KrashDH
Top Post Dawg
I figured I'd post this up for people that like to follow along in write-ups when adventuring on a DIY. Also for my own reference if I ever have to do it again. There are a couple good YouTube videos out there showing the process, and I know some people like those more than write-ups, but I figure more resources the better.
Have been having some very pronounced boost control issues over the last year+ where it's been going into overboost then limp mode. The turbo was rebuilt with a new cartridge from X-Man Turbos before I purchased it, so it had almost no time on it at all. Within the last couple months, the issues really got bad. Before I pulled the turbo, I figured I'd try to break the vanes free on the car with the oven cleaner trick. That seemed to free them up a bit, but it really did not last long at all. I wasn't 100% sure it was the vanes and thought the actuator might be the issue. Couldn't even push it down by hand.
I need the car up and running with minimal down time, so I decided to purchase a new 17/22 turbo from X-man so I could install it and go on with my life and tear the turbo apart that came off the car on my own time. Here's what went in the car:
Once I yarded the turbo out and it was on the bench, I know of the struggles of breaking the cartridge free from the manifold, so I doused it in pen fluid and let it sit for a day or so:
The wheels were still in great shape so that's a good sign:
Remove the 5 screws holding the cartridge to the hot side housing (exhaust manifold). 2 of those screws hold the actuator bracket to the housing as well. Make sure to remove the actuator rod. Pro tip: use a small flat blade screwdriver to remove the C-clip, but cover the rod with a rag or something...or you'll do like I did and shoot it across the garage never to be found again till years later:
Now, the next part will take some work most likely depending on the shape of the turbo and your environment. The gap is large enough between the cartridge plate and the housing that grit and moisture can get between the surfaces. Rust will build and basically cold weld the 2 pieces together. Even tapping around the circumference of the cast manifold housing, and some sharp raps evenly around on the cast housing should eventually break it free. Make sure that something is supporting the manifold, because when it lets go, you'll be left with the cartridge in your hand. You may need a good amount of heat around the outside of the manifold to get it to "expand" a bit as well.
Once it's free, you will expose the inlet side of the vane system. I'm not sure what the correct term is for them, but all of the small looking cams are just the control side of the vanes. You can also see the vane control ring, 3x little rollers. You want to note the orientation of everything to the small hole in the mounting surface you can see at 7 o'clock. This is your clocking hole for the entire cartridge, so when things go back together, you want everything approximately in the same place. It's really dirty!! And this was the "good" side:
Here you can see the exhaust wheel side of the cartridge. It's sooty, but lucky there's no sludge, so the shaft seals are in good shape. The little cam resting against the pin is what controls the vanes being opened or closed, via the empty spot in the control ring. That "cam" is connected to the actuator rod arm and goes "through" the housing cartridge. You can see I'm showing it at about the 7 o'clock position as well. The small outermost pin is what fits into the small hole at 7 o'clock in the manifold housing mating surface:
Those 3 "rollers" ride on pins and they guide the control ring. There is a lip of the roller on each side of the surface of the ring. You basically want to evenly lift the ring and these rollers off their posts together. It's ok if the pins come out too, you need to take those out anyway to clean them. Once that ring is out you can feel how gritty each individual vane is. There's your problem. These all need to be smooth and basically "flop" around with little to no resistance. Now, to release the vane assembly, it's just the 3x torx screws to remove:
You can just pull the vane assy out, it's all one unit. Note though in the photo below, there are 3 little "bosses". These free float over the holes the torx screws thread into. They act as spacers so the vane assembly is gapped correctly and the vanes do not contact the hot side housing surface. You can see the big issue here. Soot build up and the vanes are having to "wipe" through that mess. When this gets thick enough it's like the vanes have to make a snow angel in carbon build up. So they stick as can be seen in the image. They shouldn't have to "wipe" through any of this at all:
Now that everything is apart, you can soak components in your cleaner of choice. I chose to use a combination of oven and carb cleaner, brake cleaner, and some elbow grease with a brass bristle brush. Unfortunately I didn't get a photo of the exhaust side of the vane assembly when it was dirty to show the vanes, but they were caked too as you can imagine. Later I'll show it all cleaned up:
....continued.
Have been having some very pronounced boost control issues over the last year+ where it's been going into overboost then limp mode. The turbo was rebuilt with a new cartridge from X-Man Turbos before I purchased it, so it had almost no time on it at all. Within the last couple months, the issues really got bad. Before I pulled the turbo, I figured I'd try to break the vanes free on the car with the oven cleaner trick. That seemed to free them up a bit, but it really did not last long at all. I wasn't 100% sure it was the vanes and thought the actuator might be the issue. Couldn't even push it down by hand.
I need the car up and running with minimal down time, so I decided to purchase a new 17/22 turbo from X-man so I could install it and go on with my life and tear the turbo apart that came off the car on my own time. Here's what went in the car:
Once I yarded the turbo out and it was on the bench, I know of the struggles of breaking the cartridge free from the manifold, so I doused it in pen fluid and let it sit for a day or so:
The wheels were still in great shape so that's a good sign:
Remove the 5 screws holding the cartridge to the hot side housing (exhaust manifold). 2 of those screws hold the actuator bracket to the housing as well. Make sure to remove the actuator rod. Pro tip: use a small flat blade screwdriver to remove the C-clip, but cover the rod with a rag or something...or you'll do like I did and shoot it across the garage never to be found again till years later:
Now, the next part will take some work most likely depending on the shape of the turbo and your environment. The gap is large enough between the cartridge plate and the housing that grit and moisture can get between the surfaces. Rust will build and basically cold weld the 2 pieces together. Even tapping around the circumference of the cast manifold housing, and some sharp raps evenly around on the cast housing should eventually break it free. Make sure that something is supporting the manifold, because when it lets go, you'll be left with the cartridge in your hand. You may need a good amount of heat around the outside of the manifold to get it to "expand" a bit as well.
Once it's free, you will expose the inlet side of the vane system. I'm not sure what the correct term is for them, but all of the small looking cams are just the control side of the vanes. You can also see the vane control ring, 3x little rollers. You want to note the orientation of everything to the small hole in the mounting surface you can see at 7 o'clock. This is your clocking hole for the entire cartridge, so when things go back together, you want everything approximately in the same place. It's really dirty!! And this was the "good" side:
Here you can see the exhaust wheel side of the cartridge. It's sooty, but lucky there's no sludge, so the shaft seals are in good shape. The little cam resting against the pin is what controls the vanes being opened or closed, via the empty spot in the control ring. That "cam" is connected to the actuator rod arm and goes "through" the housing cartridge. You can see I'm showing it at about the 7 o'clock position as well. The small outermost pin is what fits into the small hole at 7 o'clock in the manifold housing mating surface:
Those 3 "rollers" ride on pins and they guide the control ring. There is a lip of the roller on each side of the surface of the ring. You basically want to evenly lift the ring and these rollers off their posts together. It's ok if the pins come out too, you need to take those out anyway to clean them. Once that ring is out you can feel how gritty each individual vane is. There's your problem. These all need to be smooth and basically "flop" around with little to no resistance. Now, to release the vane assembly, it's just the 3x torx screws to remove:
You can just pull the vane assy out, it's all one unit. Note though in the photo below, there are 3 little "bosses". These free float over the holes the torx screws thread into. They act as spacers so the vane assembly is gapped correctly and the vanes do not contact the hot side housing surface. You can see the big issue here. Soot build up and the vanes are having to "wipe" through that mess. When this gets thick enough it's like the vanes have to make a snow angel in carbon build up. So they stick as can be seen in the image. They shouldn't have to "wipe" through any of this at all:
Now that everything is apart, you can soak components in your cleaner of choice. I chose to use a combination of oven and carb cleaner, brake cleaner, and some elbow grease with a brass bristle brush. Unfortunately I didn't get a photo of the exhaust side of the vane assembly when it was dirty to show the vanes, but they were caked too as you can imagine. Later I'll show it all cleaned up:
....continued.
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