dbj216 , there have been quite a few turbos done. One guy Matt Whitbread has cnc'd exhaust flanges and done 4 or 5 installs. Several guys have a lot of miles on the turbos with no failures, to my knowledge. Stock head gaskets and head bolts seem up to the task, but I plan to research the head bolts to see if ARP might have a better one. Boost is only 10 psi or so, so it's not a radical upgrade. Everyone that has done the turbo, says that that's how it should have come from AC. Matt Whitbread said climbing in the mountains , running with his buddies in big cc gas bikes, on a hot day he could get the overheat light to come on, but just slowing down a minute or so brought the temp down. The cooling system is massive, btw. I will put a water temp gauge and maybe a pyrometer. 1 nice feature of running a turbo, makes it much quieter, maybe. haha

 

Here are pics of some of the conversion parts. He even fabricated a nice flow thru stainless steel muffler (last pic)

 

Great pictures. Someone has done a lot of work on that Arctic Cat. The turbo in the photos is the smallest one I've ever seen. Cute little rascal. Pocket turbo. I bet the turbo does quite the exhaust bark some.

I notice the exhaust wrap. It looks like stock DEI fiberglass wrap. I wonder how long it has been on the machine. I'm thinking about wrapping the exhaust pipes on my Outlander, but have been advised the wrap material doesn't last in wet conditions, and may rust out the pipes.

Nice you could test drive your Arctic Cat down the road, even in the cold. ATVs are not road legal in Colorado.

David

 

If you search youtube for Arctic Cat turbo diesel, there are several guys that have done it. There are some impressive sled pulls by Matt Whitbread and a guy in Sweden with a stock, non turbo one hauling logs, impressed me. swedediesel. Matt Whitbread has had his turbo for several years.

 

Ok, after gutting out the muffler, adding a bigger tip, advancing the injection timing, and turning the fuel to the max, nothing left, I decided that I don't need a turbo. With the 30" tires, it hits the governor at= 49.2 mph. It takes 3/4 of a mile to get there. The only fault, it's pretty loud. It's super easy on fuel, I've been about 30 miles and gauge hasn't moved off full yet. Starts at least as well as my gas ones below OF. I put in an Optima Yellow Top D51R battery (awesome) Actually room for dual batteries, but it spins over like a top at -5F . Added a 5,000 lb winch, hey, might have to haul out a stuck Jeep or 2. BTW, The exhaust sounds awesome, not unlike, dare I say it? A Harley Davidson!

 

Looks nasty.

 

A very unique ATV for sure. Be happy you don't have to invest in a bigger turbo. You might get a bit more longevity with the mods you have made.

I read the original 4 stroke ATVs way back when were "thumpers". Maybe you have the ultimate thumper in your diesel ATV.

It will do a lot of work for you.

David

 

David, it's actually a light weight 2 cylinder industrial diesel made by Kohler (Formerly Lombardi ). It's design overhaul is 10,000 hours! It has direct unit injection by Bosch. Pretty simple design, injectors driven right off the over head cam. I believe Polaris uses the 3 cylinder version in the Rangers and Jeep uses the turbo 4 cylinder model in the Jeep Liberty. The weak link to me is the timing belt. Looks stout, but a chain would make me happier. Thumpers generally refer to 1 cylinder motors like my Arctic Cat 400 and 500 and maybe some British motorcycle motors that fire both cylinders at the same time. BTW, the diesel is smoother than my "thumper" gas models.

 

does it have a blower on the cvt intake?

 

Thanks Hydrex: You taught me quite a bit about the diesel engine in your Arctic Cat. I didn't realize it was a twin, and I didn't realize it was built by Kohler. I think Arctic Cat and Suzuki used to have a relationship for engines. Kohler of course is a big engine manufacturer.

Keep us posted about your adventures with the diesel Cat. Very nice to hear it starts in the bitter cold weather. That is not a diesel strength.

David