Turbo Dilema

Just after a few opinions

Ill be having the valve stem seals sorted on my car soon as they are worn, but it seems like my turbos are showing signs of wear on the oil seals too

If im stationary at a junction or roundabout it will puff out some blue when i accelerate off, it also puffs small amount out on over run

Its something id like to sort out at the same time but i dont want to buy used 20 year old turbos as its too risky

Does anyone have any idea how much a rebuild costs?

I dont know whether to get mine rebuilt or buy a pair of hybrids with steel internals from whifbitz which are just over £1k at least gives me a bit of leg room for some extra power in the future, or buy a small single but ultimately that will put cost on a whole new level regardless of hp goals £££

Since fitting the boost controller and running 1.2bar i seem to notice small oil splatter out of the vac line on top of the front turbo pipe too, not sure if this is normal from the extra pressure or if its going to make a turbo problem become rapidly worse.

I just dont want to take the head of to do valve stems and then find the turbos need changing afterwards, while the heads off it makes sense to address it at the same time

Just after a few opinions

 

Ill be having the valve stem seals sorted on my car soon as they are worn, but it seems like my turbos are showing signs of wear on the oil seals too

If im stationary at a junction or roundabout it will puff out some blue when i accelerate off, it also puffs small amount out on over run

 

Its something id like to sort out at the same time but i dont want to buy used 20 year old turbos as its too risky

 

Does anyone have any idea how much a rebuild costs?

 

I dont know whether to get mine rebuilt or buy a pair of hybrids with steel internals from whifbitz which are just over £1k at least gives me a bit of leg room for some extra power in the future, or buy a small single but ultimately that will put cost on a whole new level regardless of hp goals £££

 

Since fitting the boost controller and running 1.2bar i seem to notice small oil splatter out of the vac line on top of the front turbo pipe too, not sure if this is normal from the extra pressure or if its going to make a turbo problem become rapidly worse.

 

I just dont want to take the head of to do valve stems and then find the turbos need changing afterwards, while the heads off it makes sense to address it at the same time

You know you can do the valve stem seals with the head on don't you?

I know its possible, but not the best way to do it

I know its possible, but not the best way to do it

Fair enough. Was just thinking it would save a considerable amount on labour if paying someone to remove the head etc

In terms of quality of stem seal replacement though i dont see how it makes any difference that way. In any case i suppose its irrelevant to the question you are asking.

Id be inclined to rebuild your own turbos and then at least you know what you have. The quality of whifbitz in general seems to have been called into question recently.

I will likely remove the head myself but will pay someone to actually fit the seals to make sure they are correct

Ive seen someone fit seals themselves and end up with a worse car at the end of it so something id rather do right first time if im honest

I would rather have mine rebuilt, but if the cost was similar to a pair of hybrids id be tempted to go that route just for the gains i could possibly have in the future

I have read a few threads regarding them, but id be doing mechanical work myself so will only need the parts which are built elsewhere i believe

What about the CHRA replacements, you seem to be able to get those very cheap now. I think a few people have tried them. Haven't heard reports either way though but got to be worth a try for the cost of a strip down and individual part replacement:

http://www.maxspeedingrods.co.uk/toyota-celica-4wd-3sgte-2-0l-ct26-turbo-cartridge-chra.html

I am planning exactly the same as you for the winter at srd.

I have been looking at cr turbos, and if you spec them with all options including billet compressor wheels, it comes to around 1k. Lee has suggested going for used oem, over hybrids though due to the hit and miss reliability, but like you I don't relish the idea of another set of 20year old turbos.

I dont know whether to get mine rebuilt or buy a pair of hybrids with steel internals from whifbitz which are just over £1k

You're talking about the same thing, hybrid turbos are rebuilt stock turbos, if you get yours rebuilt they will be fitted with new steel internals.

You're talking about the same thing, hybrid turbos are rebuilt stock turbos, if you get yours rebuilt they will be fitted with new steel internals.

Ah ok, i assumed unless i stated/paid extra for steel internals then they would have been rebuilt to oem spec

So whats the big deal with hybrids then and running extra power, surely if they are just rebuilt using steel internals to run more boost, then they arent much different at all to uk spec turbos?

Before you get too excited you need to see what state the housings are in on the turbos you want to have rebuilt. I now have a vast and growing collection of cracked housings. My experience with rebuilt turbos is I avoid them whenever possible. They never seem to perform as well, for as long, and with as little trouble as new factory ones. I have *NEVER* sent a rebuilt turbo back to a re-conditioner and been told it had a re-manufacturing issue and was eligible for a warranty repair or replacement. it has always been wrong oil, blocked drain, wrong / no oil restrictor. Abuse, over speeding, over heating, water coolant failure, they seem to have a crib sheet they stick a pin into Nor have I ever had a report that a used, but seemingly working fine turbo is other than "in desperate need of a rebuild".

One day I will dirty up a brand new one and send it for "appraisal"

That does not sound promising, i do want a fit and forget solution lol

Its making me lean towards a small "budget" single setup, maybe a borg warner s300 and a link ecu but i really like the power delivery and feel of the stock twins

Maybe ill worry about it when they actually fail, hopefully not in Germany in July

So whats the big deal with hybrids then and running extra power, surely if they are just rebuilt using steel internals to run more boost, then they arent much different at all to uk spec turbos?

Rebuilt 'hybrid' turbos are just a cheaper alternative to buying brand new OEM turbos when a ceramic turbine wheel lets go.

Provided it's just a small occasional puff of smoke, I think in your situation I'd stick with the stock j-spec turbos.

I have rebuilt j specs, so far so good but constantly having VSVS issues, 1st turbo not kicking in, 2nd turbo etc etc .

Personally if you can afford it just go single or save for it thats what I would of done if I had the choice again.

I would also recommend getting Teflon Valve Stem seals , Chris Wilson sells them ; got some in mine

Doing your head in situ can cost you more in labour as opposed to removing it as it is a tight space and you need the correct tooling, swear jar , hours can rack up if your mechanic has not done it before , removing a downside is distributing the seal between the blocks ; each has its plus and minuses

Munro racing in Austrialia might be worth looking into , my friend is running their OEM hybrid setup in his 1JZ Supra, no issues so far

http://www.munroracingturbochargers.com.au/performance.2jzct20.html

When I find myself in your shoes , I will most likely take the leap into small single for reliability