so i have a S4 turbo im rebuilding as we speak...i have both housings off and marked so i can return them to the origanal positions, i have the compressor marked as well and it is off, i have the new bearings in, i replaced the thrust bearing with the new one and a new turbine seal is installed on the turbine shaft...the seal plate is back on but when i try to seat the turbine seal (on the turbine shaft) into the bearing housing i really cant get it to seat in their...i been turning it slowly with force but i cant really get it to pop in...i did get it to seat once but i couldnt barley turn the turbine shaft so i had to take it back out....

any tips or tricks to get this turbine seal in the housing?? why wasnt i able to really turn the turbine shaft after it was in?

 

Yeah, you gotta be really careful about that compression ring.
I tend to use a lot of motor oil to help it seat correctly.
Pull it back out and inspect it to make sure it didn't get crushed funny.


-Ted

 

i double check to make sure i didnt crush it...i was careful when i first got it in...now when i put the shaft in the housing without the seal it doesnt want to spin freely...thats my problem right now.. what else woulkd cause it to not spin easily? what should i be looking for?

 

Did you try and test fit it without the compression ring?
It might not be the compression ring itself...


-Ted

 

yeap, thats what im doing right now...it goes in (turbine shaft) right up to the point to where the compression ring would seat into the housing then after that it becomes hard to spin...im not sure if it would be the bearings or somewhere else...im taking the seal plate to the cold side off right now to inspect...

 

got the seal plate off the housing...now when i put the turbine shaft into the housing it goes all the way in (without the compression ring) just fine and spins free and same with just the seal plate..if i put the turbine shaft in that it spins free..but as soon as i put the seal plate back on the center housing it wont spin free

 

The seal plate being the carbon seal and backing plate on the compressor side?
Did you check the little ferrule collar that normally sits in the carbon seal itself for clearance?

Either that or you got some residual threadlocker underneath the compressor wheel itself?


-Ted

 

i think it has something to do with the thrust bearing...is that what your talking about? should it have a little play in it or be pretty tight and not move? because the one that was un their could spin a little and the one i put in doesnt move...im gonna take that apart and mess with some more...

 

"Thrust bearing"...the one on the turbine side?
If it is, then that should be pretty loose!

Check to see if you don't have it installed upside-down or backwards?


-Ted

 

sorry for the mis-communication... the thrust bearing im talking about is the pac man looking thing on the cold side...thats what the instructions have it labeled as

 

i think i have it fixed...got the turbine seal to pop in nicley using oil (thanks!), got it to spin free and nice...no shaft play and its allmost back together...lets hope it doesnt leak oil like the wells of iraq now!!!

 

turbo is in the car and i had it running...its still smoking but at least now i cant watch the oil seap through the bolts and the turbine housing...im HOPING that its all the oil from the last time burning off...i only let it run for 10 minutes if that...how long does it take to burn that damn oil out?? should i be letting it run longer to see???

 

i let it run for about 20 minutes with it still smoking..i think i fucked the turbine seal...so now im screwed AGAIN..... im gonna drive it tommorow to see if i in fact did or not..im not sure what to do if i did in fact mess up the seal...

 

Give it a week...
The oil can SOAK the muffler packing, and this takes a LONG time to burn sometimes.
Just try and check to see if the oil is slowing going away - that's the key.


-Ted

 

really?? thats a good thing on my part..i though i seen oil slightly coming from the bolt to the turbine housing though(bubbling)..could that possibly be still needing to burn out?
after all it wasnt that bad..it would give out sudden burst of smoke then calm down and barley smoke then it would start up again...itll be safe to drive it like that?

 

Yeah, it might be residual oil sitting in there?
I'd wait a week to see if the smoke clears up.
Cross your fingers!


-Ted

 

cool, ill drive it around in my town (population 600 or less people) and see if the smoke clears up...i hope that seal is seated right...ill keep an eye on that spot where i thought i seen oil seaping out..maybe its left over...

fingers crossed!!!

and thanks!!

 

having smoke on decel and when i rev it up....any other times like normal driving or spirited it seems fine for now...i am not sure if the smoke on decel is the motor or the turbo though....i know it didnt smoke that bad on decel or when revving it up with the last turbo...but its WAY better than before.