turbo dilemma
 

Wow, no matter what goes wrong with this car I still can't bring myself to get rid of it. I must be an idiot...

Anyway, I've been told by a few mechanics that my turbo is leaking and I'll have to get another one, or get it rebuilt. My question is this, should I get it rebuilt or try and switch to a single?
I have a friend who will sell me a Supra turbo pretty cheap. It sounds good but the new components I'd have to get to install it sounds expensive. What would you do? Thanks.

Going single is a major modification, which it doesn't sound like you are interested in. Get your turbos rebuilt by BNR (check link at rx7store.net). You could even get them upgraded if you wished.

The other option is to purchase brand new turbos for $3000......

BTW, are you still boosting normal? Are you noticing a lot of oil in your intake? My primary is blowing a little bit of oil too, but it still works just fine. No need to spend money until you have to.

I don't have a boost gauge so I don't have a psi reading but I'm positive it's boosting near normal since my car is virtually stock. No oil in my intake just under the car where the turbos are located. She goes through about a quart of oil every 2 weeks.

Try replacing the oil line gaskets first before you spend multiple thousands.

If I do have to get it rebuilt I plan on buying a kit and doing it myself. Are there any diagrams anywhere for rebuilding a turbo?

Why don't you have a boost gauge? Slap, slap....:)

If you are going through a quart of oil every 2 weeks (mileage?) and your turbos were bad, you would have a TON of oil in your intercooler piping. If you don't, you likely have a leak somewhere rather than your turbos being bad.

Also, do you get a cloud of smoke when boosting or driving?

No, I don't get smoke while I'm boosting. I thought I'd only need a boost gauge If I had a dp/mp. BTW my turbos are about 120K miles old. Is this a problem?

Nope, you need a boost gauge whether you are stock or modified. The only reason you wouldn't need a boost gauge is if you don't have a turbocharged car. ;)

If you aren't getting any smoke while boosting, then it's doubtful you need a turbo rebuild. It's most likely what clayne already mentioned, the oil return lines for the turbos.

My suggestion would be to take it to another shop.

clayne beat me to it. i bet it is a leak

Thanks for the help, guys

Gotta bring this back up fellas, found it in a search :)

My situation: I have freshly rebuilt stock turbos from BNR. I have driven the car about 4 times since getting them on and having it tuned. I noticed the last two times I drove that I get a lot of smoke out the exhaust when boosting, plus there is a good oil leak after I shut down. Approximately 1ft. diameter on the ground. Also, there is a strip of oil down the center "channel" of the car on its underside. Boost seems fine according to butt dyno and my PFC. There is still a little "tsk tsk tsk" sound when turbos spool though, Demetrios and I cannot figure out what it could be though, can't be the turbos still could it?

Thoughts??

a quart of oil every 2 weeks? i thought that was normal for our cars :)

I've seen brand new BNRs (stage 3s) that shot oil like a fire hose, so check out the turbos carefully (should be obvious is they are leaking that badly).

Demetrios shot me a PM and said it was my oil pan leaking. It's a lot of oil though it seems, plus looking in the bay it seems there is oil all over around the turbo region.

I've heard alot of problems dealing with rebuilds. Not that it's your fault, it just seems that it's pretty hard to get it right. I won't risk it, probably just sell my car and buy another with newer turbos. I'm getting damn tired of fighting a losing battle.

deified, why wouldn't you just keep your car and buy new turbos? seems like a crap load of a hastle to go through just to get newer turbos.

sound like you got the same problem I had, the oil line that fed the turbo was leaking and it did cost me the turbos because I didn't took care of the problem right away!

To tell you the truth I can't afford this car right now with all it's problems. I need to buy a house and can't drop a bunch of money into turbos right now. I might as well get a car with less miles in better condition and start over. I think it's frustration talking.