The 3RZ turbo will be a fun project for sure. A lot of nights I fall asleep dreaming about how I'm going to set all that up and what the best method is for the overall setup. To some extent, I'm looking to how the F40 engine is setup with regard to their induction system. Group B cars, etc. I might run a bit of water injection also. I've run water injection in the past and it's pretty nice for protecting the internals under higher boost levels.

I may need to wait until I have another shop though to really get that project rolling. Right now mostly just checking out the block and doing a lot of research on things. I have previous experience with turbocharging but there is a lot of modern stuff now also. I need to get up to speed on the Link ECU as well. I've thought about going N/A on that motor and running 44 Mikunis on it, but turbo charging is also a lot of fun.

If the block bores are within specs to re-bore, then I will start doing some prep work and maybe Cerakote it inside and out. Also have to figure out which gearbox to run and all that. I think the W58 should handle the power (especially if I take it back apart and cryotreat the gears inside). I'm also wondering about fitting up maybe something after market or maybe the R154 or V160/161 box - still doing research in that area. I think the W58 - especially with the cast iron center plate - should handle maybe up to low 400 HP as long as you don't bang on it too much. I'm planning on running 7.0:1 or 7.5:1 static compression ratio on the motor and a pretty large turbo, so the power will be once things are moving (not down low). I think that will help prevent high torque loads on the gaerbox from a stand-still and maybe avoid bad stuff happening like sheering off teeth and turning the synchros into powder.

We'll see.

Ray

 

you can kind of DC TIG weld aluminum with Helium but it is not recommended. It is easy to weld aluminum but doing it so that it doesnt crack later is harder.

A welded aluminum radiator for $100 doesnt pass my smell test. Take in mind they must have cut every corner, even with overseas labour. This may be fine in a city vehicle but I would have reliability concerns for off road

 

I've never tried to DC weld aluminum, but usually the back current on A/C cleans the weld. I have actually used my gas welder to weld aluminum, but that's pretty sketch usually.

Finding high quality factories in China can be done, but it can be tricky. I'm about to build my own radiator over here.

Ray

 

you are correct. The issue with TIG welding aluminum is that the oxide has a very high melt point. If you use argon and AC current the current on the reverse phase goes material > electrode and that breaks up the oxide (and your tungsten). However it works with helium and DC but nit well ... If you mean MIG welder with gas welder, then it will also work (I believe you will need argon shielding gas) with a spool gun and you may be able to rig it up without a spool gun.

China does make good quality but the $100 radiator may be not so good ... If you had a AC TIG machine you may be able to reweld at least the major welds but I dont know if that would make the welds weaker over all.

I was thinking it may be possible to get a quality off the shelf aluminum radiator and weld mounts and fittings on yourself. not sure if you save that way and if it will be durable ... depends how good you are with welding ...

 

I've never tried aluminum with my MIG, but I've seen plenty of people wire feed on aluminum with pretty decent results. When I mentioned gas above there I was talking using oxy/acetylene with just super low gas pressure. Usually the bead ends up on the backside of the material however. Definitely not a trick I would attempt on a radiator coolant tank.

Yeah.. that was my thinking too. On the Champion that's currently in my truck, I think I will carefully cut open the bottom tank and inspect things. I mean I love the radiator itself and would love to keep running it. I just don't love that it is constantly allowing coolant to seep out on both sides. I'm kinda curious if it's weld porosity or stress fractures or something. When the time comes, I'm definitely gonna pickup another AC/DC TIG. I was running an Everlast for quite a while, but the HF start on it gave up and just was getting tired of lift starting all my welds.

I'm pretty decent at welding. I've been welding on and off maybe 40 years or so. I started with stick, then gas.. then moved into MIG and finally TIG. These days I mostly stick to TIG on stainless and/or steel if possible. I have AC TIG welded aluminum, but I would definitely have to brush up to pull off a clean intercooler or radiator type of job. If Hill Welding is a 10.. I'm probably more like a 7.5 or 8 on a good day. Here's a picture of some A36 plate on my front push bar where I burned in the cross tubes at 200 amps (TIG) - just to give you an idea of my welding abilities.

But again, on Aluminum, that can get a bit more tricky.

Ray

 

But all roads will eventually lead to TIG aluminum welding over here... on the 3RZ turbo motor, I'm planning on fabricating my intake from scratch and that will most likely be from T6 or T7 aluminum.

Ray

 

I have seen those youtube vids where people feed aluminum wire through their MIG machine and it seems to work in principle but comes with a host of other issues .... but for detailed radiator welds, MIG isnt great anyways ...

I see what you mean with gas now. Thats definitely above my pay grade!

If you still have the Everlast, it should be possible to repair the HF circuit.. I have an AHP, they go for $600 or so and are a step up from the cheap chinese and is fine unless you need long duty cycle. also primeweld makes cheap ok machines

A leaking radiator is not really a good thing ... have you pressurized it and sprayed with soap to see where the leaks are from? its easy to get cracked welds in aluminum or a pinhole here and there that you could fix with a AC machine ...

It seems you have plenty of welding skills. the key to aluminum welding is to clean the material well. brush all the oxide off, then clean with acetone and you are halfways there. A good torch makes a difference. I cant get it to work at all with regular tips and a cheap torch but it works with a better torch and gas lenses.

 

TIG is so much more versatile! I started with MIG and its great on coarse mild steel projects but for all other its not so good and I prefer TIG. You only need one gas, vs a different gas for everything (Ok, you could fluxcore MIG weld mild steel).

The ability to weld aluminum and stainless is awesome! It is so easy to quickly make a bracket for this and that from aluminum or stainless.

 

MIG is great. I weld all the rebar for my concrete projects using a MIG instead of tying it off. The concrete delivery people are always like WTF? You weld the rebar all together? :-)

But for any sort of higher level fabrication, it has to be TIG.

Ray

 

I supported Everlast when they first hit the scene. The owner is super nice / chill guy. They gave me a good deal on my Power Pro machine in exchange for doing some videos on the channel. When the HF circuit died, they wouldn't really do much to help out and the cost to get the unit repaired was cost prohibitive. Given I was an early supporter of theirs, I was kinda surprised. So that was it for Everlast as far as I'm concerned. I'm going to try out some other machines and maybe look at Miller moving forward. I picked up a tiny Arccaptain DC only TIG to weld my girlfriend's cat on her Lexus, but then she split before we could finish that work. It's here and I have a tank of argon, but haven't gotten around to messing with it.

On the aluminum - yes, everything has to be spotless from what I have seen. Brushes only for aluminum, etc, etc. Acetone for sure. I have a lot of different cups and lenses here and all sorts of tungsten to select from. When it comes time to weld aluminum stuff, I'm gonna have to sit down and really practice and test a lot. Also, I think aluminum becomes weaker around the weld area doesn't it? With steel it usually ends up stronger, but I think with aluminum it becomes more brittle if I recall correctly.

A lot of the inspiration for my 3RZ project comes from the guys over at PSI Racing on YouTube. They have several turbocharged Toyota motors in their drag cars that are built very nice and very similar (in a lot of areas) to how I wanna setup my engine.

Ray

 

I think when I first got my MIG (and this was maybe back in the mid-90's or something) I picked up some aluminum wire for it. I don't think I ever attempted to run it though. Or maybe I did and it was a disaster and that's when I realized I needed a TIG welder some day. But the MIG is great for a lot of things. Welding the frame on your truck.. perfect. Popping a bunch of tacks for sheet metal, perfect. But aluminum or Titanium... not so much haha :-D

Ray

 

I have not looked into what's going on with the radiator yet. I'm monitoring the situation right now. If I pull it out, I think I will see if I can carefully cut the bottom of the lower coolant tank off and see what is going on on the other side of the tubes that run between the two tanks.

I did contact Champion and asked them about how the tubes are secured in there, but now I can't remember if they said they are press fit or welded.

At some point, there will be an autopsy and I'll get to the bottom of things. If it can be repaired, then I will do that and weld back on the bottom plate. Whenever I get around to cutting it open, I'll post up some pics on this thread. I think it would be interesting to see how the tubes interface with the coolant tank. I'm also curious to see if I can fabricate my own intercooler for the 3RZ project, since I wanna hide that away behind the grill. I'm also gonna attempt laying up a carbon fiber or kevlar hood down the road and post a video about that.

But yeah.. gonna get to the bottom of this issue on the Champion Radiator come hell or high water.

Ray

 

I just put a CSF radiator that I bought from Rockauto in my 1993 with a 2.4 engine. Looks to be very good quality and all mounting and shroud bolt holes lined up perfectly. Only two minor things I didn't care for those being that the drain plug is a pretty cheap looking piece of plastic and the spigot that the overflow hose connects to seemed a little oversize both in length and diameter (in fact it was damned hard getting the overflow hose to the recovery tank connected ended up heating it with a cigarette lighter to get it pushed on).

 

I am not an expert .... I stick metal together in my garage .... but I think all welds make the material weaker. For sure you lose any heat treatment or cold rolling properties it had before... I am sure aluminum gets brittler. it is important to keep the heat affected zone small by keeping the tungsten close to the material. I think aluminum rods usually contain components that help with brittleness and some aluminum type welds better than other. some (i think especially cast) should be heated.

check out the stanceworks youtube, he fabs all sorts of turbo equipment and car parts

 

Everlast sounds like a dick company ... will avoid

 

its best to have both ! for trailer other large mild steel MIG is great. Its also much easier....

you need a spool gun because aluminum wire is so soft that it crumbles when its fed from the machine like steel wire. the spool gun pushes it only a short distance straight through the gun. you can somewhat mitigate that by using a harder aluminum wire and put teflon liners in your set up and keep the cables line straight. I have seen youtube channels where this works. there are still issues where the aluminum wire picks up steel bits from inside your machine and other dirt but it may work ok enough. this is something to weld large projects like aluminum boats and trailers and what not. (if it works well enough)

 

before you cut the rad, you should check where it actually leaks. maybe stick it under water in a small kiddie pool and pressure it or soap test it...

with enough patience you can fab a lot of things

 

Yeah, good idea. I can see where the leak is basically (it's where the tubes go into the top of the lower tank on both sides). There's kind of a shelf with a rim down there and the coolant builds up there, then rolls down the sides and dries from the heat. It's a mess down there.

Pressure testing in water isn't a bad idea though and my air compressor hose can definite reach the downstairs bathtub

Ray

 

I think they make a good welder by and large. I know the owner of the local welding supply place and he told me that most all inverter machines start to fail or have issues after 4-5 years. The HF circuit on mine went out right around 5 years as I recall. I certainly would consider an everlast welder again, but these days there are many other brands to select from as well. I think Everlast was kinda one of the first import but advanced inverter machines to hit the market, so for a while there they were the only option outside of Miller or Lincoln if you wanted a capable welder and didn't wanna drop $5K on something pro-level.

But yeah, wish that could have helped me out a bit more in the end there. I ended up selling the welder on CL to some kids that were okay with lift start and were just happy to get into TIG AC/DC welding at a super low price.

Ray

 

indeed looks like it leaks from the cores. if you can cut it open, reweld the leak from the inside (assuming you know exactly where it is) then it could work