Well, I got the project car (http://members.***.net/yellow87turbo2) buttoned up & took it to the body shop today. I've run the car in the garage about 8 times checking for leaks, etc. About a block from the body shop, I got on it a bit. The car started blowing oil smoke out the exhaust something fierce. The turbo also has an infrequent rattle in it, sounds like from the center section. The oil smoke cloud makes me think the turbine seal may have gone away. I rebuilt the turbo myself making very sure to mark the wheels before disassembly. I thought I got everything back together just fine. Shaft spun freely when the turbo went into the car. The car is currently at the body shop. I don't know if I want to drive it home (4 miles) with the turbo making noise. I'm terrified of the compressor wheel fragging into the motor & taking out an apex seal. I'll investigate further in the morning, but am planning on turbo replacement right now. I may see if I can find a cheap used turbo & switch them out as I need the car drivable later this week.



Anybody have a S5 turbo for sale cheap?

Who would you recommend for a rebuild?

Any idea what could have gone wrong?



I'm posting this about everywhere hoping for good news from someone somewhere.

 

that sucks. i've never rebuilt a turbo yet.... i sold my S5 Turbo's all of em !

 

did you make sure the shaft was straight? i would get the car home (it being me i would just drive it slow), and pull the turbo off, maybe its something dumb



mike

 

At this point I can say with absolute certainty it's the turbo. I just pulled the TID & I have a lot of shaft play. A little play up/down/side to side, but a lot of play fore/aft. Like there's nothing at all holding it together in that plane (possibly the thrust plate?). I can take the compressor wheel & move it forward enough that it will contact the housing. I assume that the noise I'm hearing is the wheel bouncing off the housing every so often. It does this very infrequently at idle & a bit more frequently as the rpm increases (not driving, just sitting there with the hood open).

I really don't want to drive it & damage it more, but towing it back to the house is a bitch. How high a probability do I run of severly damaging (like new parts needed) the housing/wheels if I drive like an old lady the 4 miles or so back to the house? I guess I'm still looking for a cheap S5 turbo. The car will be in the body shop awaiting the little wings that locate the lower leading edge of the fender. If I can find a turbo to throw on, I can do the work there & not have to drive it in it's current state or tow/trailer it home.

 

I'm an NA guy so I don't know a whole lot about turbos, but can't you just rig the waste gate to be open so it doesnt spool up the turbo and limp it home like that?

 

thrust bearing? i dunno why it would die so fast?



mike

 

are@you sure that you tightened the nut on the front of the compressor good. I don't take a lot of tourque but it should be snug and you should make sure the compressor wheel is in its proper position when tightening. Also you should have put some loctite or thread locker on that nut as well.



I must ask why you rebuilt the turbo, and did you buy a kit to fix it if so what came in it. the parts that control what you are describing are the thrust washer and thrust bearing. Always replace these if possible when rebuilding.

 

How did you rebuild your turbo, where did you get the parts from.

I know www.turbocity.com rebuilds 2nd gen turbos. Try contacting them.

I have to rebuild my 3rd gen turbos pretty soon too.

 

The shaft will still spin.

 

The compressor nut backed off!. I was following directions instead of thinking, evidently. The rebuild write-up I was using in conjunction witht the instructions in the rebuild kit said "don't use loctite, it's a self locking nut". I should have known better. This is now the 2nd brain fart during the car splicing (not bad, 2 things in the entire process so far). Just got done pulling DP & tightening the nut after putting some loctite on it. Spins freely, no fore/aft play whatsoever. I have a little up/down/side play now, though, that wasn't present upon completion of the rebuild. It's about the same amount of play that was present before the rebuild. I rebuilt because the compressor shaft seal was starting to pass oil into the intake tract & it had some shaft play. If it passes no oil, makes no noise & spools properly, I'll probably leave it for now. Unless of course someone has some strong arguments otherwise. In any case, it should be good to drive home on.



The rebuild kit came from Turbo City. It had bearings, thrust plate, snap rings, & seals. Everything that came out of the turbo other than the shaft/wheels & thou housings was replaced.



Stupid problem, easy solution. I'll take that any day over simple problem that's a PITA to fix.