLab kit, you might need to take your car into a shop to clear out the system.

 

Just do it.

 

Do it Right the first time, and only do it once.

Saves you money, problems and time in the long run!

Thats why I did my install myself

 

If you've ever worked at a shop, home DIY's are the pretty much the biggest reason cars end up at shops.

People get in over their heads quickly, or something doesnt work out. Then they drop the entire mess off at a shop to deal with.

If you have to come on here asking random people that dont know you if you can DIY, you probably shouldnt be.