seeking parts to add turbo to my D24

[jerkey]

I recently overheated my D24 (in my volvo stationwagon) and now the headgasket is blown,
so I think this is a good time to add a turbocharger to my setup while i'm taking it all apart.

I want to buy the parts I need from people here if possible, so write me back. I need:

headgasket
new head-bolts or head studs
turbo exhaust manifold
turbocharger
turbocharger oil-flow pipes?
turbo exhaust downpipe
turbo camshaft
turbo injection pump (or at least the pressure compensator on top)
i'll also want a new timing belt
and hey, i also need a temperature gauge sender (screws into the head)

I am also soliciting advice on getting this project to work. I have worked on
this stuff before (even did a headgasket on a D24) but I forgot how to know
how many notches headgasket to use and things like that.

Please feel free to email me at jerkey at g-cipher dot net.

thanks everyone
-jake

[v8volvo]

Where are you located?

I have all that stuff, as well as tools, manuals, etc. If you are relatively nearby that makes it easy.

You'll also need a D24T intake manifold to go with the turbo and turbo header, unless you have plans for using the NA intake with home-made charge air piping.

Headgasket selection is based on a measurement of piston protrusion from the block. However, you have other considerations here as well to think about before you jump into this, such as:
>>How many miles on your bottom end? Compression and oil usage before it was overheated? Easy to start when warm? If you are starting with a tired engine that has been overheated (not good for the rings, and if it was hot enough you can damage pistons and bores as well), then you might want to consider giving it some attention or at least examination before putting it back together. Would be no fun to spend all the money and time and have it not perform like you want it to.
>>The D24T bottom end is different in several key ways from the D24. The turbo motor is set up to handle higher temps and pressures that come with forced aspiration. Putting turbo components on a non-turbo bottom end isn't automatically a recipe for trouble, but you have to use it carefully and be starting with a good D24 engine for it to not self-destruct fairly swiftly. If your bottom end needs help, then getting a complete D24T engine may be a better way to go.
>>You'll want to use the updated MLS head gasket. Look around in the engine section here for more info.

George

[jerkey]

Thanks George,
I am in Oakland, California.

I'm worried that maybe i have overheated my bottom-end too much, and that if i put it all together it will just be chugging oil. This actually happened with my last D24, which overheated and I replaced the headgasket, and it ate A QUART EVERY 100 MILES. Unfortunately there's no way to test my rings besides putting a new headgasket and driving a few miles.

Before it was overheated, it had been rebuilt about 60-70K ago by a good mechanic, but the head had been swapped with a used one after that. It ate about a quart every 2000 miles, which may have been from valve seals and not blow-by. It did not start super-easily but i think that was because of the valves or fuel system.

I am not looking for "performance" i'm looking for reliability, and adding the turbo is just necessary for driving around at altitude - the car is way too slow without it. I would be willing to just buy a turbo engine if one was available for a decent price nearby. It wouldn't be any more work than rebuilding the one I have.

Do you think i could tell the condition of the rings or bores by looking down from above? And how hard is it to add the turbo oil return line? Do you have an engine for sale?

thanks! -jake

[v8volvo]

I don't have an engine that you'd want to buy at the moment... I have two D24T engines that are not in cars, but one is completely in pieces and the other is still intact but worn out and in "rebuildable" condition, not ready-to-run condition.

I do have the bits to put a turbo on your NA motor. Adding the turbo oil return line to a D24 is not difficult, I have seen two methods personally, both of which worked out fine, and people on here have done it as well so they may be able to contribute more info. To add the supply line, you can install the complete oil filter mount assembly off a D24T which comes with an oil cooler sandwich plate as well as a connection for the turbo oil feed hose.

If you are running low charge air pressures and not too much fuel (i.e. low EGT) just to give yourself an extra boost at higher altitude without trying to add too much power, you may be fine putting turbo bits on a D24 bottom end, as long as the bottom end is in good shape. You can get an idea of the condition of the cylinder bores visually by taking the head off -- you can look for scoring, check for a ridge, and even make bore diameter measurements, all of which will give you an idea of what kind of shape the block is in. However, the only way to test the rings is with a compression test and oil usage measurements. Rings don't respond well to major heat or overheat, as you have discovered in the past... :p I had a diesel Rabbit once that was the same way, used a quart every 150 miles after the PO overheated it. The block and pistons were fine, all it needed was a hone and a set of rings and it never used another drop of oil the rest of the time I had it. Easier to do that in a VW than in a Volvo, though, since in a VW you can put set of rings in without pulling the engine out... If yours was using a quart every 2000 before, then that is quite acceptable, but depending on how hot it got it might not be as good anymore now.

Your best bet may be to start by taking stock of what you are working with. You can pull the head, get it checked out, look inside the bores, see what is there. If you see major scoring, or the head is too warped to use, or other fatal flaws show up, then you know it's rebuild time or to look for another motor. If the head is OK and the bores look good, then there is a reasonable chance that you shut it off before it got really hot. If that is the case, the rings could have survived OK and you might get away with a new headgasket, be able to stick turbo parts on it and drive away happy.

You may want to put a post in the Diesel Engine section to get more ideas from others about this and about adding turbo parts to a 240. Several members on here either have done it or are in the process of it now.