Chevy 181 w/turbo

MoBetta

Recruit
Joined
Aug 17, 2004
Messages
2
Hi everyone! <br />We have a 1978 boat with a chevy 181 taht has a turbo on it. We keep running into the problem that we blow the gasket between the exhaust manifold plate and the turbo. It will be just fine the 1st time we take it out after replacing it, but the 2nd time we go to take it out, it blows the dang gasket. We are at wits end as nobody around here seems to have seen this engine with a turbo. There is a toggle switch up front that seems to open some form of pressure relief valve. Does this switch need to be open every time we start the engine? Or, does this have nothing to do with the gasket blowing? Any help here would be very much appreciated.
 

doman

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Feb 29, 2004
Messages
120
Re: Chevy 181 w/turbo

its running to hot thats for sure ...i would assume the swich is for the blow off valve ..<br />Some pics would be great ..try a different gasket type...
 
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DJ

Guest
Re: Chevy 181 w/turbo

It's too hot and; the switch is most likely for a wastegate. You need to check the operation of the gate. It may be allowing to much backpressure to blow the gasket. <br /><br />Here's a tip, retorque the manifold bolts while it is still hot after the first outing.<br /><br />That is ONE RARE animal you have. It is NOT stock by any stretch. Purely custom.
 

MoBetta

Recruit
Joined
Aug 17, 2004
Messages
2
Re: Chevy 181 w/turbo

ok, can not figure out how to post a couple of pics we just took. There is a square block attached to exhaust manifold where the gasket is leaking. The gasket is blowing upon startup when we put it in so the engine temp should not be the problem, correct? <br />And, yes, it does seem to be a very rare deal with the turbo. Apparently it was custom built for the original owner way back when.
 

tommays

Admiral
Joined
Jul 4, 2004
Messages
6,768
Re: Chevy 181 w/turbo

since the exhaust has to pass through the tubro to spin it up were does it go after that there should not be any great amount of pressure on the tubro at start up speeds<br /><br />i am wondering what kind of restrictions are in the exaust after it leaves the turbo <br /><br />the waste gate should be part of the exhaust system and be adjustable to the boost level that will not explode the motor<br /><br />i may be compleatly wrong buts it how i recall it on motorcycles that had amercian turbo pack kits at that time<br /><br />tommays<br /><br />the link has a lot of tubro info that may help<br /><br /> http://www.turbo-kits.com/how_turbos_work.html
 
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DJ

Guest
Re: Chevy 181 w/turbo

MoBetta,<br /><br />You stated that the gasket blows on the "second" outing. Actually, the gasket is failing as soon as the engine starts to cool down after the first outing. Re-torquing while hot will seat it.<br /><br />If the wastegate is closed the turbo becomes more difficult to turn due to back pressure on the compressor side. It's not much but it may be contributing.<br /><br />I would be more concerned about overboosting that engine. You definetely need an intake manifold pressure guage. Anything over 5 psi would grenade that engine, in my opinion.
 

doman

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Feb 29, 2004
Messages
120
Re: Chevy 181 w/turbo

Did you figure out what the switch is for ?<br />what happens when you hit the switch while the engine is running? <br /><br /><br />Dom
 
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