Turbo rebuild last night

I had to wait for some paint to dry on a surfboard so I took a break from the board shop and decided to start the turbo rebuild - which ended up in a complete rebuild. Once started it's really easy to service them, they have a clever design and with some patience, the right tools and optionally a guide it doesn't take much time. From that I started to disassemble the turbo from the engine until it was complete again was about 2 hours including coffee break.
So, go for it if you need a better turbo! I bought a repair kit on eBay for a very good price that included all parts needed, and even more. The kit is delivered with all parts needed for any GT15 turbo so there will be heaps of pieces left.
I used following tools:
 12 and 10 mm 12-star sockets.
 10 and 8 mm wrenches.
 Torx size 30 and 25.
 A flat screw driver.
 A small screw driver for rinsing the internals.

I printed a guide from the Internet on a turbo rebuild, it was not the same turbo as I did but was good enough as a reminder. Then, go!

I found a crack in the exhaust turbine housing. It could have happened when I punched the housing of but I don't think so. Anyway, after some investigation I decided to use the housing. The crack is not critical and if pieces will come off they will not damage the engine, only the turbine.


Next exercise will be investigation of crank and cam positions.

I just like this picture

That's all.

Too few hours left...

Been too busy to take care of the engine swap and last days I've been up north visiting family. Well, if you need more hours with daylight you better move to the northen parts of Sweden. The picture is taken a rainy night - 30 minutes after midnight.

I did have time to fix the front plastics last week, some cracks here and there so I reinforced everything with polyester and glass fibre and then painted with a new layer of half matte black. Pretty good result I think. I also managed to finally mount the central locking system. The door locks are completely removed, the handles are filled with chemical metal and repainted. That turned out pretty good too. Now I'm able to park outside the garage again. :)

I'm pretty busy coming weeks before the family leaves on holiday, so the swap has to wait a little bit more. It seems I might be alone one week and the darn I'll be working in the garage! Maybe I'll get some hours free before and then I'll do the turbo rebuild.

 

Before 'n' after

  

Well, this is how it turned out. I'm very satisfied with the result and the driving is now so much better than with the old slushy tyres. I'm just going to make some center caps (the originals doesn't fit with the grease cup) then the wheel project is done. I think I'll make something in carbon fibre like a uge center bolt cover. In the end that's what I do anyway everytime I'm in the workshop. :)

To you guys outside Sweden, these pictures were taken at 10 am last night. When I went home past midnight it was still bright.

Finally tyres done!

Well, it was about time. I've finally got the longer studs and bolts I've been waiting for - just to find out that they don't fit...



The splines are different, the splines are wider and the end radius too wide causing the studs to not go to the bottom.

Anyway, the differences were "managable" and with some grinding and brute force (sledge is the word here) they got into the hubs anyway.

So this morning I went to a tyre store and got the tyres mounted. I was a little bit worried that the tyres should cause problem, they're C-class tyres and stiff like crazy and just a tiny bit wider than the 7 inch wide rims. In the end it turned out pretty good! Instead of have the usual "bulky" fat heavy duty tyre look the sides were pushed out and the rubber got straight. I wouldn't say they look like racing tyres, but much better than I expected.

Tonight - put 'em on the pickup time!

Turbo rebuild kit

Turbo rebuilding weekend! :)

Spacers needed, and other bolts.

The rims are 16x7" ET 45, and it's known that the ET is too high to fit directly. The images are taken with 10 mm spacers, so the effective ET is now at 35. It seems many people are using spacers to get down at ET 30 or even lower, but I don't see any other reason than getting the wheel further out (which on the other hand looks better on the Caravelle). For me it's enough with a moderate adustment. I'll go with 10 mm in front and 5 mm in the rear. The rear spacer is actually not needed but the bolts I've found are long enough and I have the spacers. Easy choice.

I think I'll make new center caps instead of modifying the old ones. One idea was to pop out the VW logo and replace it with something else. Like a fake center nut. But if I'm going to make the fake nut I can make new caps. Why not go the whole way?..

Wheel fixin' part III

Clear coated!

Kristal 2K HS clear, a thin sticky layer and one thick on top.

Wheel fixin' part II, diesel pump testing

Just waiting for clear coat. Super nice result!

I couldn't resist, I had to fix the wheel right away. Zinc priming, some putty where the road salt had eaten the aluminium, one layer of filler and then colour. When I sprayed the black at the inside of the rims I changed my mind, the outer side is now gray metallic instead of the deep black. The image doesn't really show the real look, the rim in the background is more natural than the one in the front. I'll clear coat them today with 2K UHS clear, and then it's time to add the tyres. 

 
 

The updated mount bracket works well and the 1Z cam belt wheel fits the pump, the belt line is still parallel so it's really spot on. I had to open up the belt cover too (the black shield in the pictures) to get the pump in place. I found though that the outlets on the pump is longer than the old ones, so I have to move them over from the old pump. By doing that I can reuse to old fuel lines.

Hmmm... Is this TDC on a 1Z?

After milling, before paint

 

Now two of the rims have a center that will fit on the front hubs. I like milling with index tables. :)

The bracket for the diesel pump is also opened up. The pump goes in nice and easy. It's really awkward to rig the bracket in the mill so I skipped the mount holes. Either I do them by hand or I'll open up the holes in the pump. The need to be "elliptic" so the pump can rotate a degree or two while still mounted for timing adjustment.

I left the wheels in the morning and could pick them up already in the afternoon, blasted and ready for some paint! They look relly good and I think they will be nice with black metallic. Priming, filler and painting-time, are they on the pickup in the weekend?..