TE62 REBUILD
- Thread starter TireFryer
- Start date
I'm sure there are alot of options, but I'll share my experience. When I first acquired my GN I needed the turbo rebuilt. I found this place: G-Pop Shop
Its a small shop and was very easy to work with. Great communication and I believe it took them about a week to do the work once they had my turbo.
Its a small shop and was very easy to work with. Great communication and I believe it took them about a week to do the work once they had my turbo.
Anthony P
sharing knowledge with those who care to listen
- Joined
- Jan 24, 2007
Jaffer, being centrally located between coasts, you have several options...I'll add a few more....
like mblum noted above, G-Pop shop is a nice family run business in Arkansas.
My go-to's are Limit Engineering (point of contact is Chopper) in Arizona and Bison's Performance in Connecticut. links below.
https://www.limitengineering.com/
Bison's Performance
Yes, you also have the option of Precision turbo & Engine in Indiana. But PTE has forgotten a lot about the turbo Buicks since Harry H. was bought out. Glad to see Patrick is back at PTE to get the techs to stop saying PTE never built this or that unit for the turbo Buicks.
A lot about servicing, freshening up, or rebuilding is availability of parts. Limit has a good stock pile of used but 100% usable parts to sub vs. new parts that are unavailable. Bison has similar and is willing to make a hybrid piece for you if needed. you'll have to discuss your specific example with each of the shops.
remember when shipping a turbo, use lots of corrugated cardboard layers inside the box on all sides so as to provide a crush zone when the carrier drops the box over and over again. too many folks think one or two layers is enough when you really need at least an inch thick of protection all around. the carriers are tough on heavier items.
like mblum noted above, G-Pop shop is a nice family run business in Arkansas.
My go-to's are Limit Engineering (point of contact is Chopper) in Arizona and Bison's Performance in Connecticut. links below.
https://www.limitengineering.com/
Bison's Performance
Yes, you also have the option of Precision turbo & Engine in Indiana. But PTE has forgotten a lot about the turbo Buicks since Harry H. was bought out. Glad to see Patrick is back at PTE to get the techs to stop saying PTE never built this or that unit for the turbo Buicks.
A lot about servicing, freshening up, or rebuilding is availability of parts. Limit has a good stock pile of used but 100% usable parts to sub vs. new parts that are unavailable. Bison has similar and is willing to make a hybrid piece for you if needed. you'll have to discuss your specific example with each of the shops.
remember when shipping a turbo, use lots of corrugated cardboard layers inside the box on all sides so as to provide a crush zone when the carrier drops the box over and over again. too many folks think one or two layers is enough when you really need at least an inch thick of protection all around. the carriers are tough on heavier items.
Anthony P
sharing knowledge with those who care to listen
- Joined
- Jan 24, 2007
thought of a couple more odds and ends....
for a street car that's just cruisin' around on the way to a show, the standard 270 degree thrust collar and regular carbon seal is fine, as I see it.
for a street / strip car where you could be swapping out fuel type at the track as well as ECM / race chip, tires, and tune, the need for a 360 degree thrust collar comes about.
then there is the oil seal - carbon seal or fitting of dynamic seal. Bison will not construct a unit with a carbon seal, even if it's just for a garage queen stocker. With a little machining and adaptation, he uses a dynamic seal. it's overkill on a stock turbo at factory boost levels in my opinion but when you're trying to extract every bit of performance from the turbo, it should be part of the conversation with whomever is doing the service work.
a shop that is familiar with the turbo buicks can be of benefit vs. choosing any turbo(diesel) authorized sales & service center that will just say you have an old turbo with old tech, why not just buy a new one with the latest and greatest tech.
for a street car that's just cruisin' around on the way to a show, the standard 270 degree thrust collar and regular carbon seal is fine, as I see it.
for a street / strip car where you could be swapping out fuel type at the track as well as ECM / race chip, tires, and tune, the need for a 360 degree thrust collar comes about.
then there is the oil seal - carbon seal or fitting of dynamic seal. Bison will not construct a unit with a carbon seal, even if it's just for a garage queen stocker. With a little machining and adaptation, he uses a dynamic seal. it's overkill on a stock turbo at factory boost levels in my opinion but when you're trying to extract every bit of performance from the turbo, it should be part of the conversation with whomever is doing the service work.
a shop that is familiar with the turbo buicks can be of benefit vs. choosing any turbo(diesel) authorized sales & service center that will just say you have an old turbo with old tech, why not just buy a new one with the latest and greatest tech.
The service and communication I received form them is rarely seen in todays world. They called me when my turbo arrived and called me again a few days later once they had the turbo disassembled and diagnosed.
Whomever you decide to go with on the rebuild follow Anthony P's advice on shipping. I ship a lot of items UPS/Fedex in my business, many of them being high value items over 20 lbs. Here is my fool proof way to shipping stuff and having it not only arrive at it's final destination, but arrive intact with no damage.
-Like Anthony P mentioned use a lot of corrugated cardboard. Avoid any "bubble wrap", foam, or crumpled up paper, it just doesn't hold up with heavier items.
-Pack the item on all 6 sides with this cardboard. Example, just don't lay the item in the box and fill the remaining space with cardboard.
-Pack it tight, so it cannot move at all. No movement is key with heavier items.
-Double box it. Yes this is overkill but it has saved me dozens of UPS claims (which take can months to a year to resolve if they ever do get resolved-seriously) The double box acts like armor on the outside.
-Tape, tape and more tape. Not crappy household duct tape or masking tape, but a quality (min of 2mil) shipping tape.
-Finally the test. Hold the box out shoulder high and drop it on a concrete floor 6-8 times. If it cannot withstand this then there is a good change of being damaged. You would never treat your turbo like this, but the carrier will, they don't give a shit.
This is how I train my employees to ship items.
Whomever you decide to go with on the rebuild follow Anthony P's advice on shipping. I ship a lot of items UPS/Fedex in my business, many of them being high value items over 20 lbs. Here is my fool proof way to shipping stuff and having it not only arrive at it's final destination, but arrive intact with no damage.
-Like Anthony P mentioned use a lot of corrugated cardboard. Avoid any "bubble wrap", foam, or crumpled up paper, it just doesn't hold up with heavier items.
-Pack the item on all 6 sides with this cardboard. Example, just don't lay the item in the box and fill the remaining space with cardboard.
-Pack it tight, so it cannot move at all. No movement is key with heavier items.
-Double box it. Yes this is overkill but it has saved me dozens of UPS claims (which take can months to a year to resolve if they ever do get resolved-seriously) The double box acts like armor on the outside.
-Tape, tape and more tape. Not crappy household duct tape or masking tape, but a quality (min of 2mil) shipping tape.
-Finally the test. Hold the box out shoulder high and drop it on a concrete floor 6-8 times. If it cannot withstand this then there is a good change of being damaged. You would never treat your turbo like this, but the carrier will, they don't give a shit.
This is how I train my employees to ship items.
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2011
Not really worth it, after spending $500 for a rebuild its worth $350 on resale unless it has a garrett .63, hold out for the new turbo with the billet wheel
TireFryer
The New Kid
- Joined
- Dec 21, 2001
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2011
But if your on a tight budget the te62 will still work
Anthony P
sharing knowledge with those who care to listen
- Joined
- Jan 24, 2007
After seeing the pics of the turbo, this is where I'd suggest contacting Bison to discuss what he can make for you. TE62 has a 60-1 compressor wheel. don't remember the turbine wheel specs from memory but it's the biggest wheel combination for the stock bearing housing, IIRC.
there's no damage to the wheels (doesn't seem to have the thrust knocked out of it. unknown about shaft wear)....heck, the turbine wheel is clean. I was expecting to see the vanes black with coked oil from what you described as burning oil.
Perhaps swapping to a Garrett .63 housing and freshening up the bearing housing components is all that's needed for street car with your combination. or a different turbine wheel in a Garrett housing with your current compressor cover and comp wheel.
In the past, Bison's posted on his fbook business page various turbos he's put together from customer's good, no longer needed parts from various upgrades. That's a phone call or DM I'd make to him this week. no reason to discard your good parts when they just need a tweak to make a great unit for you. no need to spend top dollar on a new spec turbo when something can be built to better suit your needs by just swapping out stuff on the hot side.
there's no damage to the wheels (doesn't seem to have the thrust knocked out of it. unknown about shaft wear)....heck, the turbine wheel is clean. I was expecting to see the vanes black with coked oil from what you described as burning oil.
Perhaps swapping to a Garrett .63 housing and freshening up the bearing housing components is all that's needed for street car with your combination. or a different turbine wheel in a Garrett housing with your current compressor cover and comp wheel.
In the past, Bison's posted on his fbook business page various turbos he's put together from customer's good, no longer needed parts from various upgrades. That's a phone call or DM I'd make to him this week. no reason to discard your good parts when they just need a tweak to make a great unit for you. no need to spend top dollar on a new spec turbo when something can be built to better suit your needs by just swapping out stuff on the hot side.
Last edited:
TireFryer
The New Kid
- Joined
- Dec 21, 2001
Stuck a bore scope up the test pipe. Best pics I could get… do I even need a rebuild? Or is my assumption wrong? Here’s what all the plugs looked like too. They don’t look oil fouled or anything which is why I assumed turbo… but the turbo doesn’t look oily… I’m stumped View attachment 
SCOOBY DOO
BASED CANADIAN PATRIOT!!
- Joined
- Feb 18, 2007
Shutting the engine off the oil will will go down the valve guides and sit on the pistons. Fire it up and it burns it off. Vacuum is highest at idle so it draws the oil down the guides. My guess would be the seals or the guides. If there's no oil in the DP then it's prolly not the turbo.
Anthony P
sharing knowledge with those who care to listen
- Joined
- Jan 24, 2007
I think Scooby's on to something...that would be my next thought after seeing the pics and now reading I missed stuff in "the Kid's" concurrent engine thread. At 168K miles, I'd also conclude there's some wear. Plugs are clean over long term so I second what Scooby noted.
If you have no future use for the factory 8445 heads currently on the engine and you want to get rid of them, you might be close enough to Jason B. (turboNasty) to drop them off. His introductory thread highlighting the ported heads he is developing as an alternative to Champion (now that Tom's passed) was lost from the site's 2021 crash. maybe something to consider when the project is further along.
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