turbo?

[r34 gtr]

i need to know how to get to all the bolts on the turbo, manifold, etc. when the engine is in the car. im desperately trying to take the turbo off and rebuild it without pulling the engine again (dont wanna do it a 3rd time). so if someone could please enlighten me on how to do this, it would be more than greatly appreciated. thanks in advance - tim

[themadscientist]

buy a set of cheap wrenches and cut, bend and tweak them so they reach. Pull off the manifold with the turbo attached. Disconnect the oil and water lines at the engine end. It will save you a lot of headache.

[r34 gtr]

ok, thanks a lot, ill do that tomorrow

[themadscientist]

Little horror storyWhen i did the S14 turbo swap on the wife's 180SX I pulled the whole thing off as a unit, made all the mods needed and put it back on. It was late as I put torque to the last bolt and I was feeling pretty proud of myself. that was until i started cleaning up my tools and found the brand new steel braided oil line on the workbench:doh That line has never stopped leaking:(

[chezina]

Just wanna know, can u reuse the manifold & turbo gaskets(cause the manual says: replace them, but they cost a lot fo money)?

[Daunttless]

Generally you do not want to reuse a gasket that you have pulled. Anytime you pull the part and seperate the seal of the gasket, you should replace it.

[themadscientist]

how much is your aggrevation worth? You spend all the time to pull it off and put it back on just to be greeted with a whistling gasket because you tried to save a buck, best avoided IMO.

[Bizz]

wow the ca18det has the same crappy exhaust stud setup as the et? I ended up welding a crow's foot head onto a shorty prybar at a funky angle just to get the last fooking bolt. BTW the shop manual charges 8 hours just to R&R my cars exhaust gasket.:eyecrazy

[r34 gtr]

i cant get the last line off the turbo, its the little one that starts at the block behind the turbo and goes up under the turbo's heatshield to where i cant get to it. it has a 19mm bolt that is in plain view, but you cant get a wrench in to turn it because of it's position. could someone please give me some tips on getting this off? its the last thing i need to disconnect to remove the turbo. i was just gonna cut it, but i dont think i want to spend the extra money on 2 little stainless hoses. any help is appreciated, thanks - tim.

[r34 gtr]

also, can someone reccomend a place to get a rebuild kit for my turbo? should i take it to get it rebuilt? i tried emailing a place that had rebuild kits, but they havnt responded in a week, so i figured you guys would know best. thanks again, tim

[themadscientist]

disconnect it from the engine end if you can and remove it from the turbo on the workbench after it's out of the car.You can rebuild the turbo yourself but you can't balance it like a professional rebuilder can so it will quickly die. Also the wheels are likely chewed up and you can't fix that.Your best bet would be to get a new turbo. It costs a little more but it's new, guaranteed, and better than original.

[r34 gtr]

see, the problem is that im broke, so i cant afford to buy a new turbo, otherwise, i wouldnt be asking this question,(unless you guys have some well-kept secret regarding cheap turbos) and i have the turbo far enough out to see that the wheels are not messed up. the turbo never actually had the bearings go, and it didnt burn any oil, it just has some shaft play, so i wanted to rebuild it. it only has 35k km on it. lastly, my problem is that i cant get anything on the bolt on the engine bay so i cant take it off. should i get a cheap wrench and cut it to get it to fit? if anyone has a t25 or t28 that is in good condition and wants to sell it to me for less than 150 bucks shipped ill probably buy it, especially if its a t28. im in dire need of help...

[themadscientist]

have the turbo professionaly rebuilt, it's worth the money. How about one of the two 300zx turbos for a cheap alternative?

[r34 gtr]

i would, but living in huntsville, alabama and going to high school kind of keeps me from looking for one. also, there isnt a junkyard close to me that has one i could take parts from, otherwise i would have bought the brakes and hubs when i had money last summer. i also doubt there is a really good place to get turbos rebuilt here, id probably have to go to birmingham, and i cant do that because of our 4 cars, 3 broke down this week. (are bmw's suposed to do that? i was under the impression they were immortal...)

[themadscientist]

have a muffler shop make a down pipe that will bolt to your exhuast manifold where the turbo went, hook your flow meter up to the crossover pipe that leads across the radiator to the intake and drive around NA until you can afford to do the turbo the way you would like. It would be down on power but would run fine.:thinker