In my Craigslist trolling for the last couple months I keep coming across a 38r turbo in my area for $500.

Here's the text from the ad:I have a gtp38r turbo and pedestal mount with ebpv delete and bov delete. 68mm compressor wheel with 88mm turbine wheel, 1.15 A/R, pedestal mount and rubber intake mount. Everything needed to mount this turbo to your 99.5-2004 7.3 powerstroke. It has 10,000 miles on the rebuild and is ready to go. 1300+tax new for 500. Call or text me for pics.

I haven't gone for it in the past because I've been trying to keep the truck at or slightly above stock power levels. And don't really need it. But my CAC boots practically pour oil and now my tail pipe is dripping oil. I think it's a safe bet my turbo is leaking. I've looked at rebuild kits, like the one from spturboost or riff Raff. But I do like the idea of a brand new chra, all balanced and shiny. And then there is this 38r. All big and upgraded with ball bearings. But it's used, I don't know what the gentleman is saying when he says rebuild. I didn't think they were rebuild able.

Would any of you put a used 38r on your own truck? If I'm upgrading I'd rather have an BW S364.5sxe. But money is an issue. My buckzooka is more of a dimezooka. A year from now after I've learned to walk again I'll be able to start working and I'll upgrade my zooka. But until then I still need a working truck to get around. I'm at t minus 3 weeks to my surgery sooo I need to do something soon.

Rebuild

38r

Or

Chra

Thoughts?

 

From what I understand you cannot rebuild the 38R, although maybe he sent it to a professional shop of some sort?

Did he post a picture of the turbo by chance?

I would put a used 38R on my truck, but it would have to be one heck of a good deal from my perspective. You have to consider the time and labor involved in swapping a turbo into the cost of the actual part. I know some people can do this in their sleep, but it was somewhat difficult for me.

I do plan to swap to a larger turbo in the next year or so, but will be going with the KC38R turbo which is built for performance and is rebuild-able should the need arise.

I'm not getting what Chra is...

 

Center Housing Rotating Assembly.


The connecting component between the compressor housing and the turbine housing that contains the shaft that ties the two wheels together, supported by journal bearings or ball bearings.

 

Maybe I'm saying it wrong. But I believe it's a center housing rotating assembly. Basically complete balanced center section. Just needs housings.

 

Joe, you are saying it right. CHRA is the common term for it. Garrett's PowerMax instructions as well as Ford's factory workshop manual both call the center section CHRA. The NHRA calls it the CHRA too.

 

As Y2KW57 indicated, you were saying it correctly, I just needed to be educated.

 

I think we're back to the point where the 38R can't be rebuilt. He might be calling a new wheel a rebuild... or repairing the WG might be a rebuild, or maybe just doing everything in his list might be deemed a rebuild where he is concerned.

When money is tight, you need a sure thing... even if the sure thing is boring. I'd fix what you have at a much lower cost, because you know for sure what you have to work with. When things change in the armory, you may want to get that new 38R (KC?) that can be rebuilt. My 38R is fine, but I sure wish I had that available at the time.

You can always get your money back out of your turbo when your Craigslist ad says "It has 10,000 miles on the rebuild and is ready to go.", and nobody will go "huh?".

 

Why?

I don't get this wish.

Do you plan on destroying your turbo? Do you plan on running some super ridiculous tune that would destroy your turbo? Do you actually plan to go through all that work again to rebuild your turbo?

If not, then why buy a turbo based on the ability to rebuild it?

How often have you had a turbo fail on you in the past?




_______________________




Lest we forget the benefits of ball bearing CHRA's, the following presentation is from Garrett, who makes and sells both journal and ball bearing turbos:

 

Hokay, so.

This Friday I'm going over to my buddies heated machine shop, and we're going to finally replace my horrible glow plugs, injector o-rings, check the things that need checking as long as we're in there. As long as I'm not freezing my butt off, is there something I can do to check my turbo? If pulling it is the answer, are there consumable parts I need to put it back together. Or since I see relatively cleanish oil dripping out the exhaust should I just assume it's buggered up; and buy the rebuild kit?

If I'm going the rebuild route:

1. What do I need to check to make sure the turbo is rebuild-able?

2. Does this have everything I need?

Powerstroke 7.3L Turbo Upgraded Full Rebuild Kit (1994 - 2003) ? SP Turboost Company, LLC

Or this one

Garrett GTP38 Journal Bearing Rebuild Kit - Riffraff Diesel Performance

I like the 360 thrust bearing on the SP one. Anyone have experience with the company, or kit? I know I like Riff Raff but its more money with less sales pitch. Don't know if that's good or bad.

3. My up pipes leak. Is it worth going through the work of rebuilding the turbo and not fixing them?

International Bellowed pipes are out of the que$tion right now. I can't justify that money on a pipe. That being said is it worth cheaping out on them. I was thinking about the Dormans, many claim happiness with them. But the last year of amazon reviews includes a very high percentage of cracked weld complaints. So I found these https://www.amazon.com/Bellowed-1999...s=7.3+up+pipes Zoomed in the workmanship doesn't look pretty. But the reviews are good except for the guy who bought them for an E99 and developed sadness when he crossed the 90 day return window. But.... They're cheap! Not my normal "modus operandi" but nothing feels normal right now anyway.

3b. I know it's not the cool thing to do, but what does it take to reseal the original up pipes?

4. My CAC boots have probably seen better days. Between the oil and the fact that last time I had them off they pulled off with no effort I think they probably suck, or leak at least.

5. I've got soot all over the block around the drivers side exhaust manifold. I assume I probably just need new manifold gaskets. Should I assume I'll need all new hardware as well? (Minnesota)

6. Should I check the blow by or compression of the engine before I run down this road, I'll be under the VC anyway? I assume if my crankcase pressure is high it would force oil through the turbo seals.

Also any hints on where to borrow a diesel compression gauge? O'reilys doesn't rent them. I'm trying to be frugal and not buy tools I'll rarely use. (again not my normal)

7. I know this is pretty subjective. But, Is all this "normal" on a 2002 with only 115,000 miles? Most of the time when I see posts about this stuff, y'all have 200 to 300 on the clock. I feel like it's had more old age issues than I was expecting for it. Must be a Monday truck.

 

I've used sp's 360 rebuild kit on a couple turbos, easy to do works well great customer service.
As for #5 on your list. the manifolds don't have a gasket from the factory, you can buy them aftermarket.
Look real close at the manifold to make sure it seats flat , I had bad leak on rear driver side , pulled it off placed on my welding table and the rear port was easily 3/16 off when places ports down on the table .
Had to machine it flat.

 

Hmmm... I thought you read my stuff. I'm one of those "as luck would have it" folk. You know... the type that needs something he doesn't have, and doesn't need something he has. If I have the KC, I won't need its added benefit because it won't fail. Must appease the Murph.

2. Clay doesn't get in your face about his products at Riffraff Diesel. I've always viewed it as I know what I want - let's just get to the point of lemme see it to make sure it's the one I'm looking for, make sure it'll fit on my truck, and gimme a "Buy" button.

These sales pitches like "Our turbo blades have been polished by the thighs of lingerie models for enhanced performance" don't do it for me. I'm more a charts and graphs guy - like the one Y2KW57 shared... when it comes to sales pitches.

3. An exhaust leak is a disaster on a turbodiesel. The turbo is out for both jobs, may as well reduce the number of times you have to buy a turbo install kit.

3b. I've heard of those putting a donut gasket in the up pipes with success, but I am unsure how long that lasts - the donuts have to hold back more than just heat, there's pressure too.

4. With CAC boots, it's not just miles - it's also time. This one is not as big as the exhaust leaks (as long as they hold a seal), and they can be swapped later without removing the turbo. Exhaust, exhaust, exhaust.

5. Soak every manifold bolt on the driver side with the most effective penetrating oil you know of... repeatedly... for days. I did this and the bolts came right out. Resurface the face, get a manifold gasket [LINK], and install with new bolts and high-temp antiseize. The driver side is notorious for warping out at cylinder #8 - both mine did it on #8 and #7.

6. Compression test is going to let you know how far you can take the truck at a later date - you have no say over what happens today if things are so tight that you can't afford a compression gauge. There are cheap methods that are a pain in the butt, but they yield results: [LINK] While I'm a huge advocate of knowing the compression, I can't help but ask if maybe this would be a better chore after the Buck$Zooka upgrade. However... with your miles, it might make you feel better when you see a good number.

7. There are always Monday vehicles, but there are also practices that create an artificial Monday vehicle. Hot tunes or unproven mods with no gauges put exhaust systems and internals square in the crosshairs of Murphy and Bucky (short for Buck$Zooka). I don't know if you are the 1st owner of the truck or not, but I can tell you my PO abused "Stinky". This may have been a blessing in disguise, because most of my upgrades didn't replace properly-working parts. It's like I bought a box of "Permagrin" - just add dough.

 

2. SP is where I bought my 360 bearing kit and it was flawless. That is the same kit I bought, I seem to recall having to reuse 3-4 of the bolts, but I just used the ones that were in the best shape, maybe they were for the outlet, not sure.

I know this thread is long, but there is some good information and pictures in there from when I rebuilt my turbo. https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...-planning.html

3. The Dormans have been good to me and many others over the past few years. Some don't trust them, but they are definitely worth the upgrade because they are what feed your turbo.

4. Not sure what your budget is, but a T-clamp kit and boots from RiffRaff would help significantly as well.

Intercooler boot complete clamp kit for Ford 99.5-03 7.3L Powerstroke

Complete CAC Intercooler Boot Kit - Ford 7.3L Powerstroke 99-03

5. I don't believe our truck came with gaskets, but not 100% sure on that. Usually a bolt or two is warped and not allowing for a good seal. Proceed at your own risk.

7. Normal, yes based on usage. I replaced all of this stuff, plus a lot more for more quality type parts and the truck is an absolute beast now. I pull our 5th wheel trailer and our previously owned 30 ft travel trailer around the country with 28-30 PSI going up grades with 1000* EGT's. I upgraded the turbo wheel to the RiffRaff 4/4 as well, but that is not mandatory.

A good tuner is a worthy investment as well. I bought a PHP Hydra with Gear Head tunes and could not be happier.

 

I guess the biggest reason I ask about compression is because I bought a parts truck from a fellow contractor about a year back. I wanted the zf5 for my 89'. But it also has a very well maintained forged rod 7.3 in it with about150,000 miles. I wouldn't be at all surprised if it was internally in better shape than this one.

I never had a plan for that motor but the more problems I have with this one the more I've had wild thoughts of building the 97 motor and selling off the 2002. This is obviously a job for future Buck$ooka Joe, but knowing the numbers would start to settle a path for me and allow me to start some meticulous planning.

I've recently come to believe that my truck was abused and possibly in a roll over by the PO. But put back together well enough that it's taken me a year to notice. PO was an auto body guy.

On a side note if I ever buy another used car/truck I'm commissioning someone with better luck/skill to do it for me. I think I'm pretty bad at it. There were sings, I missed them.

 

International Bellowed pipes are out of the que$tion right now. I can't justify that money on a pipe. That being said is it worth cheaping out on them. I was thinking about the Dormans, many claim happiness with them. But the last year of amazon reviews includes a very high percentage of cracked weld complaints. So I found these https://www.amazon.com/Bellowed-1999...s=7.3+up+pipes Zoomed in the workmanship doesn't look pretty. But the reviews are good except for the guy who bought them for an E99 and developed sadness when he crossed the 90 day return window. But.... They're cheap! Not my normal "modus operandi" but nothing feels normal right now anyway.

I just bought and installed these Doorman uppipes back in November. The quality isn't bad at all. They went in with out a hitch. I also did the Riffraff 4X4 compressor wheel and the same time. All I can say is WOW! What a huge difference. I highly recommend this compressor wheel to anyone looking for a little help in Tow/Cruising/Performance areas for the stock turbo.

 

I've been running the Dorman up pipes for almost two years with hard towing of 3000 miles last year to Glacier and Yellowstone. Out here, we have real mountain passes that push limits. I would get them or the knock off's in a second for the price vs. International. Once I had them in my hand, I was fine with $120 for them. There isn't much to them. Pre fit the parts to make sure they align. Install the P side up pipe tightly to the baby butt and then install loosely to get the turbo seated properly and then snug everything.

I would definitely just rebuild your turbo vs. buying a 38R in unknown condition. Buy some boots/clamps and you can be out of this for not much money.