cLAYH

Well it looks like the flutter caused by my 12cm housing has taken out my bearings. I have a small amount of forward and back movement and probably close to 1/16" of side to side movement.

I'm supposed to leave on a big trip to Alaska on Friday so I need to find something locally(Calgary, AB) and fast.

I have a stock 18.5 housing, a 16cm housing and a 12cm(with 3" outlet).

I am currently running the stock turbo with the 12cm housing.

In the local paper I see a '99 1 ton dually being parted out, will the turbo off of it be of any use to me? What would be a fair price for it?

Or should I just get a cartridge replacement and go back to the 16cm housing?

What is the price range for cartridges? How much would a whole new turbo be?

Alec

An hx-35 from a 99 should work just fine. I think it is in '01 that they changed to the cast in elbow on the rear plate for the waste-gated housing . . . If you get one from a late model truck, just make sure that it is NOT an hy-35, with the band clamp holding the exhaust housing on. You can use any of your current housings with any of the hx-35's, regardless of what they came off of. I would swap to a turbo with Map Width Enhancement (a turbo from a '94 on truck) and keep the 12cm housing. You won't have to give up the quick spool, and you won't have any more surge problems.

Value depends on the milage. I would say under $300 US.

Good luck.

TexasHardcore

I wouldn't pay more than $200 for a used turbo, no matter the mileage...You won't know how well it works til it's bolted up.

At the turbo shop we bought cores from the local salvage yards...some cores were in perfect shape internally, and some were destroyed...they all cost the same to us....$10each.

Try and get the HX-35 off that '99. Then sell the extra turbine housings to make up for the cost of the turbo.

Good luck, and be safe on the trip!

wannadiesel

I third the recommendation to get the turbo off the '99. I'm running a 2nd gen turbo and I love it!

cLAYH

Well I took my turbo off last night and brought it to work for a second opinion(one of the other mechanics used to rebuild turbos). He said it was fine the play I was feeling was from grabbing the shaft at both ends and rocking it back and forth which I found out is normal.

But it wasn't a total waste of time, as I was pulling the turbo I noticed that my exhaust gaskets were blown out. Turns out that was my problem, leaky exhaust gaskets that were allowing exhaust to escape and was not getting full spool up of the turbo, and that was causing the strange noise I was hearing as well.

Anyone elase have this problem? Are threre performance gaskets? The FSM calls for 32FT/# of torque on the manifold bolts. Seems a bit low but I guess its to account for heat expansion.

Thanks for the help, I'm glad I don't have to cough up the dough for a new turbo!

Bushy

This is a very common problem for us guys.... especially when we try to pump 30/35/40/45 psi boost thru the system.
The thing with the exhaust gaskets is partly due to uneven expansion and contraction of the head and exhaust manifold.
You should also enlarge two of the bolt holes in the stock exhaust manifold.
I think they are the two at about #3/4 cylinder.
You can tell real easy because they (2 of them) are smaller than all the rest.
Just find a drill bit barely one size larger and then run it thru the two smaller holes.
Next, use some anti-sieze on the bolts... not alot, just a tad.
Torque down the manifold bolts, turbo bolts etc then fire up the truck and take if for an easy round the block to let it reach operation temp. When your done, park it and let it cool to warm to the touch.... then, retorque your bolts to spec.
That is about all you can do to these things to help reduce the gasket issue.
OH... why not do some porting on the manifold while it's off too... easy does it.

If you do this you want to work on the manifold inlets/outlet.
Just smooth out the surfaces inside and bevel the very edge of each runner inlet to about 45*.
Do not go overboard or you can end up reducing velocity and making things less efficient than when you started.

It's dirty work but a it does help a bit with spooling and EGT.

bob..

cLAYH

Thanks for the tips. All of my bolts are the same size. No smaller ones. The worst gaskets were the #1 and #4 cylinders.

I guess its just something I'll try to keep an eye on and check the torque occasionly.

TexasHardcore

Be sure to prime the turbo before starting the truck. By priming, I mean to leave the oil inlet tube to be the last thing to re-install. Pour a bit of motor oil into the inlet then re-install the hose and be on your way.

Glad you found the problem wasnt as costly as you expected, especially before your trip.

I'd grab that HX-35 and bolt it up regardless...that extra power can be contagious. But also it'd be nice to keep the stock H1C as a spare, "just in case".

Good luck on your trip.