ok the water distribution center that is to the left of th intake manifold, and feeds the turbo with water, can it be gotten rid of if a non watercooled turbo is used? would i have to route some hoses elsewhere, or cap some things off?

in this pic, it's to the right of the supercharger
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v300/beavis820/SCTCSTI.bmp

No. It's the water header tank, not just a "distribution center"

Paul

i guess i dont get what you mean...what does the header tank do?

The header tank uses convection to route coolant through the turbo housing and assist in cooling the unit, even after the engine has shut off.

but i wont have a water cooled turbo, so i have to keep it? and if so where do i route the lines that were going to the turbo?

but i wont have a water cooled turbo, so i have to keep it? and if so where do i route the lines that were going to the turbo?

You can remove it, just loop the lines at the radiator and you will be ok.

thats what i thought, but didn't want to bork anything...

You can remove it, just loop the lines at the radiator and you will be ok.


That is 100% incorrect! You cannot remove the header tank! The reason we have those is that it is the highest point in the system and is needed to blead any air from the system that is trapped to the highest point. If you remove it you will have air trapped in your cooling system = bad

You can route the cooling line in from the turbo to the header tank and bypass the turbo.

ok, i'll put it back on when the time comes, but if you took it off, wouldn't there be a higher point then? or would it all be level? i know the answer to that question, but what i'm saying is, there are other cars that don't have this tank, and you can bleed all the air out of them. it might be a pain in the ass, but it can be done. i really hate this thing if you didn't get it by now.

That is 100% incorrect! You cannot remove the header tank! The reason we have those is that it is the highest point in the system and is needed to blead any air from the system that is trapped to the highest point. If you remove it you will have air trapped in your cooling system = bad

You can route the cooling line in from the turbo to the header tank and bypass the turbo.

I stand corrected, I wasnt paying attention that the car in question is an '04 STi, which doesnt have a rad cap on the rad for this reason.

02-03 WRX can remove the tank as they have a rad cap on the rad.

Sorry for the confusion.

you should still not remove the header tank from the system if there is a single point in the system which is higher.

Yes you are correct there are other cars that have a nipple to bleed off the air. The problem on the scoob is the boxer design. Inline fours have the head on top and that is usually the highest point, since ours are on the sides the tank is there to be the highest point. There are four hoses that go to the tank.

from turbo
from water pump
to expansion tank
from radiator

I stand corrected, I wasnt paying attention that the car in question is an '04 STi, which doesnt have a rad cap on the rad for this reason.

02-03 WRX can remove the tank as they have a rad cap on the rad.

Sorry for the confusion.


04 STI's have a two caps one on the Rad. the other on the expantion tank.

They are all the same they all need the tank as that is the highest point in the cooling system. If you remove the tank the Heater core will be higher than the cap on the Rad. so when it opens it will dump all the coolant above the height of the cap.

The USDM stis have a rad cap on both.

Don't remove the aluminum coolant resorvoir. Just buy some heater hose, attach it to the line that use to go into your turbo and loop it back to the aluminum coolant resorvoir. Works on mine fine.

i understand, but do you have any pics?

i understand, but do you have any pics?


OF?

It is really simple, when you pull the turbo off it will make perfect sense. The feed line is on the passenger Cyl. head. Remove that hose and replace it with a 12-18" piece of IIRC 1/2 heater hose. Then remove the hose on the drivers side of the header tank and connect the new piece you put on the cyl. head.

thanks