Most of you know that I got a steal on a van turbo off Ebay. Well lets rebuild it before we stick it on the truck. A special thanks goes out to JTHarvey(Jeremy), and Kris for the questions they answered and the guidence the offered.


here we go, by the way, the van and the stock garrett turbo are the exact same innards, so if you need to rebuild your stocker this is the procedure.

1 crusty van turbo




remove the compressor housing. 5 bolts, 5/16 12point socket required


remove EBPV housing/ exhaust flange 5/16 12 pts


remove the compressor wheel, use a screw driver wrapped with duct tape to keep the drive wheel from spinning while you are loosening the compressor wheel. Once wheel is removed, remove 4 backplate bolts, 5/16 12pt.


lift off compressor backplate from oil galley/shaft housing.


remove 4 5/16 12 pt bolts joining the drive housing to the oil/shaft housing.



Gently Tap the shaft with a rubber mallet to unseat the oil seal ring, and remove the shaft from assembly. remove the 2 shaft rollers, and the spacer from the assembly with a pick. (you may be able to turn the assembly upside down and shake them out)



remove split c ring oil seal (at base of shaft near drive wheel)and replace with the new one from rebuild kit



place shaft back into assembly making sure to use gentle pressure to seat the oil seal c- ring. (the housing is chamfered so it will self align and compress on the way in)
squirt a little oil into the assembly from the shaft side, and slide 1 roller in then the spacer, then the other roller




give it a spin to distribute the oil you used earlier

now replace the assembly on the exhaust housing, use RED LOCTITE for the bolts, torque to OMG thats tight!



Now lets work on the thrust bearing. there will be a small split c-ring oil seal that goes on the thrust bearing. there is only 1 groove it will fit on.



now we place the spacer key on the thrust bearing (PAY ATTENTION TO THIS PICTURE, IF YOU INSTALL THIS SPACER WRONG YOU WILL BURN UP YOUR BEARING, AND DESTROY YOUR TURBO) the side with the grooves and holes must be oriented correctly.


use a little oil on the bearing,now place spacer, and key in compressor plate (it only fits one way) and gently seat the oil seal in the housing by pressing down. install clover shaped o-ring with a little oil to help seal.



slide compressor plate and bearing over shaft, and seat into shaft/oiler assembly ( pay attention to pics for orientation, so you dont end up with the backplate indexed wrong)



re install wheel


install compressor housing (check for wheel clearance before tightening down)


install exhaust flange (or ebpv if you working with a stock turbo) remember to use Red loctite on these bolts.


give everything a spin and make sure its not making any grinding noises.

and now youve rebuilt a Garrett turbo.


re install on truck, make sure you break your new bearings in by not exceeding 2000 RPMs for the first 50 or so miles.

Guys and gals, it really is this easy to do, I bought the van turbo for $100, the rebuild kit was $100, the wicked wheel was $70ish, and I got a used ATS housing for $300.

 

Brandon,

Great write-up and pics. With your permission I am going to save the whole thing to my computer.

I tried to rep you but I have to "Spread it around". You know how that is.

 

Excellent post man!!! I kow you will be very happy with the upgrade.....

 

Great post BD. Reps given. Got it on there yet?

 

Great write up with excelint pictures Brandon. I am sending you some reps. Thanks for taking the time to do this for everyone to see.

 

nice job Brandon...

 

Very nice writeup. Good job there.

 

Rep points on the way! I heard rebuilding our turbos was easy but you've got to be kidding me...that's cake! You better have done it right, I don't want to be half-way to Smokin and your turbo poop the bed! j/k

 

Nice writeup Brandon. Reps to you if they let me That seem like a decent setup for decent money. Can you get the van turbo and retain the EBPV?

 

Graet job, Brandon. I, too, thank you for taking the extra pains of constantly interrupting each step of the way to clean your hands and take such clear pics.

I'll go ahead and admit I'm ignorant about the world of turbos, so be patient with my following questions.

1. If the van turbo and Garret turbo are "the same innards", are you talking about my stock Garret turbo, or a different one?
2. Why use a van turbo to begin with?
3. I see that the air intake side of the new ATS housing is much larger (presumably to allow higher air flows), what kind of intake tube modifications are required for reconnecting to your intake system?

 

Awesome write-up Brandon! reps given

 

Thanks Pete! I didn't want to be that guy...

 

That's why my motto is "Still learning every day!"

 

Excellent write-up, reps sent! I'm with Pete on this one though, what's the benefit of the van turbo?

 

I would like to know also. Thanks and great writeup.