Newbie needs a new turbo

[aea257]

I have to fix or change the turbo on my '84 t-type. I've been to talking to a local mechanic that I believe is knowledgable about turbos and he wants to take the turbo off the top of the engine and place it up front. I can understand what he is telling me that it will get it away from the heat of the engine but is this really necessary? I presently have a TB0330. The seals are leaking and I am burning oil. This is just a dailydriver and I'm just looking to get it working properly. Can anyone help me? If this has already been addressed in this forum can you give me the link?

 

[GogglesPisano]

leaking turbo

hey,
had a similar problem with internal seals leaking, and i was blowing oil out the tailpipe. i had my turbo shipped to cottons performance in agawam,ma.
jack cotton is a very capable person and races these cars. Welcome To CottonsPerformance.com!
i hope that at least helps you find a direction to go. also listen to the senior members of this forum. they are very knowledgeable and offer great advice.
fred wittenberg

 

[BRAD_PADGETT]

You need to have your turbo rebuilt. Limit, Cotton or Precision are all good sources to have this done. The stock hot air rebuildable cores are getting hard to find. It isn't cheap either. I think I paid like $600 for a stock turbo rebuild from Limit and $950 for a TA33C( this is a double size turbo in the stock housing) This is why I keep my stock turbo as a spare. Good luck- Brad

 

[alec296]

your mechanic is spending lots of your money moving turbo
sounds like he wants to experiment
just rebuild your turbo maybe upgrade to a ta33c
put in stock location
you will be fine

 

[aea257]

So now my guy say's that he could rebuild my turbo but within in a year I'll have to do it over again. Is this a fact of life for this hot air turbo?

 

[BRAD_PADGETT]

Your mechanic is feeding you BS. Have one of the reputable companies already listed rebuild your turbo. Your mechanic is most likely not qualified to rebuild a turbo. I suspect that he has tried once before and failed which is why he is feeding you chatter. My 2 cents on limited info. Brad

 

[FlaBoy]

really, it sounds like this mechanic either doesnt know much 'bout turbos, or is trying to rip you off. First off, theres virtually no need/reason to spend the time/money to move the turbo to a more conventional location like he mentioned. Sure its not the best place for it on top of the engine, but guys have been able to run 11s/12s with the turbo located there. Unless you plan on making it a REAL fast car (which it sounds like you don't), there'd be no reason to consider moving the turbo... and if you DID want to do that, it'd be a LOT easier to convert to an 86/87 setup than to fabricate all your own stuff.

Secondly, when you have your turbo rebuilt (by a reputable shop, there are many to choose from, take any of the recommendations you see on the board here) it will last a good long while. If it fails within a year, it was either rebuilt wrong, or installed wrong.

from what you've said, it sounds like you should maybe consider getting a different mechanic. I could be wrong, of course, but thats my first impression. If I recall, Brewster is north of NYC, up near the border by Danbury. If you ask on the board for recommendations for a Turbo-Buick friendly shop in your area, I'm sure theres one within an hours drive of you. If you go someplace knowledgeable about these cars, you wont have to worry about them trying to relocate the turbo for no reason, and they'll use a reputable re-builder for the turbo, so you know it wont fail in a year.

Hope this helps

 

[imjoesnuffy]

I have to fix or change the turbo on my '84 t-type. I've been to talking to a local mechanic that I believe is knowledgable about turbos and he wants to take the turbo off the top of the engine and place it up front. I can understand what he is telling me that it will get it away from the heat of the engine but is this really necessary? I presently have a TB0330. The seals are leaking and I am burning oil. This is just a dailydriver and I'm just looking to get it working properly. Can anyone help me? If this has already been addressed in this forum can you give me the link?

Does your mechanic realize how much heat the turbo makes by itself? The engine pails in comparison to the heat production of the turbo. He might be trying to get you to go the intercooled route.