Clocking turbine housing: tips?

[SHIFT_*grind*]

Every other damn thing on my GTiR turbo is ready to go; swapped the S14 comp housing on, made sure it's clocked the right way, loc-tite on the bolts, blah blah blah. I cannot turn the turbine housing for the life of me. I loosened the bolts, and test mounted it to the manifold so I could get both hands on it to turn it, and it will not fucking move, at all. I'm assuming it's seized and it needs to be broken loose, but I'd need to be somewhat delicate with it as well since I don't want to mess up the turbine wheel.

Having the oil drain at 45* from vertical probably isn't a good idea, so I need to do something about this. Any tips from the peanut gallery before I take it to a shop?

[statik]

you try getting some pb blaster in there to loosen her up?

[Kouki]

You may also want to try wraping the housing with a thick cloth and gently tap the housing with a rubber mallet. Just make sure the bolts aren't too loose, just enough that it will allow the housing to rotate, without any play so you don't damage the wheels.

[burnsauto]

You may also want to try wraping the housing with a thick cloth and gently tap the housing with a rubber mallet. Just make sure the bolts aren't too loose, just enough that it will allow the housing to rotate, without any play so you don't damage the wheels.

+1

dmnmsglgnth.

[Irukandji]

That is NOT how you reclock a turbo. Leave all the bolts in tact. If you look in between the turbine and compressor you will be a very large snap ring that holds one of the sides on very tight. Have a friend compress the snap ring while you turn one of the sides.

[KA-T_240]

If you spray anything on the turbo, especailly where it can get to the inside, make sure it will not damage the seals/create rust. Granted its a old used turbo, it probably is pretty hard to get stuff to move try taking the bolts out and completely removing the housing from the turbo. But try the other way mentioned above first.

[SHIFT_*grind*]

you try getting some pb blaster in there to loosen her up?

I tried some WD-40, which is usually enough for any stuck bolts I've had; would PB blaster work better?

That is NOT how you reclock a turbo. Leave all the bolts in tact. If you look in between the turbine and compressor you will be a very large snap ring that holds one of the sides on very tight. Have a friend compress the snap ring while you turn one of the sides.

The compressor side has a snap ring, and I've already clocked that. I also need to clock the turbine side, which doesn't have a snap ring.

I wish I had a decent workbench so I could vice-grip it down and give it a really good shot :(

[SHIFT_*grind*]

Update:

So everything's clocked, and put back together, and overall ready to be bolted on. However, I might have a problem. I'm hoping I don't, which is why I'm asking:

The wheels turn freely when I spin them, with no resistance. There's what seems to be a minimal amount of side-to-side shaft play, and in-out play. However, if I put sideways pressure on the shaft when I turn it, I can hear the turbine wheel grazing the housing. This is only if I put pressure on it, it doesn't happen at all if I turn the shaft normally.

Does it need a rebuild or not? :(

[SHIFT_*grind*]

Anyone? Sounds to me like it does... :(

[tig_tech]

Yea man if you put pressure and its touching, then chances are you need a rebuild. I would to be on the safe side. Being that its a journal bearing turbine it shouldnt be a problem sending it in, then you'll love yourself for it in the end.

[SHIFT_*grind*]

Hmm. :(

I honestly don't think I'd have much trouble rebuilding it myself. Most of the info I've found on here says it's pretty straightforward, just a couple things you have to be careful about.

I've never done it before, but I tackled and finished an RB20 swap in my driveway with only basic mechanical know-how, so I should be ok as long as I do my research and follow the instructions to a T.

[statik]

The wheels turn freely when I spin them, with no resistance. There's what seems to be a minimal amount of side-to-side shaft play, and in-out play. However, if I put sideways pressure on the shaft when I turn it, I can hear the turbine wheel grazing the housing. This is only if I put pressure on it, it doesn't happen at all if I turn the shaft normally.

Does it need a rebuild or not? :(

Basically, if you put enough pressure on any compressor shaft it will contact the housing heh. Use very little pressure when testing for shaft play.

[SHIFT_*grind*]

Haha, well it's not like I'm leaning on the shaft when I turn it; I just put as much pressure as I can with my fingers and turn it back and forth, and occasionally I'll hear it scrape a little. So maybe it's ok?

I guess my options are:

1) Put the damn thing on the car and run it, and if it sounds like a chainsaw or won't boost properly, then I know it's bad. Could possibly damage the wheels, if shaft play is out of spec? Cost: $0
2) Rebuild the turbo myself, and hope I don't screw anything up. I don't really see why I couldn't do this, but I don't have firsthand experience. Cost: ~$80 for a rebuild kit
3) Send it out to get rebuilt, or have a shop do it locally. May be unnecessary, but also may be worth the peace of mind. Cost: ~$350?

4) Just have a shop check it out before I do any of the above, so I can have a professional, firsthand analysis of whether or not the thing needs to be rebuilt. Cost: $???

[statik]

if you want peace of mind, send it out to be rebuilt, or rebuild it yourself, even if it's ok now, it has unknown mileage on it to begin with.

[bejota180sx]

wow thats a costly rebuild... back here the best rebuilder only cost you bout $160 for that type of turbine/compressor

but really if u think it has play you should rebuild it for the peace of mind of having it get damaged and having to take it all of again and rebuild it and all that problem...

good luck

[SHIFT_*grind*]

gpopshop.com starts at $325, then plus shipping or whatever. The only local shop I've found so far said they start at $495 :eek3:

[GSXRJJordan]

If, by my assessment, I thought the wheels spun freely, I'd just throw it on and see. It's not like any part of these turbos are incredibly expensive. On the other hand, a rebuild kit is not very expensive. Either slap it on and run it (like you said, checking for proper boost and/or horrible sounds) or get the rebuild done yourself.

[SHIFT_*grind*]

Every local shop I call:

"Hi, I wanted to get an idea of what it would cost to rebuild my Garrett T28, Nissan, non-ball bearing."
"I dunno, "$495, 595." What the fuck?!! Seriously, what the fuck. It's a plain journal bearing turbo, no fancy shit in it, six hundred dollars? Go to hell, I'll do this myself.

Shit.

[jspaeth]

I would say that if it you think it is only barely touching, just put in on the car.

Odds are that it isn't going to COMPLETELY fail all at once, fucking up your engine....a.k.a. if shit starts to break off

In all likelihood, if there's only a tiny bit of shaft play, it will start to nip the walls and bend the fins first, at which point you should promptly put the clutch in and turn the car off....

I had a turbo go, and none of the fins broke off, but you could hear the buzzing of the fins on the compressor wall.

[SHIFT_*grind*]

I think, probably, it'll be ok for now. My only thing is...if it's not, or if it starts to go in another 500 or 1000 miles or something, then I have to pull the turbo again to get it rebuilt and then reinstall it. I rarely get time to work on the car as it is (:(), so I might as well try to get it right, while it's off the car, instead of redoing it in the near future.

And hell, after hearing $600 from the local shops, $325 plus shipping charges to send it to gpopshop doesn't sound that bad.

[jspaeth]

Plus, if it starts to fail, you need a new compressor wheel!

Yikes

[SHIFT_*grind*]

EWW. Yeah, if it starts to scrape and I shut the car off immediately, I might prevent fucking up my engine...but I'd rather avoid fucking up anything altogether.

[SHIFT_*grind*]

Mr. Turbo Specialist guy, who looks like the comic book store owner from the Simpsons, confirms that it needs a rebuild. At the very least, the thrust bearing is gone (if not the other bearings as well). And the basic rebuild service is $500. I will be damned if I'm paying that to rebuild this turbo; by then I could have bought a new GT2871R. So I'm ordering a rebuild kit and doing it myself.

Anyone who has actually rebuilt a turbo themselves: For real, be straight with me here, how hard is it? I've done an engine swap in my driveway and generally don't have a problem with things like this. The fact that there are lots of little parts kinda scares me, though. Besides basic tools, a vice grip and a T15 star fitting (I've read), are there any specialty tools I'd need? Any part of the rebuild that's particularly a bitch?

And thanks for all the help on this guys, I appreciate it a lot.

[GSXRJJordan]

I'll be watching this, I'm also interested in a no-BS assessment of tools/difficulty/tips.

[tt99ol]

make sure to mark each wheel's relation to the shaft so it will still be in balance

[burnsauto]

Mr. Turbo Specialist guy, who looks like the comic book store owner from the Simpsons, confirms that it needs a rebuild. At the very least, the thrust bearing is gone (if not the other bearings as well). And the basic rebuild service is $500. I will be damned if I'm paying that to rebuild this turbo; by then I could have bought a new GT2871R. So I'm ordering a rebuild kit and doing it myself.

Anyone who has actually rebuilt a turbo themselves: For real, be straight with me here, how hard is it? I've done an engine swap in my driveway and generally don't have a problem with things like this. The fact that there are lots of little parts kinda scares me, though. Besides basic tools, a vice grip and a T15 star fitting (I've read), are there any specialty tools I'd need? Any part of the rebuild that's particularly a bitch?

And thanks for all the help on this guys, I appreciate it a lot.

i've rebuilt them before. its not rocket science.

besides the t15, the only other specialty tool you'd need is a good set of picks, they'll really help out. all you need is a clean work surface and a lot of patience.

After you have assembled the center section, i'd recommend sending the center section out to gpop to have them balance it (its only like...70 bucks, and well worth it.) I've rebuilt them without doing that, and just lining things back up..and was always a little nervous about it, so with this, you get piece of mind.

only things you need to look out for:
-snapping bolts off in the turbine (exhaust) housin
-one of the snap rings is a "spiral" type. small flat one that is wound up like a spring is wound (but this one is flat). this is where the picks/patience come in handy.

if you have any more questions, just PM me. I'd be more than happy to help you out.

[unicoladron]

the turbine wheel/shaft could be off balance to begin with, but it is a good practice to mark them before disassembly. if it has never been fucked with before, then it will be in "factory spec" balance. which i personally dont' believe.

a friend purchased a rebuild kit from the gpopshop from ebay and their instructions are great. it's a large blow-up diagram of every piece that comes with the kit and where it goes.

so if you were able to build legos as a kid by following simple instructions similar to the blow up diagram available, you will not have a problem rebuilding.

and yes, red loc-tite is your friend.

[SHIFT_*grind*]

Thanks for the responses guys. Doing the math:

Rebuild kit + shipping = ~$80
GPop balancing + shipping costs = ~$100
T15 fitting, vice grip, decent picks (none of which I have) = ~$50??
Total = ~$230

vs.

GPop rebuild/balance/make it like new again + shipping: ~$350

Hrmmmmrrmrmmrmmmmmmm....

[importdude]

doing the rebuild is not hard but u just dont have the tools to blance the shaft

send it out

www.blaastperformance.com

there awesome
i did my t3/t4 there

the only problem is it takes 2 weeks cuz of shipping
he does rebuild the turbo within 2 days

[bongnak]

Thanks for the responses guys. Doing the math:

Rebuild kit + shipping = ~$80
GPop balancing + shipping costs = ~$100
T15 fitting, vice grip, decent picks (none of which I have) = ~$50??
Total = ~$230

vs.

GPop rebuild/balance/make it like new again + shipping: ~$350

Hrmmmmrrmrmmrmmmmmmm....


but if you mess up, loose something, or bend something its gonna cost you more than the price difference, id just go with the $350 and call it a day