Buying Used Bnr32 Stock Turbos

[cowie165]

Guys I'm wondering if you can easily/visually spot a turbo that is nearing the end of its life. I'm pulling the turbos off at Christmas to do a few things but not sure what to look for?

Is there any way to tell how much life is left in a ceramic wheeled turbo?

The reason I ask is that I'm not out for uber power, repainting the car atm so cannot afford 2860's, and every week you see a pair of R32 for $400 or thereabouts.

Am I asking for trouble? Once my wallet recovers from the painting/sill repairs I'll start saving for turbos but that's easily 12 months away.

Cheers!

[cowie165]

Has anyone actually bought R32 turbos?

[wrxhoon]

Why not just keep your turbos until you are ready to upgrade .

[Morgs]

I don't think you should. As you'll soon find out its not that fun/easy a job, so you only really want to do it once and save yourself the trouble of doing it twice, so once you've ready find a set of good condition turbos to go on (I'd suggest at least used N1s); my thoughts!

[lwells]

I don't think you should. As you'll soon find out its not that fun/easy a job, so you only really want to do it once and save yourself the trouble of doing it twice, so once you've ready find a set of good condition turbos to go on (I'd suggest at least used N1s); my thoughts!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes, its a super annoying job. Took me five days the last time I pulled them off and reinstalled (well, it was my first time ). Its not something you should do unless you need too (or have some reason: i.e. new turbos). I think you'll be pissed off at the lengths you will have to go to only to reinstall stock items

Sooooo.. if your going to do it, I would at the very least change the dump pipes and if you can afford it, put some steelwheeled ball bearing turbos on.

My understanding is you can give them a reasonable check over by look/touch -- i.e. check the shaft for play, spin the wheel, look for excessive oil/dirt residue, etc -- but if you want a definitive answer, you need a float gauge (or a turbo shop).

[Guest DIRTgarage]

The reason i charge 16hrs min. to do this job......is because it takes that long.....ive done about 5 of these twin low-mount upgrades/conversions and you dont get it done much quicker than that.

[wrxhoon]

The reason i charge 16hrs min. to do this job......is because it takes that long.....ive done about 5 of these twin low-mount upgrades/conversions and you dont get it done much quicker than that.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

16 hours to R+R low mount turbos ? Are you kidding Paul ?

It can be done in 8 hours easy by someone experienced and with the right tools .

[Guest DIRTgarage]

16 hours to R+R low mount turbos ?  Are you kidding Paul ?

It can be done in 8 hours easy by someone experienced and with the right tools .

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

have you actually done it???? its what nissan qoute too!

very experienced and have all the right tools....try it yourself before posting another uneducated comment!

[lwells]

IIRC, John from UAS mentioned its about a 16hr job for them too.

I reakon a home mechanic could probably do it in about 3 days if you have a decent set of tools and somewhere to do it. I had to pull it all apart on a sloped driveway without access to stands: my legs killed for days

Some of the highlights include the rear heatshield not wanting to come off or go back on; the nearly impossible to get too manifold nuts; the front turbo/manifold fouling on the aircon; the million times I dropped the copper washers. I could go on and on.... I was deeply scarred by the event

The good news is once the front turbo is off, it gets a lot easier. For the home mechanic, its also one of those jobs where it could go quite quickly if your lucky or you could spend 3 hours trying to get one nut undone.

I have to do it all again shortly. If I have time, I'll document it properly.

[wrxhoon]

have you actually done it???? its what nissan qoute too!

very experienced and have all the right tools....try it yourself before posting another uneducated comment!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I have done it several times mate ....... not an uneducated comment at all .

The last time i did it was a few months ago .

I have heard of people having them swaped for as little as $450 , mind you i wouldnt do it for that , but most will do it for $600-800 .

It takes less than 16 hours to R+R and engine on a GTR .

[Guest DIRTgarage]

I have done it several times mate ....... not an uneducated comment at all .

The last time i did it was a few months ago .

I have heard of people having them swaped for as little as $450 , mind you i wouldnt do it for that , but most will do it for $600-800 .

It takes less than 16 hours to R+R and engine on a GTR .

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

sweet...next time ive got a cust requiring an upgrade ill send them too you and quote your price. We charge $60 an hour labour, so your quote is 10-13 hours....thats pretty close to the 16 i quote so not such a laughable statement NOW is it Jerry.....We quote $960 and dont think its unreasonable.....covers our ass for any little problems.

Edited September 15, 2005 by DIRTgarage

[wrxhoon]

sweet...next time ive got a cust requiring an upgrade ill send them too you and quote your price. We charge $60 an hour labour, so your quote is 10-13 hours....thats pretty close to the 16 i quote so not such a laughable statement NOW is it Jerry.....We quote $960 and dont think its unreasonable.....covers our ass for any little problems.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Just a couple of things Paul .

First i dont have a workshop these days so i dont do work for anyone but still do all my own work at home . The other thing is i didnt comment on how much you charge , i only commented on the 16 hours you said it takes you to R+R the turbos and i said , someone with experience and the right tools should do it in 8 hours max .

On your hourly rate of $ 60 its a bargain , i wouldnt do it for that if i still had a workshop , $ 80 is more like the mark .

So yea i thought 16 hours is a bit over the top when you can R+R the engine for that time ....

[Guest DIRTgarage]

Just a couple of things Paul .

First i dont have a workshop these days so i dont do work for anyone but still do all my own work at home . The other thing is i didnt comment on how much you charge , i only commented on the 16 hours you said it takes you to R+R the turbos and i said , someone with experience and the right tools should do it in 8 hours max .

On your hourly rate of $ 60 its a bargain , i wouldnt do it for that if i still had a workshop , $ 80 is more like the mark .

So yea i thought 16 hours is a bit over the top when you can R+R the engine for that time ....

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

OK thats fine, just thought you were implying that i rip our customers off....def. not the case....$960 for the quality of work we do is a bargain in my eyes. All our customers have all said how neat and high standard our work is ...and never have we had a problem with our pricing arrangemments. I didn't once say it took me 16hrs to do the job. We allow/quote 16 hrs...sometimes it doesn't take that....sometimes it does.....but to run a sucessful outfit you dont burn your fingers for the sake of undercutting some bodgey-ass.

we clear??

Edited September 15, 2005 by DIRTgarage

[lwells]

So little love in the room Whether its 8 or 16 hours is rather irrelevant to cowie165 if he is doing the work himself for the first time...

[Beer Baron]

i will do it in 40 hours but that's at a rate of two beers per hour. i think that's fair...oh and a kebab at the end thanks.

btw i am in no way to be held responsible if the turbos either cannot be removed, or refitted. not my fault.

[wrxhoon]

OK thats fine, just thought you were implying that i rip our customers off....def. not the case....$960 for the quality of work we do is a bargain in my eyes. All our customers have all said how neat and high standard our work is ...and never have we had a problem with our pricing arrangemments. I didn't once say it took me 16hrs to do the job. We allow/quote 16 hrs...sometimes it doesn't take that....sometimes it does.....but to run a sucessful outfit you dont burn your fingers for the sake of undercutting some bodgey-ass.

we clear??

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Mate i never said anything about what you charge i had a very successfull business for many years and i know the costs of running one .

I just commented on the time you said it takes ( i hope we understand each other now ) and on the fact that you commented on me not knowing how long it takes because i have never done it before and i was giving an uneducated comment .

This is what you said in the above thead ,

" The reason i charge 16hrs min. to do this job......is because it takes that long.....ive done about 5 of these twin low-mount upgrades/conversions and you dont get it done much quicker than that "

You said because it takes that long ( 16 hours ) , well it does not take 16 hours for an experienced person to do it . Thats all i said all along ....it takes half that max .

As far as you over or under charging your customers it has nothing to do with this or me , you charge whatever you want , it has nothing to do with me , its between you and yours mate .

[siksII]

Jeez sounds like DIRTgarage has a big chip on their shoulder, getting all defensive and rude, after someone says they can do the same job in half the time. Its ok that someone is faster than you, DIRTgarage, no need for such an attitude.

And on this topic, i know wrxhoon can swap gtr turbos in 8 hours, and has done so several times, so i would not expect an experienced workshop to take longer.

So cowie165 leave them on, and if you do take them off, put back on new turbos because either way 8 hours is a long time to do something which is not really necessary.

[cowie165]

Why not just keep your turbos until you are ready to upgrade .

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'm just concerned they are going to cause problems. They seem to be the weakest link when it comes to engines stuffing out. Repairs and paint have cleaned me out and then some so I'm keen to preserve what life is left in my *genuine :lol: * 70,000km R32 motor. Had I the funds I would have bought your turbos!

[cowie165]

i will do it in 40 hours but that's at a rate of two beers per hour. i think that's fair...oh and a kebab at the end thanks.

btw i am in no way to be held responsible if the turbos either cannot be removed, or refitted. not my fault.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Richard your quote sounds great. As you near the eighty beer mark does your work get better or worse? And do you provide your own ambulance?

[cowie165]

So little love in the room   Whether its 8 or 16 hours is rather irrelevant to cowie165 if he is doing the work himself for the first time...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'm sorry things got messy guys.

My time is essentially unlimited however my finances are quite finite. I'm swapping the dump pipes anyway (already bought those) and was looking for any pointers on spotting a shagged turbo or one at the end of its life. I was hoping to then swap it for another (as they're so cheap) to keep the motor shipshape until I can afford N1's.

Is shaft play all you can look for? Can a turbo specialist do much without pulling it apart? (And offering a steel-wheel rebuild for $$)?