M Danger

Its impossible to get to that last bolt on the back of the turbine housing!!!!!!!
and the 4th bolt on the turbine housing to get the cross over pipe off!!!!
ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!! who the F_CK designed this crap!!!!

Im about ready to set fire to the whole damn thing!!!!!!!!!!



AND!, the lower socket head bolt on the turbo mount stripped, now how in the hell to I get that off??? (dont you just hate it when people put back half stripped hardware?)

its almost sawsall and oxy-acetylene time!!!

where's the prozac!

JET951

take the down pipe off with the turbo, i use a bent 15mm(in the shape of a C) to get the last bolt off. also take the heat shield off too( if you havnt already)

Ski

Hence why a lot of people have gone to the 2 or 3 pc crossover pipes. The last bolt is almost a quarter of a turn each time. Did you soak the threads, nuts, bolts in PB blaster?

The turbo, if you can get the other mounting bolt out, you can twist the turbo back and forth, while holding the head of the bolt with some vise grips and that should start it moving. Now the fun part of this, if its the long one, you have to drop the steering rack a bit to change it.

JET951

what do you drop the steering rack down for? ive never had to do that before and ive worked on a few dozen 951s,

i think i just got it, left hand drive have the steering shaft in that area somewhere i guess. we dont have that problem(right hand drive)

special tool

Ski

yeah, you might be able to rotate it a bit but everyone one I've helped change we've had to drop it a bit if you have to change the long bolt out. Some might have forced it, not sure.

morn'n tool

special tool

Mornin' Ski.


Danger - keep the downpipe in place.
Its easier to use a stubby wrench for the bottom turbo x-over bolt.
Also - YOU MUST POSSES AN 18" 3/8" EXTENSION AND A U-JOINT TO WORK ON A 944.

So you have a 3 piece shopping list for today - don't even try to work on these stupid things without proper tools.

Tip - wrap your u-joint with black electrical tape to keep it straight plumb when you stick up to the 2 turbo mount allen bolts .....

PCinDC

You're getting good advice here, the downpipe is practically impossible to remove with the turbo installed. The crossover pipe is not quite as bad, it is possible to unbolt it with the turbo in. Like Ski says, this is why a lot of guys get the 2 peice crossover pipe, we can pull the turbo with both the up pipe and down pipe still attached.

These old exhaust bolts have been heat cycled thousands of times over their 20 year career and are always a pain in the *** to remove. Its easy to damage them when you remove them for the first time. Those turbo bolts are probably the worst. 8.8 Grade, allen head socket cap screw. Junk gets in the allen recess and you end up stripping the bolts. Dremel will be about your only choice, and its practically impossible to get a dremel in there from below. I found that removing the alternator helped accessing these from the top. By the way, when you replace that long turbo mount bolt, you'll be out $20+

PB Blaster is useful, I also find heat to be your best friend when trying to remove seized exhaust bolts. Get a small torch, it will aid the removal of the rest of the bolts. Heat the bolt and apply smooth and continuous torque, don't force it or you will snap/strip the bolt.

If you want to replace your old exhaust hardware, I have a few kits left.

theedge

To get the last crossover bolt you need one of these. I think Sears has them. The head clicks through 180 degrees, and the handle is bent. Makes it a total breeze getting that crossover bolt.

And dont bother trying to take the downpipe off, it pointless. Just remove the turbo and DP as a unit together and do it on the bench with the turbo clamped in a vice.

shiners780

I just removed my turbo yesterday, first time the turbo has been out, and first time I had ever removed any turbo.

1. I soaked the hardware in PB Blaster for a week. Sprayed them every other day. They came out no problem and didn't break anything.

2. I didn't read all the responses above, so I don't know if this was addressed, but: The inside lower nut on the crossover pipe is welded onto the crossover pipe flange! Since I couldn't see it really well, especially with my hand stuck up in there, it took me a while to realize this. I had to remove just the bolt, leaving the nut attached. Probably common sense to you guys, but it pissed me off spending time trying to get that nut off not knowing it was welded.

3. I removed the turbo with the downpipe still attached. It seemed easier to get the three downpipe to exhaust bolts out, rather than the four turbo to downpipe bolts.

Brian's ratchet tool looks slick. Might have to get me one of those.

ibkevin

^^^ Brian is dead on, and I don't touch the steering rack.. I have racked up some turbo install/uninstall time in the past few months.

PorscheDoc

That bottom bolt is extremely easy if you have a 15mm half moon wrench.

M Danger

Its not the bottom bolt on the X-over, its the top one, nearest the compressor, where the water pipe is bolted to the turbo.

most of these bolts had been replaced with stainless, so i didnt have any issued with getting them loose.

removing the heat shield looks like a PITA

but its the LONG bolt on the turbo mount, that stripped the head.

i think i might just cut the cross over.

ALSO, how much coolant am i supposed to spill when pulling off the water pipe??

xsboost90

i learned alot working on a motor putting the xover pipe on w/ the motor out.

BTW- do you need to remove the xover pipe to do a clutch? i have an 86 w/ a one piece- may need a clutch soon...

shiners780

Isn't the heat shield just 2 bolts? The one towards the rear I got off by reaching up from underneath with an open end wrench, that's the only way I could get to it. The one toward the front I got from above with a socket wrench with a couple extenders on it. Compared to pulling the turbo, that heat shield was fairly easy.

Re: coolant, did you drain the coolant yet? If so, just a small amount will come out of the hoses, one or two shop towels held under the hoses while pulling off will capture it all.

Good luck!