Author Topic: garrett t3 rebuild questions  (Read 17576 times)

January 13, 2008, 01:06:36 pm

D1ES3L

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garrett t3 rebuild questions
« on: January 13, 2008, 01:06:36 pm »
My first attempt at rebuilding a turbo. I do not have the rebuild kit yet, neither instructions of any sort. I've searched and searched and have come up dry. Does anyone have a technical/rebuild manual for the t3 that you would possibly share?  maybe pdf format?

Now before I go breaking things, I would like to confirm the removal direction of the impeller nut. clockwise or counter clockwise? I'm just nervous since a friend of mine has snapped his shaft turning in the wrong direction. He then had to replace the whole center section. ouch!              It's certainly not coming off easy, several attempts now and no budge. (counter clockwise)

Thanks for any tips or techniques you may have to share.


81 scirocco--80 TD caddy--99.5 TDI golf

Reply #1January 13, 2008, 01:14:31 pm

jimfoo

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garrett t3 rebuild questions
« Reply #1 on: January 13, 2008, 01:14:31 pm »
Should be clockwise. You can tell by looking at the threads.
Jim
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Reply #2January 13, 2008, 01:49:12 pm

D1ES3L

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garrett t3 rebuild questions
« Reply #2 on: January 13, 2008, 01:49:12 pm »
the way I'm seeing the threads... counter clockwise.. standard left loosey, righty tighty..  but maybe I'm really retarded so, anyone pulled one of these apart lately?  t3's off the 1.6 canadian should be all the same. yes?
81 scirocco--80 TD caddy--99.5 TDI golf

Reply #3January 13, 2008, 02:07:40 pm

subsonic

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garrett t3 rebuild questions
« Reply #3 on: January 13, 2008, 02:07:40 pm »
This might be of use.  Got this with my rebuild kit.

Jim

INSTRUCTIONS:
 
The first step in rebuilding your turbo is marking your turbine housing and compressor housing in relationship to the bearing center section. You can do this with paint, a punch, etc...This will ensure, once you are finished rebuilding the turbo, that it will bolt directly back up to your engine. The next step: remove the turbine housing bolts that hold the turbine housing to the center section, there will either be 4 or 6 13mm bolts. Next, remove the 6, 1/2" or 13mm bolts that hold the compressor housing to the backing plate. Then place the turbo's turbine nut into a vice holding it firmly, the nut is odd-shaped because of balancing, but you can normally get two sides in the vice. Mark the turbine shaft with paint on the blade that lines up with the oil drain of the center section. Next, mark the compressor wheel to the backing plate with paint, or by lightly scribing a mark on both surfaces. Remove the 3/8" compressor wheel nut and then remove the compressor wheel. ***Special Note*** Some are left-hand threaded shafts. If turned counter clockwise, it will break the shaft off, turn it clockwise to remove the nut if you see that it is a left-hand thread. With a rubber mallet, lightly tap the threaded turbine shaft to remove it from the bearing center section. Once removed, place bearing center section in a vice, holding it firmly by the oil inlet and oil outlet flat surfaces. Now, remove the 4 backing plate bolts. They will either be 10mm or 7/16". With a rubber mallet, lightly tap aluminum backing plate to separate it from the bearing housing.
 
There are 3 types of compressor seals for the T3's, T4's and T3/T4 hybrid turbos. The first one is a one piece carbon seal, this type of seal is pressed into and out of the backing plate as an assembly. The second type is a 4-piece carbon seal, this type consists of a carbon seal, o-ring, eared washer, and a spring. To remove this type of seal, first pick the black carbon seal out of the backing plate, next using a pick remove the o-ring, then turn the earred washer until its ears line up with the stakes in the backing plate, and finally remove the spring. When reassembling this type of seal, first install the spring with the small end down, next the earred washer, then the o--ring, and finally the carbon seal. The last type of seal used in these turbos is the dynamic seal, this type of seal installs onto the thrust collar, use a pick to remove it. To install it press it over the collar with your thumbs until it fits into the groove.
 
There are also two types of thrust bearings used on T3's, T4's, and T3/T4 hybrid turbos. One is the standard 270 degree (not a full circle), if you have this type use a pick and pull the thrust bearing off of the bearing housing. The other type of thrust bearing is the 360 degree (full circle), it can be held by 3 allen-head screws, or by the anti-rotation pins in the bearing housing. To remove it, either remove the three screws, or use a pick to pull if off of the anti-rotation pins. Now, remove the small snap ring holding the front journal bearing in, and use a pick to remove the journal bearing. Next, turn the bearing center section upside down and remove the rear snap ring and rear journal bearing.
 
Now, you have almost completely disassembled the turbo. The last thing you must do on a dynamic seal turbo is remove the piston ring from the thrust collar, or on a carbon seal turbo, remove the carbon seal , o-ring, washer, and spring from the backing plate. Now, remove the piston ring from the turbine shaft, and the turbo is disassembled. ***Special Note*** Carefully check all sealing surfaces where piston rings sit when installed. These surfaces must be smooth and round. Also, check the grooves that the piston rings sit in on the turbine shaft and the thrust collar. The piston ring must sit in these grooves tightly, with only 0.001 or 0.002 clearance. Any more than this will cause oil leaks.
 
Another special note: Journal bearing surfaces and thrust collar surfaces must be completely smooth and have no scratches or nicks that you can feel with your finger nail. Places to check: journal bearing bore in the bearing housing, journal bearing surface on the turbine shaft, and thrust collar surfaces that touch the thrust bearing.
*One more note:* Bearing housing choking is a very common problem with all turbos. It is caused by the turbo not being properly cooled off when the engine is shut off, and/or irregular oil changes. To check for this problem, look for black carbon deposits throughout the inside of the bearing housing, especially on the rear side where the turbine shaft goes in. The bearing housing should have an open area that you can see light through from the oil drain back to the rear sealing area where the shaft goes in. If you cannot see through the bearing housing, from these two areas, then you have severe choking and all of this carbon must be removed, or the turbo will fail almost instantly on startup.
 
Now, completely and thoroughly clean the whole turbo with solvent. It needs to be very clean, this is very, very important. Reverse the procedure above and reassemble the turbo using high quality engine assembly lube on all bearings and sealing surfaces.
 
**360 Degree thrust bearing installation**
First, install the beveled washer with the beveled side down towards the journal bearing. Next, place 360 degree thrust bearing on to the bearing housing locating it carefully on the 2 anti-rotation pins. Lastly, install the thrust collar into the thrust bearing with the piston ring seal facing up.
 
When torquing the compressor nut, follow this procedure: If this is a left-handed thread, tighten the nut down hand-tight until it touches the top of the compressor wheel. Then, using a 3/8" wrench, tighten the nut approximately 1/8 of a turn. This will properly torque the nut and seat the bearings and thrust parts. On right-hand nuts, tighten the nut hand-tight until it touches the top of the compressor wheel, then turn with a 3/8" wrench approximately 1/4 of a turn.
 
If you get stuck at any point during the rebuild, and decide you would rather have someone else do it, we would be happy to complete the rebuild for you (or start over) and give you a credit towards the rebuild price for the kit you already purchased from us.



 
Jim & Gerry
G-Pop Shop
Specializing in Rebuilt, Polished Turbos
& Turbocharger Parts
 www.gpopshop.com
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Reply #4January 17, 2008, 12:05:26 am

TedV

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« Reply #4 on: January 17, 2008, 12:05:26 am »
nut on my T3 went on clockwise last night.  Best to look closely at the exposed thread and remove accordingly.

those directions look aweful familiar.  :wink:   If you purchase a kit from G-Pop at the same time you send in your shaft for balancing, they will knock a few dollars off the balance cost.

Reply #5January 17, 2008, 12:29:53 am

D1ES3L

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garrett t3 rebuild questions
« Reply #5 on: January 17, 2008, 12:29:53 am »
good to know.. thanks for the info
81 scirocco--80 TD caddy--99.5 TDI golf

Reply #6January 17, 2008, 04:46:52 am

Baselyne

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garrett t3 rebuild questions
« Reply #6 on: January 17, 2008, 04:46:52 am »
very useful, Thanks for this information!
-Base

Reply #7January 20, 2008, 11:54:33 am

gnavs

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« Reply #7 on: January 20, 2008, 11:54:33 am »
I got a somewhat helpful DIY from a guy on some Australian Sigma-Galant forum.  I can email it to you if you want.

Reply #8January 20, 2008, 02:44:30 pm

D1ES3L

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« Reply #8 on: January 20, 2008, 02:44:30 pm »
yes please do.. thanks
81 scirocco--80 TD caddy--99.5 TDI golf

Reply #9July 08, 2010, 04:21:24 pm

Smokey Eddy

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Re: garrett t3 rebuild questions
« Reply #9 on: July 08, 2010, 04:21:24 pm »
For future reference and searching purposes i think it should be made perfectly clear that turbo's are reverese thread (at least they should be) if you think about what direction they spin it makes sense for them to be reverse thread.

This means its righty loosy lefty tighty.

My Holset HX35 and my Garrett T3 are both reverse thread.
Ed
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