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who has rebuilt their turbo?

2K views 13 replies 6 participants last post by  ghostman 
#1 ·
if you have rebuilt a turbo, please share your expierences, good or bad, tips and tricks, would you do it again?

there seems to be quite a bit of negativity twards attempting to rebuild a turbo, but most of it seems to come from those that have not done it.

has anybody attemped this with catastrophic results?

i have searched and found that if your compressor wheel has made contact with the housing, you are probably better off using your turbo as a core, you can buy complete center sections, and if you do attempt this you should only use genuine holset parts.

im not trying to start another thread of uncle bubbas cousins sisters son in law said dont do it, so if you do not have first hand expierence please keep those comments to yourself.

any build threads, or helpful links are also welcome.
 
#2 ·
I built my hybrid myself; new turbine, new compressor wheel, & rebuild kit. Got all my parts from BAE. Went together pretty easy, its a straightforward job. A good pair of small snap ring pliers helps greatly.
 
#3 ·
I did mine at 166k and now have 229k. It's pretty straight forward, but good snap ring pliers are a must. It was actually hardest for me to get the exhaust housing off. It took quite a bit of banging, because it had some rust. Difficulty here will probably vary with your location.

I would do mine again when needed.
 
#4 ·
Mojave Magic, did you just mark your wheels and shaft and put it back together the way it came apart? or did you have it balanced afterwords?

foxwar71, being as your parts were new, did you have the rotating assembly balanced, or just run it and hope for the best? any ill effects?

is this something you guys did in your garage or are you setup for this type of work? just basic hand tools and a good pair of snap ring pliers all thats required?

is it really as simple as dissasembly, replace wear parts, inspect hard parts, and reasembly? im not sure why so many people are afraid of this.
 
#5 ·
if you have rebuilt a turbo, please share your expierences, good or bad, tips and tricks, would you do it again?

There seems to be quite a bit of negativity twards attempting to rebuild a turbo, but most of it seems to come from those that have not done it.

Has anybody attemped this with catastrophic results? yes

i have searched and found that if your compressor wheel has made contact with the housing, you are probably better off using your turbo as a core, you can buy complete center sections, and if you do attempt this you should only use genuine holset parts. good idea imo, buy a built center section from reputable place.

im not trying to start another thread of uncle bubbas cousins sisters son in law said dont do it, so if you do not have first hand expierence please keep those comments to yourself.

Any build threads, or helpful links are also welcome.
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This was after we rebuilt an HX35 with a billet comp wheel and larger turbine. :thumbsup:

Although I think the real reason it demolished itself was the centersection was already cracked, we just couldn't see it.
 
#6 ·
i was under the impression that the turbine wheel usually has the shaft installed. you said you think you had a cracked center section, did you mean the center section, or the shaft? was your assembly balanced after putting together new parts?

the main reason im asking these questions is, between me and a few buddys, we have a handful of hx35w, h1c, wh1c, and a ht3b, that could use freshened up. none are "bad", but all have some slop, and id rather rebuild them with a $100 holset rebuild kit than buy a reman unit. im not looking to make any hybrids here, just stock rebuilds. if i were installing new rotating parts, i can see the need for a balance job, but when only replacing the bearings and seals if all other parts appear in good shape, i dont see where the problem lies or where the grief is coming from.

if i am incorrect in my way of thinking, please correct me. im not trying to imply anything or offend anyone, im just looking to gather information from those with experience to help me (and hopefully others )make a informed decision on weather or not im willing to take this gamble. hopefully the knowledge you are able to share will prove useful to others as well. maybe those of us with turbos that are just a little tired can freshen them up with a bit of confidence, a $100 bill, a pair of good snap ring pliers, and a few beers on a saturday afternoon.

i change my own oil, why couldnt i rebuild a turbo?:hehe: but seriously, this forum is about sharing knowledge, ideas, and experience, good or bad. along with working on our own trucks and getting to know them inside and out. i hate paying for a service i am capable of doing myself, and im sure that is a feeling most of us can understand.
 
#14 ·
i was under the impression that the turbine wheel usually has the shaft installed. you said you think you had a cracked center section, did you mean the center section, or the shaft? was your assembly balanced after putting together new parts?

They were new individually balanced parts. The center section was cracked I think, not the wheels. The center section was used. Who knows could have been dropped or rolled around in someone's truck bed etc.


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#7 ·
I didn't balance anything on mine, all the separate parts are already balanced so it didn't matter how the wheels were orientated to each other. It really was as simple as take it apart, change bearings, and reassemble. Only thing extra I did was some machining on the center section and exhaust housing to fit the bigger wheels. I started with a good used stock turbo from a friends truck when he went bigger, showed no signs of contact and had no cracks/broken parts.
 
#8 ·
Thank you. That is what im looking for, and id like to hear about others experiences as well. I just want to make it clear, im not trying to save damaged parts, strictly good turbos that just need freshened up.

Foxwar, where did you get your rebuild kit? Did you use genuine holset parts?

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#9 ·
All my parts came from BAE.

If you're just doing a rebuild and not replacing the wheels, just mark them for good measure and reinstall so they line up.
 
#10 ·
I rebuild mine last fall, hardest part was splitting exhaust housing, broke two bolts off one i was able to remove other i just took to local Oreilies machine shop since i dont have a torch to heat it up. The rest was really easy to do, paid like $83 for an OEM holset kit from a local shop. I usually go the cheap ebay route but didnt want to chance cheap machining on something spinning at 50,000 rpm. Youtube has videos of it.
 
#11 ·
When marking the shaft are you guys using a paint marker, pencil, scribe, or what? I would think a scribe would leave the finest, most permanent mark, but the scratch may be a stress riser, I don't know?
 
#12 ·
I just used a marker. There are two different kinds of balanced assemblies though. One has each part balanced and then installed, so it doesn't matter how they go back together. The other is balanced after assembly and this one must be marked and put back the same. The instructions tell you how to know which one you have and I can't remember now.

I was expecting a lot more complicated parts and almost kind of disappointed in how simple the turbo was.
 
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