Require assistance for a tough call

[Azrial89]

Brought the Buick into my guys shop yesterday so he could fix the smoke issue I was having after he worked on it last time. Well, in his perusing... He discovered my turbo shaft had some bad play and the intercooler inlet was letting oil squeeze through into the turbo. So here is my dilemma... I had always planned on upgrading the turbo to something bigger. But my options are. 1. Have it rebuilt for about 350 2. Buy a new in box OE from a local guy for 425 3. Dive right in and upgrade. The turbo is stock with 72,000 miles on it. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. If I do end up getting a new one, what should I get??? My goal is nothing outrageous, just wanna stomp any ricer on the street and surprise the occasional american muscle. Like the SVT Cobra that got me 2 weeks ago. Thanks

 

[CGASTON]

upgrade!!!! TE49 would be a nice stock upgrade!!!

 

[mikestertwo]

If your staying with a stock converter then stay with a stock turbo. If you don't mind going with a higher stall converter then there are a few good options.

 

[turboc87gn]

Theres upgraded turbos you can use with the d5 converter,Mine spooled a te63 on otherwise stock(Cold air kit and 3 inch dp with a race bullet welded on the end ran open) gn fast enough to to run nose to nose with my buddies 355 vortech headed monte ss which is according to his build recipe should be 380 horsepower...I was at stock boost..mind you it did spool kinda slow compared to the stocker ...Id go with a smaller upgrade, i only did it cause i got the turbo for $300 and i got sick of looking at my car sitting in the garage last summer...Now is a wonderful time to be choosing a turbo so many bad a$$ choices out there that will bolt right on....

 

[charlief1]

Fourth option is to go to the how to section and read up on how to rebuild it yourself. Parts would be about $100 and your labor is pretty much free.

 

[blackgn1]

Go bigger with a matching PTC converter.

 

[bogies87]

The TA 49 will spool just fine with a stock D5. Guys say they can run a TE 44 on a stock converter. Do a search on the 49 and you will see most do it with a stock converter.

 

[SHADOWII]

If you have been contemplating an upgrade, then do it now or you will consider your choice as wasted money and time. There are many good parts on the "parts for sale" section you can save on purchasing, as there are many people upgrading. Don't forget monitoring items as well, ie.scanmaster, p/l, etc.
You can also go on the "parts wanted" section and make your requests known. And don't be afraid to ask if you have any concerns about a part or person, you are considering purchasing from. Just ask on the forum, we do our best to keep an honorable and trusting community.

 

[Azrial89]

Old thread dig up, just wanted to let you guys know, I attempted a rebuild... Didn't go as planned. The housing was shot and I needed oversized bearings. So I contacted bison and he hooked me up with a really nice TA-49. It works great

 

[Ttype6]

Old thread dig up, just wanted to let you guys know, I attempted a rebuild... Didn't go as planned. The housing was shot and I needed oversized bearings. So I contacted bison and he hooked me up with a really nice TA-49. It works great

Big bang for the buck. You now have a totally different car.