TE 44 rebuild

[Super6]

i started taking my te44 apart to rebuild today.it had a bad oil seal on the exhaust side. Went to take the compressor wheel nut off and it will not move. i marked the turbine and compressor wheel and now it doesn't line up the shaft has twisted that much trying to get the compressor nut off..i know the turbo is junk now but has anyone else run into this? thanks Bob

 

[Jerryl]

i started taking my te44 apart to rebuild today.it had a bad oil seal on the exhaust side. Went to take the compressor wheel nut off and it will not move. i marked the turbine and compressor wheel and now it doesn't line up the shaft has twisted that much trying to get the compressor nut off..i know the turbo is junk now but has anyone else run into this? thanks Bob

Did you verify if the nut is a left handed thread?

 

[Super6]

right handed

looks like it is right handed to me. i tried both ways with no luck...how tight should that nut be?.................................................Bob

 

[Jerryl]

looks like it is right handed to me. i tried both ways with no luck...how tight should that nut be?.................................................Bob

18 inch pounds plus 90 degrees.
http://www.gnttype.org/techarea/turbo/turborebuild.html

 

[GNBeswick]

My TE44 has the exact same problem...it was brand new with 500 miles. Im too scared to take it apart. I tried emailing limit engineering about how much it would cost to rebuild it, but never got anything back.

 

[Super6]

Limit

That's where this one is going. i bought it off the board and it looks new. i guess i will get it upgraded to a 60. Thanks Jerryl for the torque specs. mine is tighter than that i believe.....................................Bob

 

[GNBeswick]

Did you get an estimate on the cost? I just want the seal fixed..

 

[Super6]

Limit

i am going to try to call tomorrow but i think a rebuild is around $300...i will post back.....................................................................Bob

 

[Jerryl]

i am going to try to call tomorrow but i think a rebuild is around $300...i will post back.....................................................................Bob

$325 std rebuild, if not additional parts are needed.

 

[GNBeswick]

$300 just to replace a seal?! Jesus....thats a little more than half the price of the turbo.

 

[jasjamz]

My te 45 is there now and I was told upper 300's for seals and bearings. But i got more damage than that...

 

[BAXZDAD]

limit

i had 61 rebuilt and complete center section replaced they are fast turnaround also....great to deal with no sitting on shelf....A++++++

 

[dejacky]

that does seem quiet expensive just to replace a seal. why do they charge so much? do they like ripping customers off or something?

Limitengineering quoted me about $425 to have my TE-44 rebuilt and the guy I talked to was very rude on the phone. He had a very careless and condescending tone.

 

[Super6]

dejacky

i don't know who you talked to but i talked to a guy named Chopper from Limit and he was very nice. i have talked to John Craig before and he was nice. They are the best and customer service is great. To take my te44 to a te62 is like 6 bills ....i am undecided at the moment as to what i am going to do .....................................................Bob

 

[GNBeswick]

Hmm...$300 is depressing. Do any of the vendors sell turbo rebuild kits? Or really just the exhaust side seal? Might as well try to do it myself if Im gonna have to shell out the same amount of money whether its just one small seal or the whole damn thing thats broken.

 

[Super6]

te44

Well i got the compressor nut off. i heated it up with a torch . it had loctite on it and it is left handed threads(thanks Jerryl). i thought i was going to break the shaft cause it twisted a long way before the nut finally came off. i had just said i was going to get it off no matter what. i really wanted to try this turbo with my combo to see how much i could get out of it. i think i am going to send Limit the turbine shaft,compressor wheel, and let them make the call to replace the turbine shaft or not. i am probably looking at 2 bills or so and a good learning experience ......................Bob

 

[GNBeswick]

So did you confirm that it was indeed the oil seal that broke? Do you have a picture of it that I could perhaps use as reference?

 

[Super6]

GNAsuka

So did you confirm that it was indeed the oil seal that broke? Do you have a picture of it that I could perhaps use as reference?

i haven't took it all the way apart. i will probably get around to it this weekend and i will send you some pics. it did have a bunch of crud around the exhaust side(burnt oil). i will keep you posted on my progress........Bob

 

[GNBeswick]

Ah ok, I took the exhaust housing off my turbo, did yours look like mine? I really hope Ill just be able to do it myself and not break the damn thing.

 

[Jerryl]

Well i got the compressor nut off. i heated it up with a torch . it had loctite on it and it is left handed threads(thanks Jerryl). i thought i was going to break the shaft cause it twisted a long way before the nut finally came off. i had just said i was going to get it off no matter what. i really wanted to try this turbo with my combo to see how much i could get out of it. i think i am going to send Limit the turbine shaft,compressor wheel, and let them make the call to replace the turbine shaft or not. i am probably looking at 2 bills or so and a good learning experience ......................Bob

***Disclaimer***
The following advice is from actual recent personal experience and may not apply to anyone else. You may choose to rebuild the turbo at your own risk based on other writings and experiences. Don't say I did not warn you though.

Bob,
You may have better luck, but I would caution against rebuilding your own turbo. If the balancing is off, the turbo won't last more than 10 miles! Don't ask It will be a LOT more expensive than just the wheel and the rebuild kit.

Think about;
An oil filled motor, ruined O2 and CAT, a blown HG, a broken compressor wheel (from contact of the excessive play), damages housing, downtime, gaskets, time, yadi yada. (Not to mention the embarrassment of filling up a 4 lane highway with SMOKE!)