zogster

I'm having a very frustrating time trying to get the long turbo mounting bolt back in place... any tips?

Having got the turbo roughly in place, it wasn't lined up well enough to get the two mounting bolts in, so I started loosely doing up the exhaust in and out flange nuts. (I'm doing this solo, so having someone jiggle the turbo from above while I work from below isn;t an option.) That allowed me to get the shorter mounting bolt in, but having got this far I can't make any progress with the long bolt.

It doesn't matter whether the shorter bolt is loose or tight, the long one just won't go in. I'm sure the bolt is in good shape.

mahoney944

Take your alternator out and you can get to those bolts easily from the front top of your engine bay. No need for crazy extensions and swivels from underneath . There should be enough room to swing the alternator out of the way.

White_951

It's been awhile, but as I recall I had to get the long bolt in first, the space you have to work in is very small as you know...what I did was use a few extensions so I could turn the bolt from below all the stuff that converges around the turbo while adjusting the turbo fitment with my other hand...it surely is a PITA....good luck....

zogster

Thanks fellas.

Hadn't thought of moving/removing the alternator... that's a good tip. And a bit easier right now as I've removed the alternator and PS belts in order to check balance belt alignment.

I think I'll leave it till tomorrow before I have another go... I have a feeling that the trick will be in freeing up the turbo to move around a little, and if I'm working from above I think I'll be able to manhandle the turbo enough to get things aligned properly.

By 951 standards, I'd say using a couple of extensions from below was actually pretty easy - the tricky bit is getting the bolt started in the thread of the turbo body.

raleighBahn

I had my son (9) push and thread the bolt while i pulled the turbo towards the crossover. If i recall, the crossover applies pressure to the turbo (pushing it offline from its holes), so you have to counteract it. You should be able to see the misalignment looking from above through the hole.

Tom M'Guinn

Loosen or remove the 4 bolts holding the steering rack to the cross member and you can slide that long bolt right in. That's by far the easiest way I found -- two minutes and done. You might mark the cross member first so the rack goes back on without shifting right or left.

zogster

Job done!

Access from below wasn't so much of a problem - one of the advantages of a RHD vehicle ;-) Didn't have to touch the steering rack.

Removing the alternator to give more room to work from above helped... but so did loosening the flange nuts, and removing the exhaust input bolts and the short mounting bolt, to give more room to move the turbo.