Twin Turbo Replacements

[BlackAura]

Hey guys, so Rollie and I had the car up on the hoist last weekend, to finish installing my new coilovers and do an alignment, and unfortunately (er...I guess fortunately) he noticed an oil leak around my rear turbo, so it looks like one of the seals is gone or something.

I've done a lot of research (as I always try to do), but to be honest I still don't feel like I understand much.

I'm 95% sure I want to stick with a twin turbo setup, due to the huge changes required for a single.

To start.....I've read that rebuilding the turbos is not worthwhile, as the cost to rebuild with steel exhaust wheels, balance, etc, ends up being more than a used set of aftermarkets. However, if I don't need new exhaust wheels (this GTR has run stock turbos WITH the boost restrictor, so it really hasn't been pushed very hard), it may still be cheaper for me to just rebuild the turbos / replace the seals. Thoughts?

Other options include buying a used set from the GTRC marketplace....either the R33 N1s that are for sale, or the LeMans ? (or are those the same, and there is another set online?), but......not sure if I want to go with used turbos, as I could always end up with the same issues as I have now.

Alternatively, there is a set of stock R32 turbos for sale with 90k kms which I could purchase (I believe seller is willing to separate, so I could do rear only), but again, these may only last another 10k-20k kms.

First of all.........depending on how different I go, from what I've read, I'll need to do any of:
- Exhaust manifolds, if turbo inlet size is different
- Downpipe ?? if turbo outlet (is that the right term?) size is different
- Intake / Intercooler piping, if turbo size is different
- Replace coolant hardlines for turbos with braided lines for ease of installing different turbos.
- Replace oil hardlines oil lines for turbos (I think? maybe just coolant was hardlines)
- Tune ECU / buy aftermarket ECU

Now, ideally, I'd rather not do any of this...but....some of you guys that have done this, and your engine bays look AMAZING, and I'd love for my engine bay to look as pretty, so if this is required with whatever I do buy, I won't mind too much (but will owe Rollie lots of beer to borrow his lift )


Here's applicable mods on the car, which may or may not influence what I can do:
- Grex Oil Cooler
- APEX'i R32 Twin Intake Kit (pipes + filters + mounting brackets, from the Easter Buy Branden @ JNSImports did).
- Fujitsubo Exhaust, 3", but only from the cat down to the muffler
- Jasma muffler, not sure on size offhand

Which means:
- stock MAFs
- stock ECU
- stock Downpipe
- stock Exhaust Manifolds
- stock Intercooler
- etc.


What options are there available so that I don't have to buy additional parts, or retune the car, etc?
What options require minimal changes?

This site looks like a great resource (linked by a few people in other turbo threads): http://tyndago.googlepages.com/gt-rturbos

But...unfortunately I don't know the stock sizes for the compressor housing, or turbine housings....so I don't know what would work with the stock system.


In closing.......uh.....

Oh, and, how long will the car run in it's current state, roughly? (again, checking the oil frequently to make sure it's not getting low.....so far, really hasn't moved)


Edit: Looking at producing stock power basically, I was happy with stock turbos with the restrictor in (mind you, was considering yanking it eventually....need a new boost gauge first though, still running stock for that too), so I'm going to say maximum HP I'd look at is 400HP, but even that is going to require a retune, so I'd like to stick with less than that.

[MUNDA]

I blew the exhaust wheel off one of my GT2530's, i was going to get the pair rebuilt, the cost to rebuild them was much more than to just get a new CHRA.

I would go and find a new set of turbos... preferably N1 turbos, GT2530's, ECT.

Good luck,
MUNDA

[r3gill]

munda bhaaji kida?? agreed with the N1 or GT2530's is the best bet for your application.

[MUNDA]

Agreed, they are a direct replacement for stock turbos.

[DougTaylor]

I still have 2 stock R33 turbos that came out when I put in my Garrett 2860r-5s. Since no one has been interested I'll let them go for cheap, and I'll even drop them off to you in Calgary (cause I like to drive..). Has to be a nice day though.. You give me a price, I'll give you the turbos.

And for what it is worth, I really like the 2860s..

[NismoS-tune]

The GT2530s are one of the better sets for street use but the price tag of $4k+ even pushed me away. I went for the cheap ass 2860R-5s

[BlackAura]

Sweet, thanks for the excellent information so far guys.......sounds like if I'm going to all this effort to swap them, I should probably look at getting metal exhaust wheels. Don't want to have to do another swap anytime soon.

Just got off the phone with Rollie, and I definitely have a lot more to think about where I want to go with this car, and how far I want to take this........as I mentioned before, I was looking at a couple different sets in the marketplace, but it sounds like they would all require a retune of some sort, and if I'm going to be doing a tune, I'm going to have to figure out how much I want to spend all on this, and how deep the rabbit hole goes... :/

[EtienneGignac]

I would just rebuild it. Your wheels are most likely fine. It would cost you 110$.

[Marke]

Get some aftermarket dump pipes while you are at it. Taking the turbos off is a pain.

[Skym]

Make sure the oil return gasket under turbo is not leaking on rear turbo. Or it could be the O ring on oil feed to turbo (top of turbo). It shouldn't be a big problem if you get onto it early.

Oil in intake hose after rear turbo can tell you if seal is gone on compressor side of turbo. White smoke from exhaust would be turbine seal on back of turbo. Also would hear a loud whistling sound if it failed on compressor side of turbo.

Also without ECU retune + bigger turbo's, engine can feel lazy.

Nistune + wideband + rebuilt stock turbo's or some smaller turbo's like the HKS 25/30 turbo's or 2860R-5s (Garrett).

[JD74]

If you are happy with 14 PSI Max, then just install good exhaust (downpipe, catback, outlets etc) and call it a day.......and keep running OEM Ceramics, as they are cheap and readilly available because most people don't want them.

[BlackAura]

Hey guys, so it's time to pull my turbos, just wondering how accurate this explaination is:

In addition to what they say, I'm guessing you should also:
- drain the oil and the coolant beforehand?
- be ready to catch anything left in the lines that comes out when you remove them?

What other parts should I replace while I'm in here, i.e. what one-use-only parts are in there?
- Rollie said I'll have to do the exhaust manifold gaskets?

I might find, when I open everything up, that my oil leak is actually not the turbos, like Skym said....if that's the case, I might just replace whatever seals/gaskets that need replacing, and then put it all back together without touching the turbos.

Anyways, here's the thread info:

Original URL : GTR Turbo Removal Guide

Now, since you have to register to view that, I'm going to copy it below:

Note:
- Original post was done by lady_gaga on skylineowners.com on 10-09-2007.

here is a pic of the engine everything still connected






the first parts to remove will be the obvious ones...airfilters and assorted pipework, twin turbo pipe, just as much stuff out of your way as possible really






water pipes and lambda sensors are better removed, removal of the exhaust rocker cover is optional (i dont like the risk of contaminating the head with dirt or worse still a rogue washer/bolt so left it attached)






there are 4 nuts on the downpipes to remove, whilst you are there its a good time to attempt to remove the bolts in the block that hold the lower turbo brace on...they can be removed with the braces still attached to the turbos

downpipe connection





the power steering pump needs droping back too, just remove the main bolt and hold it back with ties






next up are the manifold bolts.....the two bolts under the manifold look really hard to get at






a short ratchet will however reach under it provided the power steering pump is removed to gain access






with all of the bolts on the turbo removed there is a last connection behind the turbo, once pulled forward a bit its also reachable






front turbo removed






removal of the rear turbo is the same as the front one and a little easier with the extra clearance gained






install is reversal of removal

[cobrAA]

loll it make it look more easy but I know it's at least a 12 hours job.

[BlackAura]

eep, Rollie told me he did it in 3.5 hours or so, his first time. I think he said 6 hours total, to take them out, change the seals, and put them back in.

My issue is that I can't do it all in one day, because I have no idea which parts I need.

He offered to do it at his shop (we can push it over to a storage area once we're done pulling the turbos, and I can leave it there), but.....since I can't do it all at once, I'm thinking of just doing it in my garage. It's warm enough for me to leave the winter car outside now, and let the Skyline take up both bays, so I'll have lots of room to work.

Edit: I also don't care if it takes me 6 hours to pull them, and another 6 hours to install. It's a good experience...I've never done any turbo work (although I've done a lot of other work on the cars / bike I've owned), but I do enjoy working on my vehicles
...sometimes it'll take me a while to get into the mood to do it though (i.e. I've been thinking of doing this since the first chinook in January, but haven't pushed myself enough to get it done).

[4jo3]

check this thread. http://forums.gtrcanada.com/gt-r-tec...ge2-52183.html i wrote a little blurb about pulling turbos.

hope this helps.