CurlyDE

Has anyone here ever rebuilt a turbo? I recently purchased a stock '87 951 that is going through oil fairly quickly (about 3 qts every 1200 miles). It has never left a spot, but has a ton of oil through-out the intake plumbing. So, back to the original question ... has anyone every rebuilt a turbo? Is this something that I should not try? I'm fairly new to this, but am willing to try (just about) anything once.

slevy951

I've never done one myself. But it's my understanding you need a special machine to properly spin balance the impeller. There's a place in Oklahoma City, OK, Turbo Technologies, that my wrench has been using lately with good success. I think they charge $275 for a K26/6. Email me if you want their address. I'm sure I have it somewhere.

IceShark

Yes, rebuilding a turbo is not a do it yourself project due to the tolerances it takes on a turbine spinning up to 100,000 RPMs.

If you have to rebuild the turbo, this is the time to consider an upgraded turbo. There are many threads which will give you a good starting point on educating yourself.

Dave E

You could also be pulling oil past the valve stem seals, as this was the case in my 110,000 mi. engine.Head rebuilds are fairly inexpensive (+- 500_ ) and a good time to upgrade to a higher flow turbo.Oil in the intake plumbing is not a sure fire indicator of bad turbo seals, as there are crankcase breathers that are plumbed to the intake tract as well. In short, what I mean is the whole system needs inspection.

CurlyDE

Thanks for the information guys ... it's much appreciated. Guess I will be checking into either having someone rebuild it or upgrading. Thanks again.

Kool

Like Curly I also have oil in my intake lines. My car burns about 1.5 qt. per oil change which is 3,000 mi. I have my car half way apart right now and when I found the oil I instantly thought turbo leak and began shopping for a new turbo. Am I jumping the gun? How can I positively figure out what is leaking? According to my mechanic a quart and a half of oil consumption is pretty normal for a 951. Any thoughts? <img src="graemlins/bigok.gif" border="0" alt="[thumbsup]" />

Bri Bro

I have the upper/lower engine apart due to oil leaks at the turbo. I found oil in the intake, that didn't bother me, the slow oil leak that was outside the turbo did.

I would suggest that you have the turbo rebuilt &lt;$300 or upgraded $1-1.5K. I don't know about you but I had to drill out one of attaching bolts to the turbo and I NEVER want to take off the exhaust system again. I also purchased a Turbo gasket set so I can replace all the seals while I can get to them.

Send me a privite message and I can send you some links to Turbo rebuild shops.