Rear Turbo Inlet access

[Z4Dude]

Any tips and/or tricks to access the Rear Turbo inlet? I can barely reach down and feel that the clamp isn't on correctly and cannot seem to get any good access from under the car... Do the downpipes need to be removed? It looked like this was the best option, but I can't even access the top bolts to the rear of the downpipes or the clamps to the turbo!

any help or suggestions would be appreciated

 

[ktb_e92]

The rear inlet is a nightmare depending on how you go about it. Some have perfect techniques, others don't. I had the best of luck wiggling it into place while raising / lowering the motor on a hoist since the motor mounts / subframe were already disconnected for upgraded turbo install. You can try your best with finding the bolts for the vbands to the downpipes and removing them. The outlets don't really need to be messed with. That's about as good of access you'll get before you have to be creative in order to feel / see the inlet to ensure it's on correctly

 

[Z4Dude]

For those that are bored and want to read....

I worked on this last night and was able to reach a small compact mirror down from the top and find the hose clamp to the inlet. I felt around the perimeter of the inlet hose (silicone) and the clamp wasn't on straight. It took everything I had (or at least I thought) to get a stubby screwdriver and/or 7mm socket/ratchet in there, make the connection and then try to twist them to loosen the clamp... .eventually got it loosened. Tried to wiggle it into place a little more and it popped completely off.
I thought loosening the clamp was bad but getting that thing lined up and onto the turbo snout, was very difficult to say the least. If my arms were 1/2" shorter I don't think I could have made it. There is a bracket that holds on the vac-actuator that sits just below in the inlet. The distance between the hose and the bracket seemed to be about a millimeter and kept hanging up there or on something further back.
Putting the clamp back on was just as much fun as taking it off...


Got it all back together and then inserted my air hose to the other side of the inlet where I made a little plug with a a QD for air hose. The other inlet was also plugged up and slowly added air pressure to see if it would hold.... nope.

Checked everything again and then saw that I was missing a plug in the front inlet pipe! I looked inside the engine bay and it was sitting in there. Pushed that plug in and and tried the air again.... that worked ... until my blow off valve started hissing badly (already knew that was a problem, but making good progress). I tried to get to the snap ring that held in the BOV but it was turned in a way that was just out of reach for the pliers. I tried to turn it with a pick and it moved a bit but it also dropped completely in the retaining groove! you could tell the distance between the snap ring ends increased 2x..... sealed that up and no further leaks.

I think if I started with the front inlet and worked toward the back I would have solved this HOURS earlier. Live and learn the hard way.

Thanks to @ktb_e92 for all of the help (on multiple threads)

Now on to removing and replacing my oil cooler lines which sprung a leak.

 

[ktb_e92]

No problem man, glad it worked out for you! I'm sure through these processes have helped you gain some more familiarity with the engine / how everything is routed & placed. Keep us updated

 

[Z4Dude]

Definitely more familiarity. Just finished up the new oil cooler lines and need to clean up where it dripped a little on the belt and pulley. Most of it sprayed off with cleaner but going to make sure its good and clean so it doesn't shred ... I might just replace soon for good measure ... read some horror stories about it shredding and entering the crank seal.

Hoping I got some responses back from Motive as I'd like to see about updating firmware, but want to ensure it doesn't mess with the tune.