Prodigy Performance 3.6 Turbo DIY Install

[UselessPickles]

So now for my leaking power steering fluid story...

After installing the new power steering hose, there were no obvious leaks. But as time went by, I started to notice there was a damp spot on the steering gearbox around the hose fitting. It slowly grew bigger over time. So one day, I decided I would get in there with a wrench and just snug it up a bit tighter to stop the leak. The next day, the entire gearbox was completely soaked in a thick coat of fluid, and the fluid level in the reservoir had visibly dropped.

So I ended up out in the driveway in the dark (got a late start in the evening) with a head lamp, going through the whole messy process of removing the power steering hose again so that I could hopefully find an obvious cause for a leak.

And it was luckily quite obvious:




The OEM power steering hose has funky ends that appear to be a small compression fitting with an o-ring. From some quick searching, this seems to be a common type of hose fitting for power steering lines (probably other high pressure hydraulic lines too). The new hose in the stage 2 kit has "AN" style flared compression fittings, and comes with adapters (one pictured above).

Some googling taught me that you need to pre-lube the o-rings on these fittings before installing, and then also not over-tighten them, or else you can damage the o-ring and cause a leak. I didn't pre-lube it when I installed it, which probably partially damaged it. Then tightening it more to try to stop the leak just damaged it more.

A trip to a small local hardware store in the morning was all I needed to find a replacement o-ring that was very close in size. This time, I pre-lubed the o-rings with fluid (ATF-4 is what the manual calls for in the power steering system, btw), and followed some advice I found for tightening: gently thread it in until you feel it "bottom out" (obvious sudden increase in resistance), then just snug it up about another 1/8 turn. It doesn't need to be super tight.

The tricky part is that the AN flared fitting needs to be tightened more tightly, so you should hold the adapter steady with a second wrench while tightening the hose onto it to avoid accidentally indirectly over-tightening the adapter.

I'm learning all kinds of stuff from my mistakes with this turbo install

[NOLAjeeper]

So now for my leaking power steering fluid story...

After installing the new power steering hose, there were no obvious leaks. But as time went by, I started to notice there was a damp spot on the steering gearbox around the hose fitting. It slowly grew bigger over time. So one day, I decided I would get in there with a wrench and just snug it up a bit tighter to stop the leak. The next day, the entire gearbox was completely soaked in a thick coat of fluid, and the fluid level in the reservoir had visibly dropped.

So I ended up out in the driveway in the dark (got a late start in the evening) with a head lamp, going through the whole messy process of removing the power steering hose again so that I could hopefully find an obvious cause for a leak.

And it was luckily quite obvious:




The OEM power steering hose has funky ends that appear to be a small compression fitting with an o-ring. From some quick searching, this seems to be a common type of hose fitting for power steering lines (probably other high pressure hydraulic lines too). The new hose in the stage 2 kit has "AN" style flared compression fittings, and comes with adapters (one pictured above).

Some googling taught me that you need to pre-lube the o-rings on these fittings before installing, and then also not over-tighten them, or else you can damage the o-ring and cause a leak. I didn't pre-lube it when I installed it, which probably partially damaged it. Then tightening it more to try to stop the leak just damaged it more.

A trip to a small local hardware store in the morning was all I needed to find a replacement o-ring that was very close in size. This time, I pre-lubed the o-rings with fluid (ATF-4 is what the manual calls for in the power steering system, btw), and followed some advice I found for tightening: gently thread it in until you feel it "bottom out" (obvious sudden increase in resistance), then just snug it up about another 1/8 turn. It doesn't need to be super tight.

The tricky part is that the AN flared fitting needs to be tightened more tightly, so you should hold the adapter steady with a second wrench while tightening the hose onto it to avoid accidentally indirectly over-tightening the adapter.

I'm learning all kinds of stuff from my mistakes with this turbo install

Jeff i had the same issue with the power steering leak. O ring was damaged. 3rd day after the install of the stage 2 is when i noticed a puddle of pink fluid under the jeep. Took it back to the shop and they replaced the O ring. Havent had a problem since.

[jeepsking]

Hi,

On Friday i went to dunes with my JK . It was fun, but i experience a high vibration on road. Check the wheel balance all ok. Check the shaft (transfer shaft bolt were loose ) and then i saw this ......

[JeepLab]

Hi,

On Friday i went to dunes with my JK . It was fun, but i experience a high vibration on road. Check the wheel balance all ok. Check the shaft (transfer shaft bolt were loose ) and then i saw this ......

Ugh. are you sure all your pipes are geometrically correct? i remember it was tight getting everything in.

and this is a side question, as its answer has no bearing. how hard were you wheeling? high speed? big twist? did you hear a "CLUNG" sound at any point?

[jeepsking]

Ugh. are you sure all your pipes are geometrically correct? i remember it was tight getting everything in.

and this is a side question, as its answer has no bearing. how hard were you wheeling? high speed? big twist? did you hear a "CLUNG" sound at any point?

Hi Ross,

This pipe is rigid, so i don't think i can change any angle. Yes as i stated before that i drive extremely off road with high speed (60mph). I don't blame PD they have done an excellent work putting a turbo kit in a pentastar JK , but i hope that they revise the routing of driver side manifold.

[UselessPickles]

then i saw this ......

That actually makes a lot of sense now that I think about it. There's no clearance issue between that pipe and the front driveshaft with a stock track bar. But if you use a longer track bar with a suspension lift to re-center the front axle, that will push the front axle closer to the pipe (toward passenger side) when the suspension is compressed to the point of normal stock ride height (when the track bar is level).

The stock suspension setup has the trackbar level when at normal ride height, and the axle swings *away* from that pipe (toward the driver side) if the suspension either compresses or extends from normal ride height.

I think the solution will be to extend the trackbar mounts (frame mount downward and/or axle mount upward) so that you can use a shorter track bar that is closer to being level when at normal ride height.

[jeepsking]

That actually makes a lot of sense now that I think about it. There's no clearance issue between that pipe and the front driveshaft with a stock track bar. But if you use a longer track bar with a suspension lift to re-center the front axle, that will push the front axle closer to the pipe (toward passenger side) when the suspension is compressed to the point of normal stock ride height (when the track bar is level).

The stock suspension setup has the trackbar level when at normal ride height, and the axle swings *away* from that pipe (toward the driver side) if the suspension either compresses or extends from normal ride height.

I think the solution will be to extend the trackbar mounts (frame mount downward and/or axle mount upward) so that you can use a shorter track bar that is closer to being level when at normal ride height.

Hi Jeff,

I have 2" lift JKS with teraflex adjustable front track bar. What should i do now ?

[Rexx19]

Hi Jeff,

I have 2" lift JKS with teraflex adjustable front track bar. What should i do now ?

Paging Dr. Pickles!

LOL. how clutch is that guy? you know he's got the answer.

[UselessPickles]

Hi Jeff,

I have 2" lift JKS with teraflex adjustable front track bar. What should i do now ?

For now, you could shorten the track bar to be about as long as the stock track bar. Maybe a little longer than stock will be OK. You'll basically have to find a compromise between having exhaust clearance, and having the front axle close to centered.

As you make adjustments, have a heavy friend or two jump on the front bumper while you watch the path of the drive shaft, checking for clearance between exhaust and driveshaft.

I have a 2" AEV spacer lift with the stock track bar. My front axle is close enough to being centered that it's not worth getting an adjustable track bar. Since my kit is a spacer kit, it gives me exactly 2" lift. If you you have a spring lift, then you might actually have more than 2" lift, and your axle might be more off-center than mine.

I still think the ultimate solution would be modified track bar mounts to allow you to use a stock-length track bar that sits level at normal ride height. That would probably require some custom work (fabrication, welding, etc).

[UselessPickles]

Time to solve the problem of the vulnerable coolant reservoir. Just as a reminder, the Prodigy instructions currently have you mount the reservoir behind the front bumper:




Dan from Prodigy shared a picture of an alternate location that an install shop thought of. I liked it so much, that I relocated mine similarly:




I really like this location better. It's not exposed to trail damage. The vent is not exposed to road spray, rainwater, puddles, etc. The cap is easy to access for checking fluid level and refilling. The reservoir is level with the top of the radiator with a short hose connecting them. This is basically the ideal location for the reservoir.

The reservoir has threaded holes that allow us to bolt it to the plastic wall, with a bolt coming from the other side of that wall. That means we need to get the TIPM (Totally Integrated Power Module) out of the way to access the other side of the wall.

Start by moving whatever this thing is. It just slides up off its mounting tab, then push it aside:




That will give us a little more room to push the TIPM aside.

Next, remove the TIPM. Use a flat blade screwdriver to unlatch the 4 mounting tabs. You'll have to lift up on the TIPM at each corner as you unlatch to ensure that it fully disengages:






These plastic ribs need to be trimmed so that the reservoir can sit as low and as close to the wall as possible:




I just used a Dremel with a sanding drum. Remove the air filter to get some more working room:




Once you trim enough plastic out of the way, hold the reservoir in place while using a 1/4 inch drill bit to mark where you'll drill a hole through the plastic wall:




NOTE: Only the lower mounting hole is being used. There's no space for a bolt head to fit on the other side of the plastic wall in the location of the upper mounting hole.

The fun part is drilling the hole. There's not enough space to get a hand-held drill in there, especially with the turbo in place. I used the Dremel again. A small drill bit was used to start the hole, then I used what I believe is called a "cone burr" ( narrow cone-shaped grinding/filing bit) to slowly/carefully ream the hole out larger until my bolt just barely fit through:






That's a 5/16 inch diameter, 18 pitch thread bolt. I learned the hard way that the mounting hole on the reservoir is NOT threaded all the way through. I started with a 1-1/4 inch long bolt, but bottomed it out on the threads of the reservoir before I could tighten it down. I ended up cutting about 1/4 inch off the bolt. To be safe, I would probably buy a 3/4-inch long bolt if I were doing this again.

Mount the reservoir with that bolt and tighten it down good. It's very solid with only one bolt holding it:




Then you just need to cut an appropriate length of hose from the original coolant reservoir hose, hook it up to the radiator, install the TIPM, and install that other thing that was move aside at the beginning:




There's plenty of clearance from the turbo and air filter:






And the final overall view of my install with this latest change: