As Disco_Mikey says, you need miniature (children's) hands to get into the very restricted space when the turbo is on the car with the body on.
To make matters easier/worse there is a heat shield (Taken off in my photos) that needs to come off. This is held on by three small (8mm head) bolts. When this is off then you can get to the actuator arm, but as said, if it is an early turbo it has a ball joint on each end, but you can't buy these!
The later turbos have a bolt that is screwed into the actuator stepper motor arm. This can be undone, but again space is so restricted that is is very difficult, but I'm sure doable with infinite patience!
That's why I opted for a replacement turbo!
The car has done 191,000 miles so not exactly new, so the bearings in the turbo won't be in 'as new' condition, though that said there is no play whatsoever on the shaft.
My thinking was if the turbo was going to come off, why risk replacing it with 1) an over strained stepper motor, and 2) not the newest of bearings? Yes replacing the turbo was expensive but it guarantees a fully working turbo for many miles to come!
If the body was off, a different mindset could be taken.
Best
Ian
30th Jan 2018 12:06 pm
gstuart
Member Since: 21 Oct 2016
Location: kent
Posts: 13878
hi ian
many thks for the great info
mine will occasionally go into limp mode , if i don’t use it for a few days it will do it but then after resetting with key off then on again it’s fine
rarely i have that horrible feeling , will it , won’t it go into limp mode , only will do it on hard acceleration
have started the project of replacing my front struts , got the drivers side done and will be replacing the short turbo hose with a silicone one and will be an ideal time to also grease the actuator arm , inc having chance to inspect it better , seeing if it’s the ball type or bolt
will then be good to get all the little jobs done as i start removing panels etc
been reading through the forum of what’s the best spray to use to lubricate the arm
have only ever seen these arms available , as per what ur saying ref the bolt
If you can get to it, it doesn't take much to un-clip it off the ball.
When you have it off the turbo, some emery cloth rubbed inside the ball housing will get the worst rust off easily.
As for the ball ends, simply just rub some emery cloth around it and clean it up.
Before you pop them both back on fill the cups up with some ceramic grease, ceramic because it withstands heat best.
The cups will just pop back on using the blade of a flat screwdriver against the other-side, it doesn't take much to pop them on just a bit more than simple finger pressure, nothing scary!
You then have the really fiddly task of getting the heat shied back on without dropping the little bolts.
Off the car it is fairly easy but on the car, good luck!
Ian
30th Jan 2018 7:39 pm
gstuart
Member Since: 21 Oct 2016
Location: kent
Posts: 13878
hi ian
don’t know if i would have the nerve to pop the arm off, maybe to disappear and never to be seen again
how ever it’s got to be done , he says now with confidence, wimper
can then clean all the junk whilst the arm is off
wonder if whilst someone is sitting in the disco , turning the ign on to motor the actuator arm if it can be brought into a better position for access and then turning the ign off quick,
must recheck some of ur pics ref the actuator arm for reference plse ,
will have a look online ref the ceramic grease , have got some small wire brushes which should come in handy
sounds like i better also get some magnets to put inside the sockets for the heatshields
suprising whilst starting these front struts of all the extra tools i’ve had to buy , ah shucks
thks again and is always good getting a better insight to various jobs
mines just coming up to 100,000 miles
30th Jan 2018 8:10 pm
gstuart
Member Since: 21 Oct 2016
Location: kent
Posts: 13878
just got some of this
Specification Information
NLGI classification: 2
Worked penetration: 265-295
Temperature range: -40°C to +1200°C
Appearance : Cream/Off-white
Odour : Characteristic
Solubility : Insoluble in water
Flammability : Not flammable at ambient temperatures
Flashpoint : In excess of 200°C
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum