It was really simple. I took the turbine housing and compressor housing off. Each has a band clamp like the one holding the exhaust downpipe to the turbo outlet. That's it.

Just take off the clamps and tap with a soft hammer. When I had it apart (3 pieces- turbine housing, compressor housing, center section/bearing housing) I wiped the fins clean on both sides. Also I filled the turbine housing with seafoam and kroil mixed and left it sitting overnight, then I blew it out with air and put some of that purple power industrial soap concentrate in it. Boy it was dirty. After cleaning it up I ported the turbine intake flange that bolts onto the manifold so that it matched the gasket better.

The compressor housing didn't seem too dirty but the compressor fins needed wiping down.

The housings have indexing pins so you can't clock it wrong or anything. One tip: before removal of turbo, turn key on, then unplug turbo wiring pigtail (down by the block), then turn key back off. This retracts the VGT mechanism and if you don't do that I don't know if it is hard to line things up or not.

But it is really simple. The only trouble I had was getting the oil return flange bolted back on the bottom of the turbo when I put it back on. It's on a flex tube and is kinda hard to line up, but if you have a helper it would make it pretty easy.

One last thing, I primed my turbo oil inlet with an oil can, and left the return unplugged and started the engine until I could see oil shooting out of the return hole to the ground, then I bolted everything up. That way I knew it was primed and pumping oil. Don't know if that is necessary, but that's the way I did it.

Charles

 

Hey im having the same problems, could you tell me how you took the turbo off? im having a hard time getting it off the manifold. how did you get the back side nuts off? did you buy a rebuild kit? or just clean it?

 

get the inner rear one off first, the other three are easy. nuts are metric, seems like 15mm. was a long time ago. may be helpful to buy a cheap boxed wrench once you double check the size to get it right, then heat and put a bend in it. sorry my memory isn't better.

 

Can you tell me more about how you cleaned it? did you have to use a rebuild kit? your my only hope on this, i cant find anyone else whos done this anywhere, you tube or other forums. i gotta pick your brain haha, sorry to bug ya, i know its been almost 3 years.

 

my post from 7/21/10 is how i did it. the turbo, for your purposes, consists of 3 parts. the compressor housing (front), the center section (middle), and the turbine housing (rear).

When you get the turbo off the manifold, mark the 3 sections with a punch or file for your own comfort level. Then remove the v band clamps and the 3 sections come apart or can be tapped apart with a soft hammer or block of wood. The match marking probably isn't necessary because there are indexing fixtures as i recall so they only go back together one way. mark it anyway.

when you get the three pieces apart, soak the turbine housing and blow it out with compressed air over and over again. i used purple power cleaner you can get anywhere. don't be stingy with it. wipe everything you can reach, keep running more cleaner through it till it quits coming out black. blow it good and dry when you are through. i started the cleaning process by soaking the turbine housing in a 5 gal bucket with enough cleaner poured in to cover it completely. i think i left it in there a few hours. just stay patient and keep cleaning it with new fresh cleaner til you can tell its nice and clean.

the compressor housing i was a little be more careful with and wiped it down real good and blew it with compressed air.

the center section isn't dirty so you don't need to mess with it. keep it clean and covered and out of the way while messing with the rest.

when clean, put the three pieces back together with the marks aligned, put the v band clamps back on in the same position they were in when you took them off, and bolt the turbo back up. i primed the oil inlet line with a squirt can so it would be getting lubed right away.

reread the old post about turning the ignition on before unplugging wiring pigtail before turbo removal, and taking off oil, water, and return lines is pretty self explanatory, but get a good light and make sure you have located and removed all lines before taking turbo loose. get a helper for the oil return line when you put it back together. was a little hard to line up right.

my turbo has stayed functional with no problems for almost 3 years since i cleaned it. and i do run with exhaust brake on all the time because i heard it lessens buildup on turbine fins.

good luck.

Charles

 

how long did it take to remove and clean the turbo?

 

Today i pulled my turbo on my 6.7 4500, and didnt turn the ignition on and unplug? oops figured it out later after thinking of it. And found Cab post. Does any one know what position would it have been in? I removed the Motor housing to make it easier to get out and didnt think of the position of the gear and motor?

 

I am getting to be almost 4 years down the road from when I did this but...

I guess if you hung the center section of turbo from the manifold bolt hole with a stiff wire, plugged in pigtail, turned on ignition, unplugged pigtail, and then removed and reassembled turbo, you be back in the same spot as if you'd done it in the first place. Be SUPER careful not to bang the compressor fins against anything or let it fall. Much better if you have a helper to turn key so you can hold turbo and observe if anything clicks etc. Good luck and take your time.

Just reread your post and see you removed motor housing from turbo. Try same thing as above but with motor housing. Make sense?

 

Thanks cab for the reply. I got I all back together and its runnig good no more surging withe the exhaust break when I tow.