Changing The Turbo On R33Gtst, Much Work?

[Torques]

Hello there,

I need to exchange my turbo, is it doable without any specific tools or would I better

be off having this done in a professional workshop?

I'm meachanically inclined and have replaced cylinderheads, exhausts, clutches, and so forth.

But this time the car sits in my garage, so I have no means of jacking the car up and work beneath it (if required)

Thanks,

Andrew

[hks33]

Hey mate,

as long as you have a set of ring spanners and/or adjustable spanners you will be fine, I did fine.. some spots were a bit tricky, im about as knowledgeable with cars as you and it took me 5-6 hours working while having a few coronas

Just remember to keep a bucket to catch the coolant that comes out when you remove the banjo's

Best regards

[HEKT1K]

You might struggle to do the whole job from the top, i would definitely get some ramps or something

[ARTZ]

I did mine just on jackstands, with just a normal jack pretty easy..

[Torques]

Hi there,

Thanks for the input ...

5 hours with a few beers sounds alright (factoring in one hour to remove all the piping), but I'm a bit concerned about having no ramps ..

I have only theoretical knowledge of the turbo mounting from the workshop manual.

It seems to be straight forward though with just a few known unknowns.

From the looks of it would I have to support the downpipe/exhaust once the connection to the turbo is gone?

Is it difficult to lift the turbo off the manifold and out of the engine bay?

Many thanks,

Andrew

[mad082]

it isn't that hard to do. takes a few hours (5-6 hours as said above). the oil and water lines are a bit fiddly. jack stands make it a bit easier (easier than ramps since ramps get in the way a bit).

[Torques]

Hello there,

Many thanks for the encouragement

I had a look and it looks like a job I could do (given I have no workshop )

As for an approach, is it ok to separate the turbo from the exhaust at the connection dump-pipe to down-pipe?

(That's what I would do ..)

Also a friend told me that the studs at the manifold to turbo connection tend to crack, and that I should exchange them while at it?

(They didn't crack for 13 years ... and removing studs from a manifold might be tricky)

I got a quote for the work from a guy who usually does these things .. (on weekends and without invoice etc.)

AUD 310 labour + parts!

I found this a bit steep .. or am I wrong?

Cheers,

Andrew

I will get an axle-stand !

it isn't that hard to do. takes a few hours (5-6 hours as said above). the oil and water lines are a bit fiddly. jack stands make it a bit easier (easier than ramps since ramps get in the way a bit).

Edited May 7, 2011 by Torques

[DVS JEZ]

Thats a very good price. Think about it. 6 hours work $310

=roughly $50 per hour which is half of what a workshop would charge

[Torques]

If you put it this way, you're right.

Though he will not need 6 hours but rather 3 since he is a professional and has done this many times.

In addition the $$ go directly into his pocket and there is no invoice or official warranty ..

Thats a very good price. Think about it. 6 hours work $310

=roughly $50 per hour which is half of what a workshop would charge

Edited May 8, 2011 by Torques

[DVS JEZ]

Up to you of course man.

[ARTZ]

Personally I never trust anyone offering me half price work so unless you really trust this guy, Id say for peace of mind keep your 300$ ( use it to buy good jack and axle stands )and do it yourself, its a pretty easy job and if you think you can do it, you can..just unbolt the dump from the back of the turbo, I found these much easier to do than the 3 bolts joining the front pipe to the dump pipe as these you will find are rusted in hard..

But...

while the manifold/turbo studs should be fine, its the studs at the manifold/engine that crack mostly mate, usually 2 or 3 at either end..i had to replace 5 which also means removing the exhaust manifold which is easy enough ,but drilling out broken studs and replacing them is a prick of a job for a non professional without the proper tools, I didnt even attempt it..You will be lucky if none of them are broken and i would definately be checking this while your in there. I got charged 120$ to do this alone but its a cheap price for peace of mind...plus then you will need a new gasket, 30$ on ebay or 100$ from nissan, i got one on ebay and its doin fine..

[51NNA]

i took mine off for inspection, took me around 2hrs off and on, but im a mechanic haha =P

Edited May 8, 2011 by 51NNA

[ARTZ]

yeah i took mine off for inspection..took me 6 months to get it back together

[Torques]

Hi there,

So you just removed the dump-pipe from the turbo? This might have some advantages.

I will see if that works for me since there are 6 screws which might be quite rusty...

(compared to 3 nuts at the downpipe)

As for the studs at the manifold, if there is a cracked one and it sheered right off it will

be difficult to drill them out ..

Checking the studs could be done by knocking slightly with a hammer on the nuts which hold the manifold.

(at least in theory and from my experience with other cars)

I'll count on my luck here I guess, there's no blow-by or anything funny ... and maybe the problem is not

persistent with Spec2? (I'm sure there must be tons of mails regarding this, so I will do some (re)search.

Many thanks and cheers from London,

Andrew

[ssxRicho]

You will need to get under it for sure would love to see a video if done all from the top. I've had the turbz off 5-6 times now, all up on jack stands.I find it easier if you take the turbo out with the dump attached. That way you don't snap the studs/bolts on the dump.

Take all the intake piping off the car, unbolt the power steering res so you can move it round, unbolt the cat from the front pipe.

Then under the car take the oil return line off and cover the barb on the engine so you dont get shit in there. Take both water lines off. Take the oil feed off. Take the O2 sensor out.

Lift the turbo out with the dump attached.

The water banjos are large 22 or 24mm. So make sure you have a spanner that large. You will need new crush washers for the oil and water lines, your local auto store should have those.

You will also need new manifold to turbo and turbo to dump gaskets.

Spray the shit out of the bolts with WD40 and let it sit before you attack them. If they loosen then get tight again, make sure you tighten 1/4 of a turn then try and loosen again. Keep doing that till it is off. Else you may snap it.

Getting is out is not that hard, getting the water banjos back on is a royal PITA.

[ARTZ]

Dont beleive me

http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/topic/363514-exaust-manifold-studs/

threads like this popup almost weekly...

are you still running a standard dump John?? Whats with that..Why no 3 inch, you have changed your front pipe yeah?

I couldnt get the 3 bolts undid on mine, it doesnt really matter which way you do it I guess, but now I have a one piece pipe so it has to be undone at the turbo anyway

[DVS JEZ]

Personally I never trust anyone offering me half price work so unless you really trust this guy, Id say for peace of mind keep your 300$

new gasket 30$ on ebay or 100$ from nissan, i got one on ebay and its doin fine..

Thats not a very fair comment. Some people actually enjoy working on cars and helping people out. Not just out there to get rich.

U don't trust a person but u trust Ebay gaskets lol

[Torques]

Sure I do believe you, I just hope I'm lucky ...

Since this is going to happen in the parking garage I need to keep

work as simple as possible, so I don't want to remove the manifold if possible ..

Dont beleive me

http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/topic/363514-exaust-manifold-studs/

threads like this popup almost weekly...

are you still running a standard dump John?? Whats with that..Why no 3 inch, you have changed your front pipe yeah?

I couldnt get the 3 bolts undid on mine, it doesnt really matter which way you do it I guess, but now I have a one piece pipe so it has to be undone at the turbo anyway

[Torques]

Cheers for that,

I will also need a new unrestricted oil-line for the hybrid-turbo.

You will need to get under it for sure would love to see a video if done all from the top. I've had the turbz off 5-6 times now, all up on jack stands.I find it easier if you take the turbo out with the dump attached. That way you don't snap the studs/bolts on the dump.

Take all the intake piping off the car, unbolt the power steering res so you can move it round, unbolt the cat from the front pipe.

Then under the car take the oil return line off and cover the barb on the engine so you dont get shit in there. Take both water lines off. Take the oil feed off. Take the O2 sensor out.

Lift the turbo out with the dump attached.

The water banjos are large 22 or 24mm. So make sure you have a spanner that large. You will need new crush washers for the oil and water lines, your local auto store should have those.

You will also need new manifold to turbo and turbo to dump gaskets.

Spray the shit out of the bolts with WD40 and let it sit before you attack them. If they loosen then get tight again, make sure you tighten 1/4 of a turn then try and loosen again. Keep doing that till it is off. Else you may snap it.

Getting is out is not that hard, getting the water banjos back on is a royal PITA.

[Torques]

In 2 hours I got this far, I hope the turbo will be out tomorrow ->

I'm surprised how tiny the turbo is and especially the diameter of the compressor-wheel looks really smallish .. I'm starting to wonder if it's really worth highflowing this thing

Edited May 9, 2011 by Torques