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Tips for at home turbo rebuilder
With the availability of turbo rebuild kits on the web, its good to see people building their own turbo's. Here's a few tips to keep your turbo running longer and a few things you tube didn't do right.
First and foremost. Removing your housing, clean your clamp, and always use new locking nut and bolt to re-attach your bearing housing to your exhaust housing. If you have access to a sand blaster, clean all the carbon out of of your housing. Wash thoroughly.
Now when taking apart your cartridge. Put the turbine end in a vice, and using a T handle remove the shaft nut. This places even distribution of torque, bending the tail shaft is very easy, especially on TCO5 TC04, but MHI turbos in general.
Pull your shaft out, and inspect EVERYTHING, look for scored in the bearing housing and on shaft. Hopefully everything looks smooth. If its scored and damaged, stop and use a machine shop to hone the bearing housing if needed or shaft. New bearings on a scored shaft or bearing housing is a waste of money, as it will eat your brass bearing and prematurely fail. Custom bearings can be orderd. MHI turbos and only safely go .15 over, anything more than that and retaining ring groves will be too shallow.
Parts that should never be reused regardless of condition:
Seal plate- There is a fine coat of material that wears off, even if it looks fine replace it, do no order a kit that does not come with a seal plate.
Bearing- I strongly suggest if everything is from ebay, you order MHI bearings, the brass hardness is very different.
Thrust collar- Replace. It comes with all kits.
Retaining rings- they did well untill now, its time to use new ones.
Rings of any kind- They probably broke when you tried to remove anyways, place your seal-plate ring in the seal plate before install. Too much gap and it will leak, same goes for the ring on your turbine.
Possibly reusable:
Oil deflector- Clean thoroughly do not bend.
Seal plate retaining ring-Wire wheel works wonders.
More tips:
Thoroughly lubricate everything, I use royal purple 50w to lubricate bearings and shaft before the install.
Change your oil before your install your freshly rebuilt turbo. Flood turbo with oil, use the same as your motor, we are trying to avoid a "dry start"
100,000 miles on your stock waste gate usually ends up over speeding your turbo to blow it again. Go aftermarket. If your new turbo is filling your pipes with oil, remove and inspect rings. As always check for shaft play and before installing make sure your turbo doesn't rub on the housings.
*Myth
Marking your shaft and compressor wheel and re-aligning when re-assembling will keep your shaft in balance. Your turbo was balanced brand new. You see the minor chips in your compressor wheel? Re-regardless of what you do, it needs to be rebalanced. Do you have to? No, however it is much better for efficiency. Its really going to be out if you attempted a hybrid with a new compressor wheel. Way off.
Use the o ring in your compressor housing, if use oil and (make sure your pins are aligned) and a rubber mallet, you can fit the new one in. (if it came in your kit)
Good Luck
Good luck.!
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