Flying Monkey

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.

Flying Monkey

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.

DaleClark

iTrader: (55)

Yeah, I've had mixed luck with do-it-yourself turbo rebuilds. For a stock turbo, just find a used one - they're a dime a dozen in good shape.

Probably what happened is the compressor nut backed off - you do need to loctite it on reassembly. You could try and pull off the downpipe, put a socket on the turbine, pull off the compressor nut, loctite it, and tighten it back up.

I wouldn't worry too much about damaging the turbo's components - hell, you can pick up a stock turbo for $150 and less easily. They're not worth much .

Dale

Flying Monkey

Where??? I'd happily cough up $150 for a decent S5 turbo right now. Where are they hiding? I've checked the FS sections of like 4 different RX-7 forums, ebay, etc.

I will check the shaft nut, though. That might explain the excessive shaft play. If the nut backed off that much I suppose the turbine shaft seal may no longer be seated either.

hawk 7

iTrader: (2)

I doubt if you can find a GOOD S5 turbo for $150. It seems the market for that is the turbo and manifold for an S4 upgrade I have rarely seen just the turbo. If you are looking for a good place to have it rebuilt correctly try Brian at BNR he has a great reputation in the rx7 community. http://www.lourdsmusic.com/bnrsupercars/index.htm

choritsu-shi

If you've got play you've got problems... DO NOT continue to start, idle, or even consider driving it any further. Everytime the wheels (turbine and compressor) bump against the housings, your cutting away the inner housing, and grinding down the edges of the blades. This increases the gap between the two which horribly makes a turbocharger unresponsive. That is if the parts were even consider to be reused. In addition to the bent or broken blades that you may already have may not be reuseable. The shaft can somewhat be straightened if it isn't bent too badly but a badly scored shaft from the metal grindings makes it unuseable. The compressor wheel can also catch an edge in the soft aluminum housing while the turbine wheel and shaft continue to spin... with or without loctite it can spin the nut off or just simply snap the shaft in two.

Am I over exaggerating the possibilities? No, because I experienced all these things in one fell swoop within the first 40 miles on my first DIY upgrade.

Am I being harsh? No, because I have yet to tell you how that loose nut not only thrashed the inner working of the turbo. It also sent bit's and pieces into the engine which destroyed both rotor housing surfaces including apex seals. Then after a long walk (this was before the word cellular had any meaning) I was able get it towed. Please don't re-live my nightmare... TOW IT!

Sensei

Flying Monkey

At this point, I'm probably going to just pull the turbo where it sits. I'll see if I can get my buddy to let me push it inside (if it's been moved out) as it's 40 degrees, raining with light snow in the forecast. I'll take it home & disassemble it. Hopefully, I have the instructions from the rebuild around somewhere (unlikely). I'll check the parts for damage/wear & hopefully reassemble if all looks good.

$150FC

I can vouch for Brian too - if you want it rebuilt right, send it to him.


...Not that I'm attacking your abilities, heh...I'm just saying...You know.

Flying Monkey

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.

hawk 7

iTrader: (2)

Any updates??

Flying Monkey

As a matter of fact, I drove it home from the shop today. I didn't get into at all. I have to adjust the idle, etc. I spent the day getting my POS 626GT in operable condition since it's my "winter" car. The McSeven didn't exhibit the smoke screen on the drive home, although my buddy that followed me asked me if it alays smoked like that. I only noticed smoke in my mirror when I let the rpms climb a bit. I'll have to drive behind it while someone else drives to check the "smoke level" after I have everything else adjusted this weekend. I've got no cats or any other emission related parts on the car & am running premix. I expect a bit of noticeable exhaust since it seems to run pig rich most of the time in the midrange. If only I could afford the Haltech soon.

FEARED7

Hey fellas. Sorry I haven't logged on in a long while. If you guys have any questions about rebuilds or upgraded turbos, feel free to give me a shout.

Bryan
www.bnrsupercars.com
bnrsupercars@aol.com