[JustJeff]

I have semi-success. The engine turned over with very little effort!!

The engine doesn't stall out and holds idle perfectly. I can take my foot off the gas and idle is even and low. I stopped and started it several times and it never missed a start. I only let it run for short intervals before I shut it down to check coolant levels, oil, signs of leaks, etc. After a few starts I did raise the RPMs up to 2k and held it there for a little bit.

HOWEVER....
there is substantial smoke coming from behind the turbo. It's coming from between the turbo and LIM. It doesn't smell like coolant or oil and I'm not leaking any fluids. But it also doesn't start smoking right away. I'm hoping it's just something burning off. I do have a turbo blanket on there. Do those burn off when they are first used?

The exhaust does sound like it has a leak..obviously I'm hoping it's not one of the gaskets between either the manifold or turbo. I did have trouble tightening the top downpipe bolt that sits closest to the engine. I did buy the turbo used as a replacement...hopefully I didn't get a junk turbo.

I'm also concerned about the cooling system. I don't have any leaks. I'm not loosing any coolant. And that is part of my concern. I'd think air should be working it's way out of the engine. I did a pretty good job of filling it...but there has got to be air that needs to come out....and the level never dropped. The return hose from engine to radiator got amazingly hot. The OEM temp gauge never got above halfway, but the hose, top of the radiator and even the water pump pulley got very hot. The top of the radiator got too hot to touch and I shut the engine down. Another concern is that my electric fan never kicked on. Those two things combined and I decided to let the engine cool down before something very bad happened. I checked the inlet hose at the bottom of the radiator and it was hardly warm at all. My concern is whether the coolant is traveling through the engine at all.

Another concern is that I never saw any oil traveling through the OMP/MOP lines. I have clear hoses and I didn't think to check them until I had turned the engine off for the night. There was no sign of oil in them.

Oh and all of my aftermarket gauges were not reading correctly. The boost gauge is pegged at max and never moves. It's been pointing the same since I took it out of storage.

The water temp gauge never seemed to move, nor did the oil temp. The oil pressure is a warning gauge and I haven't set it correctly yet. So all it does is beep at me.

All the gauges are electronic ones and I'll check grounds and such tomorrow after work. They all illuminate correctly, so that's one good sign anyway....

Can't call it a success yet, but I've got some encouraging signs anyway.