turbocharger repair

[nextlevel]

Hello! I am new to the site and hope to find some answers.

I have a 1995 3/4 ton chevy truck with the 6.5L diesel. Where can I get some info on how to rebuild the turbocharger and where can I get parts? Or is it not wise for me to attempt this repair and just buy a reman? I think I have a bearing going out. There is way to much vibration coming out of the housing.

James Hart

[DennisG01]

I found this site with a quick Google search:

http://store.dieselcare.net/turbochargers.html

I'm sure if you search around you can find more.

[redbird2]

Yes you can rebuild your own seen rebuild kits on ebay. The biggest advantage to a reman is if it from a good source they make sure that the rotating parts are balanced and straight. Which is not possible to do at home, if you are felling a vibration then there is a chance that one of the wheels could have impacted the housing which then they will need replaced.

You can do it just take your time and make sure not to bend the driveshaft.
good luck

[Robyn]

Well back last spring I had to tear down my 94 burb to rebuild the engine.
After getting the engine all done I went to reinstall the turbo and it would not turn.

Hmmm turned fine before????
I carefully took the thing apart and found that the hot side was really carboned up and what must have happened was when the engine blew the head gasket the antifreeze that went out the exhaust caused the carbon to expand jamming the turbine.

I completely disassembled the unit removing the turbine, compressor wheel, and seperated both housings.

Carefully cleaned the turbine housing, turbine, compressor wheel and the seal areas.

Now the seals look like little piston rings and fit into a groove in the shaft.
The bearing on these is a bronze unit that is fed through the center with oil off the engine high pressure feed at the front.

These things are pretty simple unless they have ate themselves.
If either wheel has been into the housing get another one.
If the wheels are in good shape a fresh bearing, seals and a good cleaning will make them work like new.

I could not find any witness marks on the compressor wheel anywhere to suggest that it was located in any particular way to the turbine so I reinstalled and tightened the nut back up with a touch of blue locktight on the threads.

Use a little oil on the bearing when putting it all back together and it should spin like a top and nice and free too.

Mine has been running now for 15K since the overhaul and seems fine.
I took a look at it recently when installing a new air filter and the liitle critter was smooth and tight.

With the 6.5 its tough to tell if you are getting oil past the seal on the compressor side as the oil pullover from the crankcase venting really skunks up the turbine and housing.
The hot side is much easier to see.

Now the bolts on the hot side can be a bitch to get out especially if the turbo has a load of miles on it.

I ended up breaking two off and having to drill them out.
best part though is those bolts go all the way through into the housing.
If I remember correctly I was able to use an easy out after drilling them.

Good luck

Keep us posted

Robyn

[nextlevel]

Thanks for the replys. This turbo has 236,000 miles on it and the only thing ever replaced is the waste gate solenoid. I took the rubber boot off the front and tried to wiggle the turbine. It moved up and down a little bit but I'm just not sure if the problem is in the turbo or not. It does not make any odd noise and I don't know for sure how much this thing should vibrate.

This vibration is in the steering column and in the brake pedal. When I push the pedal just a little bit the vibration seems to stop and when I take my foot off the vibration comes back.

I recently replace the hydraulic brake booster and the power steering pump and I did not have this problem before then.

It is kind of crazy.

James Hart

[Slim shady]

If your hot side has a lot of carbon build up you can get an out of balance vibration. If the shaft only moves up and down a little, it sounds like it is a good candidate for a rebuild.

I bought a rebuild kit (With the thrust collar) off of EBAY and rebuilt mine. it is not a real big project. Cleaning everything was the biggest problem. Mark the end of the shaft and the turbine on the cold side so you get them back in the same spot. This will keep the shaft and turbine balance point, if the nut has been ground it is balanced as an assembly and it must be put back in the exact same spot or the balance will be affected. If the nut is not ground the pieces were balanced separately: they should still go back in the same spot as they were removed, although it is not critical, since they were balanced separately.

USE A HEAT wrench (Torch) to remove the hot side bolts. Heat the cast and use a hand wrench to remove them. NOTE (MARK THE CASE SO THAT EVERYTHING WILL GO BACK IN THE SAME SPOT) if you don't; getting everything to line up will be a job.

The hot side shaft has a twelve point head on it that you use a socket on to hold it from turning while you use a 10 millimeter wrench to remove the nut on the compressor side. Remove this then the shaft will come out easily.

If you buy a good kit they will have good directions, spend the extra money and get the thrust collar with the rebuild parts. (home rebuilders) leave this piece out when doing this job, it is a ten dollar piece that can ruin your rebuild: it keeps the shaft from moving back and forth in the horizontal plane.

Relax, DON"T rush when doing this job.