Jeremy, Kris, since y'all have done it feel free to chime in.
I am thinking of rebuilding a van turbo that I may pick up. i've already got the ATS housing, so no worries on that side. I may pick up a new compressor wheel, but I am confident that I can handle that part.
I am more concerned with whats involved in replacing the journals, and whether or not it needs to be sent off to be balanced, or if there is a DIY balance method.

 

Hey! I've done it.

 

Don't drop the bronze bushings!



Just kidding, i'm tired now so i'll chime in later, is that ok?

 

Ya it's ok. I'll post your cell # https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/6...te-advice.html












































Just kidding.
What the heck do I know, I'm trying to find a vibration.

 

Hmmm Brandon. Seems you have Chris to ask about that, but IIRC he had to send his out. I actually bid on the same turbo on ebay and he went beyond me. If I had known he may have gotten it cheaper.

Jeremy, come off that van turbo and move on. You have all the supporting mods for it.

 

Hey Mike, what's up with your yellow shocks? They don't idle right?

 

They are ugly. They look like a military DZ panel marker in my wheel wells.

 

Well Mike, Chris is going to be my partner in grime during the rebuild (You just cant learn anything by sending it out), so why not... and BTW he says you owe him a 12pack for running the price up. I know Jeremy's situation right now, we are both commisioned salesman, and the wintertime sucks.

 

He should have made it known, I would have left it alone. I will be bringing that payment to Smokin if he wants to collect. Can't say Gene will be there to mooch off of this year though it would be fun to see him again.

 

Mike, I'd love to move past this van turbo, but I am missing one key supporting mod that Brandon eluded to...the money. Right now, I'm taking on some debt to make it through the tough times. Once that's paid down, hopefully I'll get a new turbo. It's looking like mid to late summer before I can swing a few grand for a new turbo.

Brandon, I'll PM you my number if you need anything, feel free to call. Here's a copy of my post from another thread:

Pull the whole compressor side off first, then tackle the exhaust housing. There are holes in the center section that will allow a socket to easily fit through it and on the 4 bolts in the exhaust housing. They may be really stuck, so be ready to put some force on them to break them loose. Once all the housings are off, the shaft may be tough to come out. Smack the compressor end with a wood block, it will come out. Also, there is what appears to be a cover over the exhaust side, behind the wheel, over the center section. Don't try to take it off, there's no need.

When you go to replace the ring seals, be very careful that you slide them back down over the shaft pretty evenly. They can be tough to go on, but work them down and they'll snap into the groove. Be sure to coat all the internal parts with oil before you go to reassemble everything. I even dumped a little oil down the holes of the center section. The thrust bearing washer behind the compressor backplate is u-shaped, and it only fits on one way. I believe it's with the opening facing down, but not 100% positive. Just pay attention to how the old one comes out.

When putting the exhaust housing back on, use red loctite on those bolts. They are the ones notorious for backing out. I even totally ignored the 18 ft-lb torque spec on those and tightened them first as tight as I could with a 1/4" socket, then smacked the socket with a dead blow hammer to get another 1/4 to 1/2 turn of tightening on the bolts. Needless to say, mine have not backed out. Don't worry about tightenting the compressor housing that much since it seals with an o-ring.

Finally, when you get it back together, the shaft may be pretty tight and the wheels won't spin very freely by hand. This is just the ring seals fitting tightly around the shaft. Don't worry about it. Mine did that, but I mounted it up anyway and fired up the truck with no filter or intake tube so I could watch the compresor wheel. It spun just fine, so I set the truck on high idle and let it sit for about 5 minutes. After I shut it off, I spun the shaft by hand and it spun freely then. It just needed a little spinning to get the seals to find their home.

Break it in easy. I didn't go over 10 psi, or have any hard accelerations for the first 500 miles. Even after that, I waited until 1000 miles before I went over 15 psi and gave it a full throttle run. Brandon should be happy about that.

PM coming if you need anything.

 

I hear ya. I don't have it falling out of my pockets either. I am not far from the point where I could have dropped a Cummins in. Well, at least I am about halfway there for all the adapting stuff too. Just keeping it International for now. What I spent, I could have a nice CTD on the stand right now.

 

If my engine blows up, as in breaks the block, a common rail Cummins will be replacing it. Now, if I just pop a head gasket or something like that, I'll keep the PSD, but if it's an internal hard part that goes that would require block replacement...I'm done with the 7.3.

Over the past year or so, I've been building up a CR motor in my buddies '04 Dodge, so I'm a little familiar with them. It's impressive to see first hand just how easy they make power. I've the had chance to spend some quality time driving it a couple weeks ago when I had an HPOP line start leaking (one of the braided hoses, right at the crimp) and I was chasing down a hydraulic shop to make me a line. ***Derail note: BTS overnighted me some new stainless braided lines, without hesitation and at no cost to me, as soon as I called them. I had already started trying to find one locally when I called though.*** Anyway, I liked how smooth the motor was. Transmission I didn't care for, but with a BTS trans behind a CR Cummins, I think it would be a decent combo.

What's this thread about anyway?