has anyone rebuilt their turbos?

[mynameisjonas]

well i think my turbo is blown. there is oil dripping from my BOV even just at idle, and it won't boost up and hesitates like crazy with any load on it at all. so i was thinking about just getting a rebuild kit and doing it myself. so has anyone done this? what do i need to know about doing it? thanks

[LSB_11]

sorry, i cant say i personalloy have, but my mechanic has. mine shot oil so far out it hit my front bumper. but i did find a guy on ebay who sold me a rebuild kit for $90. everything was there, fast shipping. cant remeber his name or company.

[mynameisjonas]

lol that's what mine's doing too, my front left corner of my engine bay is covered with oil

[Hijacker]

rebuilding turbos isn't hard, it's just time consuming.

here are some sites that you'll find usefull:http://www.turbochargerpower.com/rebuilding.htm

http://www.ecanfix.com/~mdhami....html

http://brickboard.com/FAQ/700-...g.htm

When I did mine, I didn't have a set of long nosed c clip pliers. I had to use picks to get the retainer clips in place. If you want to save yourself hours of annoying grief, see if mac or snap-on have a set of pliers that will reach into the CHRA and be able to slip into the tiny circles of the C clip's ends.

One thing I would suggest doing while you have the turbo out is cleaning out the bolt holes with a die and tap.

You should also mark the orientation of the housings to the CHRA. I did that, but I forgot about the paint when i dipped the CHRA in cold carb for a night long bath. I thankfully had been taking pictures with the digi cam and was able to eyeball the housings back, but the compressor wheel and rod will never be back in balance. Of course, I don't plan on keeping that turbo on there for much longer.

Just take your time while doing it, and don't rush things. Keep your work area clean, your bearings oiled, and put things back together the way they came out.

I think it's mentioned in one of the sites I linked, but soak your bearings in oil for a bit. The bearings are porous, and by letting them soak, they'll stay oiled longer and will run much less risk of scoring the CHRA walls.

One last thing is to check the CHRA for any scoring. From your description, it sounds like only the thrust washer and bearing went out, but I would check the internal walls for any bearing scoring as well.

[mynameisjonas]

wow thanks alot for that information. they're great articles! it is a little meticulous but i think i'm gonna try it.

thanks again

[Onizuka]

This is all true unless you have a dual ball bearing turbo, where its cheaper and more reliable just to buy a new one

[Hijacker]

i don't think you can even get a rebuild kit for a ball bearing turbo. I know turbonetics doesn't sell them.

[Onizuka]

I talked to a guy at the last dyno meet I went to who had a BB turbo rebuilt (GT25R I belive). Basically it needs a whole new center section which is the expensive part of the turbo anyways. His also blew again just a few hunderd miles later and he ended up buying a new one ontop of that. Of course this was on a dsm...

[mynameisjonas]

nah, mine's just the stock t25 turbo. it came blown

[f150intally]

This is all true unless you have a dual ball bearing turbo, where its cheaper and more reliable just to buy a new one

no way to rebuild it but you can replace the entire center section as long as the wheels are still ok and that will be cheaper than a completely new turbo.

[Project S13]

Just out of curiosity guys, how long have you had your SRs before the turbos went? Any guess as to what kind of milage they had?