bought a used turbo off of a member here on the club and the turbo appears to be in good shape. i installed it last night and the engine was revving at 3K rpm and would not drop (could find no vacuume leaks ) and it was leaking coolant on the exhaust manifold from what appeared to be the coolant line that hugs the engine. through much dismay, i pulled the turbo back off. bad crush washer perhaps. line was tight...at any rate, i was inspecting the turbo tonight before i was going to reinstall it and noticed that the center section was loose. i pulled the bands off and cleaned the bolts and reinstalled them and the bands in the exact manner that i pulled them off. now, the center section just spins in the hot side. all bolts are tight and the thing is still spinning. i'm so frustrated...i had to take a break and seek advice.

 

I had this problem while trying to mate an S5 center section and compressor housing to the S4 turbine housing. No matter how tight I tightened the bolts, the center section and compressor spun freely. I guess the depth in that housing is a tad deeper for that particular center section. I imagine that isn't your case, is it?

 

not that i'm aware of... as far as i know the center matches the exhaust housing. i'm not sure what the differences are in the S5 to S4 housings...

 

if need be i can post pics

 

Which turbo is it? Does the center connect to the exhaust housing by bolts n washers or clamps?

As far as the stock turbos go they are held in by the bolts and the washers that go from bolt to bolt. Make sure you are tightening them down little by little so that it sits flat. Make sure the wheel spins free while you are tightening. You couild be tightening one side too much and it's not in all the way and its not straight, Even to a point the turbine hits teh housing and wont spin. I use copper antizieze for these parts

 

Good point. Make sure that heat shield is there

 

It has nothing to do with a heat shield.

You just didn't tighten it down enough.


-Ted

 

i can tighten the bolts down until they literally stop and then i go a quarter turn. i'm afraid of breaking a bolt off in the hot side by overtightening a bolt.

and yes, he heat shield is in place. if it weren't, i wouldnt use the turbo.

 

are any of the C shaped clamps bent? i normally have to flatten them out before reinstalling.

 

i'm not sure, as i havent checked for that. i'll go and check that and post back. is that a common problem?

 

I'd be suprised if you snap them.
They are pretty damn tough, and I've never broke one before.


-Ted

 

ok, i'll give it a shot. you've never steered me wrong before. i'll post back the results.

 

tightened all of the bolts down as far as they would go. they are TIGHT. center section still spins. will post pics within 5 minutes.

 

ok, here are the pics of the turbo.it looks to me like the center section is recessed into the hot side. is this normal? seems like the bands are not even touching the center section's lip.

 

Was the center and turbine housing from the same turbo?
Did you mix and match centers and turbine housings?

I've seen this same problem with aftermarket turbos but never with stock ones...


-Ted

 

i bought the turbo from a forum member here and dont know its history.. i have other hot sides i can use.....

 

Yeah, try and find if another turbine housing can work for you.


-Ted

 

i may have to buy one from a member here. the other two that i have are not in the best of shape. the one that i was going to use is warped on the center piece between the two inlets on the flange..

 

if need be i can disassemble it and take more pics of the center section and the hot side...

 

ok, i found the problem. it appears that the new turbo housing is different. it seems that where the center section seats into the hot side is the problem. the new turbo's hot side is deeper than the original turbo's hot side. i test fit the new center section into the old housing and its sung. it fits really well and is not sloppy like the old housing. here are some pics. ths first is of my old hot side:



dirty yes but thats what happens when an oil seal lets loose. next pic is the new turbo's hot side. notice the deeper groove where the center section fits down into it. because its deeper, the center section sets down in there more than it should, thus when the bands are tightened, they are not making contact with the center section.



also note that the numbers on the hot side are different. here are the pics. the first is the old hot side and the second is the new hot side (which will not be used)





tomorrow i am going to call my local machine shop and see if then can mill the old hot side flange. its warped a tad but i need it to get the 10AE back on the road.

 

i guess this woud be a good time to ask what the differences are between the S4 hot side and the S5 hot side...

 

Good to know, so the s5 hotside wont work with the s4 center bearing section? I've never heard of anyone else having this problem, but Ive never heard of anyone mixing and matching these parts.

BTW, would you or anyone have a exhaust turbine for sale? I just need a good turbine in spec.