Buzz

I know this subject has been covered more than once already, but I wanted to get fresh opinions on drilling and tapping the exhaust manifold for the pyrometer installation WITHOUT removing the turbo. Do you guys feel fairly confident it can be done by having a shop vac suck up the metal shavings as it's drilled and tapped without the worry of getting any into the turbo? I thought it might be a good idea to put a small magnet in the hole afterwards to pick anything that may have dropped in the manifold. I guess I'm just looking for some reassurance.

erics76

I greased the tap and recleaned and greased again many times while tapping. I then used a flexable magnet until I stopped getting shavings on the end. Screwed the fitting then probe in and called it done. Haven't had a problem yet, about 20,000 miles.

Mtman6698

Buzz,
I just did mine 2 weekends ago. Nervous as a bird sitting in front of a cat! Anyway, like erics76 said(and some others), get out a vacumn and some grease. Make sure!! you have the right size drill and tap for the pyro fitting. Some are 1/8 NPT and some are 1/4 NPT. If you are not sure, take it down to the hardware store and ask. Mine(whichis Isspro) was 1/4 NPT and needed a 7/16" drill bit. Anyway, once you get the right bit, center punch a point 5/8" left of centerline of the manifold and 2" up from where the turbo connects to the manifold. Have someone hold the vacumn or tape it to the manifold. Put a coat of grease on the drill bit and have at it. Try to stay as verticle as you can. Even drilling slow, shouldn't take more than a couple minutes(seems forever). Clean out the hole with the magnet. Start the tapping process. Again, coat it with grease. Clean the tap and recoat a couple times. When done, go back in with your magnet. Put the fitting in with a little Permatex #2 or some antiseize and your good to go.
Hope this helps. PM me if you have any questions.
Wayne

Car_nut57

You can also close the exhaust brake if you have one or block the tail pipe and start the truck and leave it idling while drilling and tapping. If you do it this way, you will need body protection as the chips come at you really hard.

infidel

After personally seeing two turbos seized by a metal chip and the impellors warped by excessive heat I'll never tap without removing the turbo again. It probably takes less time to remove the four bolts that attach the turbo to the manifold and slip a piece of cardboard in than it does messing with vacuums, grease and magnets anyway, plus you are sure the chips are out. Start the engine before reattaching the turbo to blow any chips out.
Never tried drilling and tapping with the engine running, seems like it would be a trick to do with the vibration and heat though.

Mcmopar

Six bolts, one pipe fitting to remove a turbo, Why risk it??!!?!?

Car_nut57

infidel,

Great suggestion and a good way to make sure no chips end up in the turbo.

Palmetto_kid

i did mine like Eric, and have had no problems yet.

Infidel, did the turbo automatically sieze, or did it happen over time? im just cruious.

erics76

I've seen a person with a 99 drill the whole, tap the whole, put the fitting and probe in and fire it up. Never cleaned the shavings out at all. This was in 01, and he still running, with the same turbo. It hasn't seized, or blow up. It's probably better to be overly cautious, but I doubt a couple of tiny shavings is going to kill a turbo.

javamann

When I installed mine I did the grease on the tap, magnet method without any problems. The only problem I had was the instruction quoted the wrong drill size. Running the tap through the original hole was way to tight. I didn't even want to break a tap in my manifold. I call a friend of mine who does machine work for the correct size and everything worked after that. The only thing to be careful of is tapping down to far. You don't want the sending unit poking to far into the exhaust stream.

-Pete

infidel

Not really sure as both trucks were driven right away after installing the pyro.
They weren't driven very far though before both owners realized they had no power.
I personally think the chip(s) stopped the turbo from spinning in the first second after the truck was started.

If a person doesn't want to remove the turbo for tapping it would be wise to remove the hose from the air cleaner to the turbo and have someone watch to make sure the turbo spins right away the first time it's fired up. If you caught it right away no damage would be done and you most likely could un-wedge a chip by rotating the turbo backwards by hand with the engine off.
But like I said, it's still easier to slip in a piece of cardboard than mess with magnets and grease.

cummingetit

I did mine like Eric also, 20,000 miles no problems. As long as you run a magnet through the hole you won't have any probs. A few tiny slivers on the exhaust side of the turbo will blow right out the tail pipe. Really, it takes like 10 mins to do

dakar

I'm in with the majority as well... installed without removing the turbo and just a magnet... 2K later and no ill effects. I did use a reamer tap before the threading tap to set up the taper easier to keep the fitting as even with the manifold's inside wall. Both taps and some advice provided by my bro-inlaw, made the the whole ordeal easier. Fishing through a 7/16" with a good 1/4 magnet allowed for lots of scratching around in there to get everything possible.

But if I was a betting fella I'd bet I spent more time goofing with the magnet trying to get every possible filing than R&R of the turbo would have taken... took some real thought and figured any missed shavings would do less damage to the spool than I could. It had been one of *those* days, took three trips to napa to get all the right fittings I needed for the boost gauge and i still managed to kink the boost line a bit. At least the Pyro was the easiest of them all to get in and working properly the first time.

dieselman24

I just did one last week and had great success with using LUCAS Engine Oil additive it is like a liquid magnet...I use it for everything and it cheap...

Mcmopar

If you are a gambler do it without removing the turbo, but is it worth it? NO, turbos are expensive, and as stated before, by the time you screw with grease, oil or whatever else its probably easier to remove it and be SURE you don't have anything in the turbo.