installing stainless steel turbo lines.

[Z33dori]

okay so i bought some CS turbo likes for S13

and i'm wondering... do you guys have any tips of tricks for getting the water return line on.......

My engine is still in my car.... and i'm having some trouble trying to figure out how to attach the line since it sits pretty far behind the block.

[whereda40at]

the way i did it is.
1. take off the hard line
2. cut about 2" of the straight part of the hard line with copper pipe cutters
3. put 1" of the hard line in the stainless steel line and tighten.
4. test the line to see if it leaks. run water threw it and plug the end of the hard line and make sure it doesnt leak.
5. push the hard line into the hose that the hard line was in.
6. clamp down and go.

[Z33dori]

hmmm, did think of doing that...

i'll be sure to keep that in thoughts box if i can't just get the line on it.

+1 for you thanks.

anyone else...

[SHIFT_*grind*]

I pulled the hardline out of the rubber hose, and attached the SS line to the hose with a barb fitting. There wasn't much room to work, but I got it done without much trouble. Just a pair of needlenose pliers, steady hands, and a little patience.

[Mister.E]

here's what i posted in another thread. this way is complicated but it is the way the lines were designed to be used. in this particular case the guy had attached his new braided line to his freshly cut hardline and it was leaking. best way to avoid a problem is to do it right the first time.

Originally Posted by E Double

there isnt anything that tells you how to do it.

look heres how it is:

1. remove braided hose from cut hardline.
2. unplug coil packs and move the harness to the left of the engine bay and away from the firewall and rear of the head (be careful and do not damage the harness while you are doing this).
3. remove hose clamp and fat heater hose from behind head.
4. once that is removed you will see your rubber hose and cut hard line sticking out....well the other end of that hose is also connected to another hard line. remove that tiny rubber hose and cut hard line and connect your braided return line to the hard line that you just exposed behind the head.
5. put everything back together in reverse order and connect the steel braided line to your turbo, etc. etc.

[jspaeth]

The easiest thing is to plug off the return line in the back of the motor with a bolt and clamp.

Then, either A) buy an S14 waterneck (goes on the front right of the engine if you are looking at it from the front....it's the place the coolant return to the top of the radiator goes to) or B) tap into your existing water neck (with the proper size fitting....i believe M12?) and run the coolant return there.

Fucking with the connection to the back of the engine is just too hard unless the motor's out.

[burnsauto]

grow tiny little girl hands like i have. (seriously, finding mens gloves that actually fit me is really hard.)

but working on cars is easier.

[whereda40at]

Originally Posted by E Double

here's what i posted in another thread. this way is complicated but it is the way the lines were designed to be used. in this particular case the guy had attached his new braided line to his freshly cut hardline and it was leaking. best way to avoid a problem is to do it right the first time.

you posted that for me. i had taken the line off and the stainless steel line what not holding the coolent. it was leaking from the red fitting that goes on the hard line. i sent it out and got a new one. now it works perfect.

but yes the way you have it is the correct way. if he wants to get it done in 20 min he will do it the way i posted.

if he wants it done in 2 days and have a few dents in the fender from frustration. then he will do it your way. (the correct way)

[Z33dori]

got it done in about 45 mins...

just took 2 of use.... mainly b/c my hands are to big....

[SoSideways]

Which way did you go?

Cause I'm in the same boat.

I originally had the SS braided line on the hard pipe on the back of the head (had taken the rubber hose off, basically using the SS braided hose to replace the rubber hose), and somehow half tightened the clamp with all the shit back there so I couldn't take it back off.

2 hours and much of my arms/hands/ribs bruised (from leaning over the fenders and what not) I finally got the clamp loosened up so I could pull the line out again.

Ended up taking the coil pack harness off of the head, taking the A/C hard line that runs across the firewall completely off (have to put this back on for I plan to get my shit recharged). I ended up using a 7mm 1/4" drive socket on a universal joint, a 5" extension, and a ratchet to loosen the clamp.

I do plan on switching it to the rubber hose + barbed fitting method though. Would be much easier to get to it if for whatever reason the turbo has to come off again.

Hate how hard it is to maneuver the lines cause they don't bend for shit.

[Z33dori]

i just pulled the harness and coilpacks out of the way. then my friend was able to get the fitting and hose on, after a bit of wiggling.

the just tightened it with a screw drive, then went back with socket.....and pulled the crap out of it to make sure it doesn't come loose.

it just takes small hands and some time. But i would recommend to do it when you do a head gasket and stud job..... god damn its annoying

[SoSideways]

Originally Posted by Z33dori

i just pulled the harness and coilpacks out of the way. then my friend was able to get the fitting and hose on, after a bit of wiggling.

the just tightened it with a screw drive, then went back with socket.....and pulled the crap out of it to make sure it doesn't come loose.

it just takes small hands and some time. But i would recommend to do it when you do a head gasket and stud job..... god damn its annoying

Do you have A/C lines back there?

Cause I don't think I could even get close to it with the 1/4" socket when the A/C line was still there.

........looks like I'm going to ACE Hardware later to get me a barbed fitting.

Shit's gonna look like ass, with a long ass coolant return line and shit, hanging all over the place.

[Z33dori]

yea i still have the a/c, so that made it a pain in the ass...
but i have mine pushed down on top of the tranny...

[fromxtor]

My motor is out so im not having the same problem, but I know a few ppl who did the s14 ka waterneck thing.

[SHIFT_*grind*]

Originally Posted by SoSideways

Do you have A/C lines back there?

Cause I don't think I could even get close to it with the 1/4" socket when the A/C line was still there.

........looks like I'm going to ACE Hardware later to get me a barbed fitting.

Shit's gonna look like ass, with a long ass coolant return line and shit, hanging all over the place.

I have mine like that, it doesn't look bad. Unless you use like 3 feet of rubber hose

[Z33dori]

Originally Posted by fromxtor

My motor is out so im not having the same problem, but I know a few ppl who did the s14 ka waterneck thing.

i might look into doing that once i go topmount

if i go i go topmount

[corey240]

Sorry but I cant find anything on the subject to answere me, and its retarded to start a new thread. With the water line, the one that goes to the bnack of the motor..you just cap it off, and tap into the water neck, then connect the line to that? correect? Is this more efficient? Ive been told it is but I wouldnt know either way.

[Mister.E]

if you cap off the rear line then you would probably be better off getting an S14 water neck and a water line for the S14. it would make the install a lot easier IMO

[SoSideways]

Originally Posted by corey240

Sorry but I cant find anything on the subject to answere me, and its retarded to start a new thread. With the water line, the one that goes to the bnack of the motor..you just cap it off, and tap into the water neck, then connect the line to that? correect? Is this more efficient? Ive been told it is but I wouldnt know either way.

Originally Posted by E Double

if you cap off the rear line then you would probably be better off getting an S14 water neck and a water line for the S14. it would make the install a lot easier IMO

If I had to do it again, that's probably the way I would have went.

It's not more efficient that way per say, but it is less of a PITA because then you don't have to deal with the lines going to the back of the block on an S13 motor.

But if you don't have the dough to cough up for the S14 water neck, then just do what some of the folks on here suggested, and I actually did.

Go out and buy a barbed fitting, put the stock rubber line back onto the back of the block, but instead of using the stock metal line to insert into the rubber line, you just put the braided SS line there. Make sure you tighten the clamp as much as you can, or it will leak (I'd know cause mine leaked). That's pretty much it.

A $1 fix versus an $80 fix, or however much those necks cost nowadays.

[480sx]

Heres a writeup i did on how to run coolant to a Ka. About half way down i got into how to make steel hardlines for your coolant. Best way to go by far. You need a 3/8ths inch tubing bender which isnt that expensive and some 3/8ths inch 'brake line(called that, but no one uses it for brakes)' from Napa or anywhere.

Heres the link to Nico for the thread....
---> Want to run water lines to your Ka-T turbo?: KA24ET / KA24DET Forum: Nissan Forums / Infiniti Forums - NICOclub

Heres the part about making your own hardlines.

So heres what i did with my coolant lines today. I went to napa, ANY local parts store and got whats called 3/8ths inch 'brake line'. Now, at that size no one uses it for brake lines, but its made out of a bendable steel that works well with coolant. Just so happened to have the 3/8ths inch tube bender handy, and figured id go for it. Also bought these steel compression tube fittings from McMaster.. Part number ---> 5929K23

Heres a pic of the line, and the tool i used. Im not sure how much the tool is, this is an old school one but it works great. If any of the ka-t guys want to borrow it we can work something out.



So i just kinda went at it, hacked the 5 foot sections into a more usable piece of about 2 foot sections. I first started off by using a few scrap pieces to figure out how the thing worked, and how to make the bends exactly at the point you want them. I went through 4 sections of 3/8ths inch tube through this. They are cheap, under 5 bucks a section.

I was left with these..







I think the aluminized coating on them looks pretty good, so i was gona leave it like that. When i took off my intake manifold, i went ahead and got a big piece of rubber coolant line and looped it in between my water feed, and return line. I made sure there was enough line left so when i was doing these hard lines, i would have enough soft line to connect up with the lines running to the turbo. Heres a pic of that..



So tomorrow ill go ahead and finalize everything and make sure the compression fittings worked right.

This was the end result.



Heh ignore the red wires..

After thinking about it this post is pretty useless for a SR unless you wanted to replace your banjo fittings with compression tube fittings for the block. Meh, still, hard lines ftw.

[obsolete]

quick question, i know the s14 sr waterneck has the bolt for the turbo coolant return line, but besides that, are s13 and s14 waternecks interchangeable? having a tough time locating an s14 one.

[240trainee]

Originally Posted by obsolete

quick question, i know the s14 sr waterneck has the bolt for the turbo coolant return line, but besides that, are s13 and s14 waternecks interchangeable? having a tough time locating an s14 one.

Yes they are. Only different is the bung for the coolent line.

West Covina Nissan had em in stock, probably still do. Good people, super nice, fast shipping.

[g6civcx]

I posted about this 2 years ago, maybe more?

You can block off the return line on the back of the S13 motor. S14 waterneck interchanges and has a return line plubmed for easy access. Plug and play.

If you want trouble free installation buy a 91-93 Sentra SE-R SR20DE waterneck gasket by Fel-Pro. It's a perfect fit and only costs $1. Avoid the nasty silicone stuff.

Good luck.

[s14unimog]

you know guys, there are other ways around buying the s14 water neck. You can buy an M12x1.25 tap and drill your s13 one. or if anyone has some welding skills, drill a fucking hole in it and weld on an Earls AN fitting...

not everything HAS to bolt on.