Turbo Removal........

[simonbuk]

I was going to add a question onto a useful thread i found about the removal of the turbo instead of starting yet another thread but for the life of me can't find that thread again

And yes i have looked at the Manuals about the IHI rebuld !

But just to clarify something - i want to remove the turbo on one of my cars (it was rebuilt and ported and only done a couple of hundred miles since) and put it on the new one - both S2s.

I have read that its easier to remove the turbo with the exhaust manifold still attached. Theres eight nuts to undo on the manifold. Then theres the three bolts/nuts to undo from the exhaust going to the pre-cat from underneath.

Now theres the talk about the four studs that hold the turbo to the manifold that are a PITA to deal with and they are designed not to come off (or they either come away or snap). If the manifold is coming away with the turbo I assume these are being removed later ? So can be done on the bench (kitchen worktop). In one write up it was suggesting (or so i thought) that these had to be undone and the turbo slid forward to the front of the car ?

I'm sure i've misunderstood something somewhere ?

If i'm swapping turbos then i might as well swap the manifolds (with the turbos attached) and not risk breaking those 4 studs ?

[Tuga2112]

my experience in that area was when i removed the manifold to do the head gasket.

yes those 4 studs you talk about will definitely come out on the workbench.

what you describe worked for me. removing the nuts (in my case some of the studs came instead) of the manifold and the 3 bolts from the downpipe.

the area is pretty crammed and was a challenge to remove the thing as a whole also due to the weight. but considering i done that 7-8 years ago. it cant have been a dificult thing because my tools and skill were both very basic back then.

I get the impression theres something else you want advise on because your spot on in everything you stated. maybe you want to re-iterate your question ?

[simonbuk]

To be honest just a bit of reassurance before I got stuck into it more - just didn't want to start attempting to undo things which didn't need undoing (yet) !!

So I just need to swap manifolds with the turbo still attached ?

[Tuga2112]

that' what i would try.

obviously as you progress you will find things that either are different in your car, or have been forgotten when people done it and documented it.

my recollection from the task is that it was dificult to remove because of the clearance and weight and some of the manifold nuts were a PITA because the spanner could onyl get 5-10 degrees

[dapinky]

I always take the turbo/manifold out as a single unit by removing the studs to the head and lifting it upwards...... it is far easier than trying to separate the turbo from the manifold with little access to those studs.

Also, it isn't completely unknown for the exhaust manifold to suffer from cracking where the ports merge, so it may be a good time to chose which is the better manifold to go ahead with, and/or consider adding some chemical metal paste to any affected areas.

[simonbuk]

Well this is proving more problematical than i thought

I finally got the third bolt/nut out of the exhaust, couldn't get to it until i took the little shock absorber mount off.

Now i am taking the oil/water pipes off the turbo but there is two underneath the turbo that i just don't know how to get to ? From above/side or from underneath somehow ?? What concerns me more is if, IF i get them out how do they go back in again. I thought about removing the turbo housing to the side as that looks like you could have more access but then you can't get to all the 8mm nuts holding in place ?

ETA - ok, re-read the IHI turbo rebuild in the manuals section, looks like I might be able to disconnect the pipes at the other end - phew !!

[simonbuk]

Bloody cars

OK, it looks like i have to remove the PAS bracket too - my bad

[simonbuk]

The only thing that appears to be stopping my now is the dipstick is in the way.

There is a 19mm nut holding the dipstick into a large nut which is probably 22mm .

Do you remove the whole lot or just undo the 19mm nut ?

Haven't got anything bigger than 19mm so I'm stumped if I need to remove the larger one !!

[simonbuk]

Right, fixed the problem - bent the dipstick tube forward. Really wasn't budging - buy a new one if i have too (if i can ?!).

Its off/out - what a pain - and looking back i can probably do it in half the time (which will still be a few hours ).

Looks like you MAY be able to take the turbo off by itself if you bend a spanner and get the heatshields off as that hides one of the bolts which i couldn't see. You would have to turn nuts about 1/8th of a turn at a time so would be very labourious

[Tuga2112]

the heatshield bolts are extremely likely to snap... if not all on your first attempt. my expeirence is that after the second none will be there. (another one thats been on my todo for years)

i think your in the best position to write up a how to in the wiki, now that Geoff made it work again