Refittinfg The Turbo

[66yostagea]

I know about bleeding the coolant as discussed elsewhere.

What about the oil lines to and from the turbo? How does one go about this aspect?

[Hsusy (OP513)]

did you reuse the copper washers?

[Stinky Rooster]

You dont need to bleed them Hugh. They arent a closed system so they should be fine just off pump pressure. If you are really paranoid you can try getting some oil in there manually, but you dont need to get the air out before the oil can get in. Just give it a few minutes at idle before revving it up just to be on the safe side.

[GoldZilla]

As Dale mentioned, it's not a closed system - the oil is shared with the motor so it will pretty much sort itself out as the oil is pumped through the turbo and back into the engine.

[66yostagea]

Thanx guys. And no i got new ones. Washers.

[Tangles]

do it up tighter than tight, if it leaks do up more

no leak no worries - its oil straight from the engine so no bleeding or whatnot, just dont run with an ongoing leak!!

[jippa]

do it up tighter than tight, if it leaks do up more

no leak no worries - its oil straight from the engine so no bleeding or whatnot, just dont run with an ongoing leak!!

why tighter than tight.. seems the seal should be ok if the washer and surfaces are new and clean.. over tightening could be bad yea?

[**RB2530**]

In theory if it is new turbo or one that has been rebuilt you should try and get some oil into the bearings before you kick the engine over...this is because it takes a small amount of time for the oil to get to the core on first start up...another way is hold the compressor wheel still for a few seconds on the first start up....the main aim is to stop the turbo from spinning dry..even if it is only for a few seconds...in reality I am not sure if many people do this and the implication of not doing this is very often indeterminate...ie the damage done is very small and may reduce the bearing life by fractions of a percent...

[Stinky Rooster]

why tighter than tight.. seems the seal should be ok if the washer and surfaces are new and clean.. over tightening could be bad yea?

yEA...

copper does a thing known in metallurgy as "work hardening" which means that the more pressure or vibration is is subjected to, the quicker it goes brittle and useless as a seal. The best approach is to get it to seal with the least pressure possible, at least that way you have the option of maybe being able to nip it up a tad if it starts to weep.

Also, new or rebuilt turbo's SHOULD be assembled with preassembly lube, so its only really important to splash some oil into the cartridge if its a second hand jobbie that has been sitting. New ones are usually OK to let spin until they get oil pressure, but stopping it with your fingers is a bloody good idea for second hand ones.

[66yostagea]

What I will do, as am fitting new plugs, is fit the lines loosely and then crank the motor till oil comes up the line. Then tighten.

[KiwiRS4T]

What I will do, as am fitting new plugs, is fit the lines loosely and then crank the motor till oil comes up the line. Then tighten.

Yep as people have said no need to bleed as not a closed system (so no need to loosen your oil feed pipe once its on).

A few extracts from the instructions that came with my GCG turbo today:

"Fill the oil inlet hole of the turbocharger with new engine oil and spin the compressor wheel by hand a few times - it should spin freely. Note: it is normal to feel some up and down movement on the wheels."

"Fit the oil drain line. Refill the oil inlet hole with new clean engine oil and reconnect the oil feed line."

"If possible, prevent the engine from firing and crank the engine for 10 - 15 seconds to prime oil feed. Start the engine and idle for three to four minutes before increasing speed. Check for oil and gas leaks."

" High crankcase pressure can stop oil from draining - causes leaks from turbo... Inspect and replace if necessary the engine PCV valve as this may be blocked causing crankcase pressure."

[Swiper the Fox]

i use a large syringe filled with oil and squirt it into the turbo core through the oil feed prior to start-up.

[Tangles]

when the Slide highflow went on, we brazed the old copper washer, did it up tight, and started the engine.

burbling sound, then 3L of fresh oil LOL

tighter than tight means that it didnt leak again.

been off since then at the shop for head studs, and again next week for poncams, head work etc.

just saying "tighter than tight" so as to not do what happened with mine lol

the installer (did my shocks as well) liked smoking spd so that might have something to do with it teehehe

"If possible, prevent the engine from firing and crank the engine for 10 - 15 seconds to prime oil feed. Start the engine and idle for three to four minutes before increasing speed. Check for oil and gas leaks."

yep that was sort of natural upon startup, took around 6 secs to fire up after cranking, enough time for oil to get in and lube it up.