C5 Turbo Renewal

[hamster99]

OK, so started to strip the car yesterday, at least up until the sodding weather (heavy rain) made it impossible.

Managed to get the cat/ particle filter off without too much trouble and it does give you reasonable access to the pre- cat heat shield. Engine undertray wasn't too difficult either although I managed to break off a corner as someone hadn't refitted it properly previously.

Exhaust and cat looks pretty clean inside so looks like no issues from the turbo failure thankfully.

One thing I'm still not clear about is whether I still have to remove the drivers side driveshaft.

Cheers

Rob

[Stickyfinger]

Good luck and keep at it....no matter what the weather, it will get colder....so keep at it now and good luck

[hamster99]

Hi All

Well, after 3 days, finally got the turbo off! If it hadn't been for the awful wind and rain, especially on Friday and today I reckon it could have been off in a day. It's definitely failed, the shaft wobbles about like a drunken teenager on Saturday night, but the rest of it looks fine. There's no impeller damage so nothing has been thrown into the engine, other than oil sucked through the air intakes and intercooler.

I'm going to write up a more detailed post about the removal and refitting (once I do that next weekend) as there are a number of pitfalls to avoid which would have made it a bit less frustrating.

For now I will say that the pre-cat is a complete pain in the a*se. Such an awkward shape and with heatshields which make it almost impossible to get at anything. Even when loose it is like the krypton factor (40 somethings will know what I mean!!) to try and twist it and turn it to remove it. In the end I left it where it was and removed the turbo around it.

I didn't take the sub-frame off but took out the right hand drive shaft as it was pretty easy to remove once you got over the balljoint removal on the hub. I might take the sub-frame off next weekend when I refit the turbo just to see if it makes a difference as there should be a bit more room.

It's not impossible but does require perseverance and a certain amount of patience. If you're using the haynes manual as a guide then there are a few fundemental errors. More of these later but one biggy was the fact that there is a bracket underneath the exhaust side of the turbo which attaches it to the cylinder block - no mention of this anywhere!!. Will be stripping it down tomorrow and then ordering the necessary bits to rebuild it.

Quite funny when I eventually got it out and run in the house with it........look, look, I haven't been just hiding for 3 days, here it is. Bit like I had won a trophy or something!

Thanks all for your advice, would never have tackled it otherwise, even though I am reasonably competent when it comes to cars.

More to follow next week when it's refitted.

Cheers

Rob

[hamster99]

Have ordered new CHRA cartridge for turbo, should be here tomorrow.

What's the best thing to use to clean the turbo bits and should I try and clean all the carbon and soot out of the turbine housing as well?

Rob

[SwissSPEC]

Ultrasonic cleaner?

[KevMayer]

what about this:-

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Wynns-Turbo-C ... 3f29a1ea86" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[hamster99]

Thanks guys, one other thing, a lot of the air intake tubing and the intercooler are full of oil. Whats the best for cleaning those too. I'm sure I read somewhere that paraffin was good but sounds a bit "low tech" to me?

Rob

[Northern_Mike]

Thanks guys, one other thing, a lot of the air intake tubing and the intercooler are full of oil. Whats the best for cleaning those too. I'm sure I read somewhere that paraffin was good but sounds a bit "low tech" to me?

Rob

Go to GSF. Buy 5 litres of brake cleaner in a 5 litre container. Remove intercooler. Plug one end. Pour a litre or so into the other end. Shake a lot. Pour mess out. Dispose of in an environmentally friendly way.

Personally I'd just spray some brake cleaner down the pipes when they are off and let it drain out. It'll be more than enough. There's always a bit of oil in these pipes anyway. .

[hamster99]

Thanks Mike, will pop in to GSF tomorrow and pick some up.