GoldZilla

OK guys, job done. All bits back on the car and it is running, but it seems to be producing a lot less power and doesn't feel anywhere near as strong when it comes on boost. This leads me to believe that the old (stuffed) turbo was quite possibly running higher than standard boost, which may have lead to its early(?) destruction. Time to get a boost gauge, me thinks! Where to mount it and keep it looking stealthy, I'll have to figure out. Maybe I'll try and source a series II three-gauge DIN display. There was (and still is, despite my best efforts to remove it) some evidence of something being stuck to the dash on the passenger's side. Who knows, maybe it had previously had an AVC-R or similar (but it was fairly big, roughly the size of an AVC-R or SAF-C) stuck down in that spot with double-sided tape. With this in mind, I'm wondering if maybe the wastegate actuator spring might have been changed at some stage in a previous life. Can anyone (SK, maybe?) measure the spring rate on the actuator (compared to a standard one) if I bring the old turbo over to them? I just want to get an idea if this could be the cause of the problems... I took the intercooler off and gave it a flush too, and getting those pipes back on was a bit of a bitch, especially when it came to lining up the clamps and then, later, putting the airbox back on. I found lots of little fragments of the compressor wheel in the intercooler too, but nothing in any of the intercooler pipes or anywhere leading up to the throttle body, so hopefully I got rid of all of it. Thanks again to all for your input! Nick T.

I have the Stagea floor mats too (but not the centre rear nor the wagon floor mat), and could compare them to R33 Skyline ones, but unfortunately the R33 in question is 150kms away. Probably best to email the ebay seller and see if they know if they'll fit.

Sorry Term, I uploaded them the way they came of my camera...

But wait, there's more! (No steak knives though, sorry guys.) The stuffed turbine wheel: compared to a good turbine wheel: And, finally, the remains of the compressor wheel and the sheared shaft: Alex, some of the compressor wheel was still sitting in the compressor housing, and the rest must be in the intercooler. I'll most likely take it off tomorrow while it's all apart and take the bits out, and maybe the first part of the exhaust from the dump pipe too. Oh, and I'm gonna keep the old turbo and get it GCG high-flowed some time in the not-too-distant future. At the same time I'll probably get an FMIC installed and sort out the computer, etc. Sorry dude! Like I mentioned, the turbo I've used as a replacement has a fair few kilometres on it too, so hopefully it won't end up the same way.

Well, we're just over half way through it and will finish it tomorrow, but the old turbo was well and truly fu*%ed. Here's some shots for proof... The old turbo and the replacement (from the Compressor/Inlet side): My old turbo's compressor housing - notice anything missing?: The replacement turbo's compressor housing (and wheel): The old turbo and the replacement (from the Turbine/Exhaust side):

Thanks for all your replies once again! Alright, I've got the spare turbo here now, roughly how long will it take to swap them over with two fairly capable pairs of hands at work? And what's with the steel gasket where the turbo bolts to the exhaust manifold? I've heard that it's best to lift the turbo off the manifold fairly "square" so that that gasket doesn't bend...

Oh, and I guess I might start saving for the high-flow, FMIC, computer, etc. too. But I think I'll at least change the speakers once this is done for the time being...

Many thanks SK and Brendan. (Where's the old and smilies when you need them?) Lucky for me my cousin still has his old RB-25 sitting in his garage at home, and has offered it to me at least as a temporary solution. It's a high-kilometre unit, but for now it will do, and will also allow me a comparison with my one in regards to shaft play and/or missing blades or whatever the problem is. He's bringing it down tomorrow, and I'll go and meet him to pick it up. This afternoon I might start work on getting the old one off. I'll have a look down the dump pipe and maybe take the cat feed-pipe off like you mentioned SK, and see if there's any "missing parts." I'll also try and get some shots for the benefit of all others too. Thanks guys, Nick

Hey guys (and girls), I have some bad news... Went to the NSW Central Coast today with the family, as I'm currently on holidays and have relo's here from overseas. I was on the way home, turned off the M2 motorway onto Old Windsor Road, gave my car a quick stab in second gear to get past some slower cars, and then "POP!" - no boost!!! Lucky for me I was less than 10mins from home! Now my problem is that I can quite easily hear the turbo spooling up (compared to just barely being able to hear it before), but there's no power. So, now that I'd gotten the car home, I gave it about an hour to cool down (no use burning myself on the turbo and exhaust manifold, that would just sh!t me off even more), I went outside with the old man and we checked the first port of call - the hoses. We checked all of the hoses except the one for the intercooler inlet where the inner guard gets in the way, and re-tightened them all, even moving some of the brackets to make it easier should I need to take them off/tighten them again. The last hose bracket I tried running my fingers under it as best I could to see if it still seemed to be properly attached to the inlet pipe. Now, with all brackets back on, we decided to take it for another drive. AND THE PROBLEM IS WORSE!!! The sound is different and louder - there's still the sound of the turbo attempting to spool, but there's still no boost. Maybe the cool-down time has affected the parts where the problem is, and the different cool-down rates of different parts is making them rub or whatever. We took the heat shield off, and just ran the engine in the garage and listened for where the sound was coming from when it hits boost revs, and it seems to be coming from the turbine side of the exhaust. I'm thinking of doing the "screwdriver to the ear" test to get a confirmation of what I think I'm hearing and where it's coming from. I've left the heat shield off to make it easier. Have my ceramic turbine wheels de-laminated? And why? There are no boost or engine mods to my car, only the clutch, manual 'box and cat-back exhaust. My car has just over 80,000kms on it (assuming it's a genuine readout), and I've only had it in my hands for 6 weeks... :D Does it look like a turbo replacement for me? Is it a pain to do? Any advice accepted. My old man is pretty decent with spanners, and I've helped him around (and learnt) a fair bit in my younger days. We just need to know any possible problems we need to look out for. Thanks in advance, Nick PS - it's still sucking down fuel like a camel at an oasis... Roughly 315kms for 45litres - which is around 14-15l/100kms. I've changed the O2 sensor, but it wasn't a new one (although it was free on a loan basis to confirm), so that might still be another issue to sort out before getting some piggyback gear (or a PowerFC, if anyone else can get them figured out and working on a Stagea like Ska's car has) on board.

I rode in the back of mine when I first looked at it to buy, as I had my old man with me and the (then) owner in the car too. The owner took us to a nice quiet area before he let us drive, and I sat in the back behind my dad. I gotta say, I quite liked it. Very comfortable to travel in, and enough room for me (I'm 5'10" tall, which I guess is about average for a male) to stretch out. And yeah, those rear windows are pimpin'!

And for that matter, I wonder how these would look on a Stagea... It's one of the few wheels on their site that I like, I'm not into the whole Chromies on a Jap car thing. If I wanted to put Chromies on a car, it would have to be some American Iron. Nick T.

Nice car, Terminal! I'm not a big fan of silver cars, but yours (and Stageas in general) looks awesome! Are these the wheels? I found them on the Tempe Tyres website... Nick T.

I'm not a fan of the yellow either, and all the sII manual Stagea's that I found were ALL that colour, which annoyed me no end. Luckily I had my eye on a manual-converted sI, and it was still for sale when I'd managed to gather enough money to contact the owner... And it's dark green, which is one of my favourite car colours.

I'll be doing the same, splits in the front and co-axials in the back, but I'm not sure if I'll use a 10" or a 12" sub. If I can get away with a 10", then that's the way I'll go... I think I'd like to set up the sub box on one side of the boot, not along the back seats like Terminal's ones. Time (and money) will tell what path I eventually take, though.

Thou shalt still give way to the right on a roundabout, and any other traffic already using the roundabout. F*ck the "new" rules on this one, the old one was fine! Why do people insist on entering a roundabout - usually in your blind-spot, too - while you attempt to follow the rules and stick to your lane in a mulit-laned roundabout? I've been soooo tempted to cut people off for doing this to me, but I have respect for my car (and the income that bought it and keeps it in good condition). It's usually some tool in a work ute loaded with tools and three bodies across the bench seat, so not only do they take off at the wrong time (either just before you get to them or just as you get beside them), they don't have the power/brakes/handling to at least get out of your way if you DID choose to cut them off... Grrrrrrrrrrr...

mcnamg, you're back!?!?!? Was wondering where a few members of our community had disappeared to! Welcome back, Nick T.

Noske, I am in the process of getting the guy's details for you. Sorry about the delay, waiting on his details from someone else, and we haven't had a chance to speak in the past few days...

I'll be putting a stealth system in mine, and the only obvious part will hopefully be just the screen/dvd head unit. Speakers will go in the factory locations, but I noticed that when I removed the covers for the (factory) tweeters in the A-pillar, that there wasn't very much room behind it. Hopefully this won't be a problem... I will be putting a sub in but hopefully working with the installer on a design that doesn't make it obvious that there is a sub sitting there in the boot, for those times when the boot is opened and/or the luggage cover is rolled back or removed. Might try and make it so that it fires inwards towards the rear strut tower well at an angle to give it some loading...