Spyder Z 15 Posted September 25, 2007 Share Posted September 25, 2007 I just bought the 280zx turbo rebuild kit off of eBay and I got instructions included with it so I thought maybe someone might find it useful when searching. I know I need this. And if anyone else has anything to add please do. 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. 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Kash Posted October 4, 2007 Share Posted October 4, 2007 Great write up, wish I had it a year ago... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bherd Posted October 7, 2007 Share Posted October 7, 2007 Thanks for the post. Did/are you rebuilding the stock turbo or a replacement? Regards, Bil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GHtokyo Posted October 7, 2007 Share Posted October 7, 2007 Did you determine if the shaft has a left-hand threaded nut or a regular one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spyder Z 15 Posted October 7, 2007 Author Share Posted October 7, 2007 I'm rebuilding a stock turbo right now. I'm in the very early stages right now. I've got the compressor off and cleaned pretty well, but I'm having a problem getting the bolts off of the compressor side. I put some liquid wrench on them hoping that will help. I broke the head off of one of the bolts so far and have 2 off. Now I need to find a drill press to dill out the old bolt. I have new bolts that came with my rebuild kit. GHtokyo wrote: Did you determine if the shaft has a left-hand threaded nut or a regular one? I'm not that far yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bherd Posted October 7, 2007 Share Posted October 7, 2007 I JUST got in from pulling the turbo after having spent 3 years welding/restoring and 10 minutes driving. The good news is it went right through inspection, the bad was a noise in the turbo and no boost. Turbo was one from a Z guy off ebay that he kitted up some things (3 years ago). I now know that the marks inside the intake housing were rub marks and when I pulled the housing there were two chipped fins and the spindle was not straight. So guess I am beyond a rebuild, but nice to know I wasn't nuts when I expected more from the car's performance. Bil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spyder Z 15 Posted October 7, 2007 Author Share Posted October 7, 2007 Did you determine if the shaft has a left-hand threaded nut or a regular one? I just got back from the garage, it's a regular one. Now I'm trying to get the shaft out, but it doesn't want to move. Time for the search button. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teknomage Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 Well it looks like it is time to rebuild my stock turbo, I was wondering if any one out there had links to locations offering rebuild kits for our stock 280zx turbos. Also what type of turbo is the stock 280zx turbo? Is it a straight T3? A T3/T4 hybrid? Or something other special? If I opt to just replace the turbo rather than rebuilding what turbo's will bolt right in without needing to modify manifold or exhaust? a T3? A T3/T4 hybrid? What are the advantages of the T3/T4 hybrid? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bherd Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 I am no expert and in fact suffer from poor memory, two years ago when I was working on my turbo I was familiar with the relevant facts and knew the stock for example. It isn't a T3 I don't believe, something like a T26. I do remember that I ended up getting all of my questions answered by gpopshop guys at 479-751-7966 or google them. They sell rebuild kits and do rebuilds and seemed to have no qualms about spending time on the phone explaining everything up front. In my case I went with a center housing I could upgrade later without having to commit now to ball bearings but I did opt for the 360 degree thrust bearing. Turns out parts of my previous post were wrong, nothing was chipped those were balancing grinds I had seen, the problem with that particular turbo was that it wasn’t a good combination to begin with and had prematurely worn the bearing, which is why the guy was selling it in the first place. As far as upgrading, you may need to think some things through. More air in the form of a larger turbo means the need for more air flow capacity, in my case I had the motor out anyways and had the heads ported and added a 60mm throttlebody. More air means more fuel needed, as in modifying the system to widen the pulse for the injectors or a new ECU or both. I had looked at a Perfect Power piggyback but went with a Megasquirt because I like building things and wanted the control, I have 36 pound injectors ready to put in. With ore air you also want to watch out for detonation, I added an intercooler and am working on the det sensor integration with the Megasquirt. Good luck, Bil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teknomage Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 So what is the normal lifespan of a rebuilt stock turbo? Tell me more about this center section that was upgradeable to ball bearings? Was it water cooled as well? What are the merits, plus and minuses of going to a water cooled center section? Thanks a bunch for the contact info, I will get a hold of those guys, and discuss my options. As far as my Z goes it is not difficult to go with more turbo, it is Diesel, a LD28 based Z and the fuel injection pump has an aneroid that adjusts the fuel injection pulse proportional to the air pressure density in the intake manifold after my intercooler. Everything in the LD28 is burly to handle the detonation of compression ignition. I seem to recall having read a case history that the LD28 looses its head gasket at around 20 psi of boost, I have a long way to go to get to those levels, with the stock turbo and waste gate, and the unthrottled LD28 engine that gulps all the air I give it, I am seeing the engine start building boost just above idle, by 65MPH steady easy level cruiz about 3 psi, and at 85MPH steady easy level cruiz about 5psi of boost. I am not looking to go real wild, just reasonable performance, good mileage, and not feel altitude sickness in the mountain passes I regularly traverse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bherd Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 I _think_ the main thing of water cooled is that you don't have to worry about the turbo cooking and coking up during a cooldown as much, I thought it was to cool it when running when I started but think that research showed it was for when there wasn't enough oil flow to cool. There are experts on the board that I would defere to. The guys I menetion can easily answer these questions. Bil I expect the rebuild to outlast the life of the rest of the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B00STDZ Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 The stock 280zx Turbo is an Airesearch T3. No larger turbo is a direct "bolt on". It is easier to upgrade to a t3/t4 because you dont have to modify the exhaust flange on the exhaust manifold. How is a t3/t4 better? Pushes more efficient boost.. Had to clear up some of the misinformation... As far as rebuilding a turbo, if you have performance in mind(if you plan on pushing the motor), I would just buy a new one, or a very good condition used. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MazterDizazter Posted March 15, 2010 Share Posted March 15, 2010 So you can use a T3 rebuild kit from Airesearch/Garrett or is this a Nissan-specific thing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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