how do you remove stock turbo? (porting info too)

[Ian Turgeon]

initial edge cutting finished.. theres a surprising amount of metal to come off

bottom right corner is smoothed into the flow..

 

[sy1907]

Nice quality pics, I appreciate it. Time to head off to home depot and the auto store for some goodies to get the job done. Thanks!

 

[SeattleSy#1255]

I recommend we put this into the tech articles for future reference...good info here.

whatcha guys think?

 

[Ian Turgeon]

agree jeff.. so Im going to try and take it further.

My method offered me a spare turbo to work on. Is there any chance I can change the compressor/exhaust housings without disonnecting the lines on the center section? I'd much rather keep my center section as its got fewer miles, and I know most of them.

Otherwise, Im going to get replacements made (at least for the oil lines) at amazon hose here. Maybe I can get rid of the hack-job leaky orange hose that GM had the foresight to invest in.

I figure 2-3 more days and my porting work will be done on the turbine(exhaust) side.

I figure bell-mouthing the compressor side will take considerably less time.

I'm going to do the same to the intercooler, and maybe waste money on one of those tb foil thingies.

If Im correct, you dont bell mouth the outlet of the compressor? I dont think the advantages work both ways.

 

[Ian Turgeon]

more pics:

I finished biting out the left side wall

upper right smoothed down.

lower right

lower left

upper left

prior to sanding with the harsh carb roll

almost done with the harsh carb roll

I finished cutting down and smoothing the other corners. I tried to make smooth transitions on the upper humped side of the ports.

There were some areas that the casting process left some nasty depressions in, so I've tried to get those down far enough to at-least smooth them out a bit.

The thickness of the walls is something to keep in mind, but there does appear to be a lot of material left, I don't think it will be an issue at all.

next, finish with he harsh rolls, then the finer carb rolls then the flapper and on to the 2 'grits' of cross-buffs.

 

[sy1907]

Guys, quick question. I was cranking on the dp bolts, and the first one came out all together, the (nut and bolt), but on the second, the nut cracked off and the bolt is still in there. Does this spell major problems, or can I somehow wiggle the turbo off? How in the hell do you get a 15mm stubby on the four header bolts? Did you guys use a rope configuration to get enough torque to free them? I've previously employed the help of a torch as well. Thanks for all the help.

 

[Sy#26]

Yep, torch is good in two ways - to heat the stubborn nut & to custom bend a 15mm wrench to fit that top left nut. Wobble adapter will get you onto the other three. Also pick up a can of PB spray & some easy-outs for the broken stud (not bolt).

 

[sy1907]

Guys, when separtating the exhaust from the compressor side, the only thing holding them together is the buckle right, and rust as previously stated. Should I remove the shaft somehow before separation? Also, where the wastegate rod on the turbo is cotter pinned on, the circle that appears just below the valve inside which is on the flange that attatches to the dp, should there be three small tach welds on there? Thanks

 

[E-Rue]

nice work ian!

im liking the progress on your project.

also, i thought id add, that the PTE housings are not as big as the turbo flange opening on ATR headers, so this can be done on those combo's as well.

e

 

[Ian Turgeon]

Guys, when separtating the exhaust from the compressor side, the only thing holding them together is the buckle right, and rust as previously stated. Should I remove the shaft somehow before separation? Also, where the wastegate rod on the turbo is cotter pinned on, the circle that appears just below the valve inside which is on the flange that attatches to the dp, should there be three small tach welds on there? Thanks

I seperated mine as carefully as possible using a metal malet. I beat the hell outa it with a rubber mallet, but that wasnt doing anything.We braced the compressor housing (inlet pointing upwards) by sitting it on some 2" by 4"s. then I hit the exhaust housing downward (keeping a hand on it so it didnt fall) and it backed off slowly enough so there was no drama or damage.

The back of the exhaust housing has a port for the wastegate to dump strait through to the downpipe. It does have a plug that is spot weled in place.

see below:

As far as my project. Unfortunately I decided I had to take this to the extreme since Im here ( should have done this before finish polishing my port job) .

I'm having the wastegate port filled and welded to make the flow into the exhaust housing as smooth as I can get it. On top of that, Im blocking off the exit of the wastegate port to smooth flow from the exit of the turbine.

The result should be the least 'turbulant' turbo possible, and will hopefully make it a little more efficient and quicker to spool.

I have pics of the pre-wastegate mod below. I know I'll be wishing I did this after the mod when I get the turbo back.

 

[Ian Turgeon]

after the harsh carbide roll

after the 2nd level carbide rolls

after the cross buffs

 

[Ian Turgeon]

just to add some more info.. heres what I'm using to do this:

I only used the larger round one from a kit like this Thanks to Jesse and his grandpa for loaning the bits. They are carbide burrs/bits

this is the kit from Standard Abrasives that I has everything you'd need to do a set of heads and manifolds. The cross buffs are real nice to finish it off.

And I went to home depot and picked up the cheapest electric drill that would fit with these bits (they wont fit into a dremel, and would probably burn it up if they did) The drill may not last too long giving it this abuse, but it'll do the job.

This could easily be done with a air powered die grinder, but I don't have a compressor.. so the cheap drill worked fine.

 

[sy1907]

Great, good stuff. The turbines and the shaft are attatched to the compressor side then and the exhaust side just slides off after a Rodney King? I couldn't find any carbide tipped bits @ home depot, so I just got some sanding stones for a die grinder I think they'll get the job done. Lookin good on your turbo ian!

 

[sy1907]

Look, I'm still consider myself to be a newbie obviously, as this is the first time i have attempted to disasemble a turbo. Do I need to take out the turbines before separation of the housings? I think a 15mm and 7/16 sockets will do the job if need be. Also, I've been strategically smacking with a hammer and angled punches, and can still not make the housings budge. I appreciate the help you have been providing and hope you can give me just a little more. Laugh if need be veterans, but I'm just trying to learn. Thanks

 

[Ian Turgeon]

To tell you the truth, I don't know the removal process for the turbine and compressor wheels. I popped mine off with the turbine still in the turbo.

picture this (2 person job). This is the best I could do with the limited tools/materials at my dispense.

Don't forget to apply generous amounts of penetrating oil. everyone swears by PB blast.

An "A" fame, with the legs made of 2 2x4's. The top of the "A" is the turbo sitting on the 2x4's. The compressor housing is sitting on the 2x4's so that the turbine housing is below it, and the 2x4s are supporting the compressor housing. Then, as nicely as possible, I beat on the exhaust housing with a metal mallet. Don't hammer the compressor housing.

the 2x4's were just my method to make sure the force was getting where I needed it. If you can find another way to hold the turbo so the force is getting applied to the slip joint, that will work as well..

 

[sy1907]

Guys, found a great, no- hack method of getting the turbo apart. Soak in PB Blast, yeah it's the shit. Then go get two or three 5/8''X 1.5'' bolts and the according nuts. Mine had 15/16'' heads on them. Put a nut on each bolt and put those between the housings. Hold the bolt head with a wrench and untighten the nut with another. The housings will slip easily apart. No harm done! Thanks for all the help!

 

[Sy#26]

Dan -

What a slick idea! Thanks.

 

[Ian Turgeon]

Dan -

What a slick idea! Thanks.

agree, good idea.

On my project... My turbo's all welded up, and I'm anxious to go pick it up thursday.

 

[Spinall4]

Great, good stuff. The turbines and the shaft are attatched to the compressor side then and the exhaust side just slides off after a Rodney King? I couldn't find any carbide tipped bits @ home depot, so I just got some sanding stones for a die grinder I think they'll get the job done. Lookin good on your turbo ian!

The sanding stones for a die grinder will not work- I bought some and they lasted about 30sec before cloging up when I was porting the exhaust manifold on my dsm. You will need carbid bits, nothing else will work- I tried a bunch of other bits and just tore those up. There expsive and you will proably go through 1 or 2 of them, but they will get the job done. Also, don't even thin about trying this with a dremal, this job takes for ever as is, a dremal would take months. I used a air grinder, but you can also get an electric grinder(better solution, beacuse unless you've got a huge air compressor then your going to run out of air all the time and have to wait for the compressor to catch back up)

 

[myclone]

For the noob in porting/polishing do what spinall4 suggests. Get yourself an electric die grinder. The cheapies arent too expensive and you can make your own speed control with a light dimmer from lowes or home depot. Just remember that when you slow an electric die grinder down it will work harder to remove material so dont put all your weight on it to get it to cut. Go slow or increase the speed.

If youre doing a cyl head mount it to an engine stand using the holes in the end of the head where the accessories mount to attach it to an engine stand. Use a/some bungie cords to hold a drop light in the right position so the light shines into where youre working.

If you decide to work on aluminum (like the upper/lower intake) get some bits that are designed for alum. If you dont they will quickly clog and youll hafta stop and dig the alum outta the teeth. Dip the bit in some trans fluid, motor oil, or spray some WD40 on it every so often to help keep it from clogging.

For all but the smallest jobs a dremel will just piss you off. Its too small to do any major work. Save your time/money and get a real die grinder. Leave the dremel work to the stereo install guys. If you insist on trying to port something any bigger than a stock turbine housing (and that'd be questionable) get PLENTY of bits as you go through em like mad. Thats if the dremel doesnt die after a couple hours.

Lastly (and this should go without saying) WEAR EYE PROTECTION. Ive been to the emergency room numerous times to get debri dug outta my eye cause I was too hard headed or in too big of a hurry to put a pair of safety glasses on. Myclone was stupid. Dont be like myclone.