I thought I'd post photos of the Garrett T3 turbo that has replaced my original KKK K03. The AAZ engine is installed in the back of a Vanagon Westfalia.
The intercooler that I use is a Garrett watercooled one, originally installed in a GMC Syclone/Typhoon. They're pretty easy to find used if you're patient, because the fashion now is for all the Sy/Ty people to move to air/air intercoolers. I'd use air/air too, if it wasn't for the lousy compromises you have to make to get them to work in the back of a van.
Here's the Sy/Ty heat exchanger that I bolted up in front of the van, where the spare tire usually lives.
My AAZ engine is installed upright at about 15 degrees, like the cars, and bolts to the original transmission with a Kennedy Engineering kit. Most van guys here use the VW factory 50 degree install for their TDs, so this probably looks weird to them.
Anyway, here's how I originally rigged the intercooler to work with the original K03 turbo on the AAZ:
I was fairly pleased with this rad hose & exhaust pipe approach, given that I can't weld. The rad hose never blew off once, even at 17 very hot psi of boost coming from that little turbo.
But then the tragedy. The K03 blew up completely, very soon after I screwed the wastegate closed and jumped the boost from 12 to 17 psi. So instead of just replacing it with another K03 (ie. the easy solution), I figured it was time to upgrade to something bigger.
Dave Cross at Passenger Performance helped me out at that point. He sold me a 1.6TD exhaust manifold and a re-built Garrett T3 turbo, then installed it on the engine, and fabricated new steel intercooler piping.
He wanted to set up a much smoother airflow than my rad hose project, so he flipped the exhaust manifold and turbo upside down, and ran the airflow through the intercooler reversed from the way I had it going with the K03.
I think keeping the hot turbo from baking the intake manifold is a great idea, and my peak oil temps have significantly dropped, by at least 20 degrees F. I'm not sure what specific part of this T3 install has caused that drop, or whether it's a cumulative effect.
The "upside down" approach also means that the intake and exhaust airflow is much less restricted in the tight van engine bay. The rad hose 90 degree bends are cut out of the intercooler piping, and what's left of the "exhaust pipe" just goes straight out the back to a muffler sitting about 3 inches from the turbo housing, instead of having to make a U-turn before exiting out the back. The new tailpipe is side exit now, so the rear window doesn't get sooty.
