Has anyone ever rebuilt their own turbo? I picked up a 1980 300SD turbo in a junk yard in pretty good condition. Me and a buddy are planning on rebuilding it by getting the stuff from http://www.turbocity.com. All it basically needs is bearings and seals. We are going to put it in a 1979 300SD when its turbo goes out. Just seeing if anyone else has had the experience of rebuilding their own turbo.

I rebuilt the turbo for my 1982 300D turbo last summer. Sounds like you need the same parts that I needed. The parts cost $16.39;shiping and handling $5.92. Total of $22.31. The place for parts: M&M Distributers; Houston,Tx.77261.Phone No. 1-800-392-5517. Mine was a Garrett turbo. MB used two makes of turbos, so have all the information handy when you call them.
Be sure you mark the parts when you take it apart. The alignment of the oil return line is important. Other than the oil return line alignment, the job is fairly simple. No special tools or equiptment needed.
If you want, I can send you a list of the parts I needed to rebuild my turbo. Nothing to it. Who says you can't rebuild the turbos? Lots cheaper than getting one from a parts house. I was quoted prices ranging from $495-to over $1,000.
Bill Lewallen; Lexington,Ky. Where diesels purr and turbos whine

Can you put the give me the parts list? I want to see what you got for yours.

Here is the list of parts to rebuild the Garrett turbo on my 1982 300D turbo;
Ring,Piston TO4(1)..............$3.16
Ring,Piston TO4B (1)............$1.50
Locknut Left hand thread(1).....$1.27 (not used)
Snap Ring(4)..@0.15.............$0.60
0-Ring(1).......................$1.50
Bearing T04E(2)@$1.81...........$3.62
Thrust Bearing T04(1)...........$4.74
-------
$16.39
Ship and hand 5.92
Total....$22.31
Good luck. You should have no problems. The only problem I had was getting the oil return line aligned. That's why I say to mark the sections before you take it apart. Another small problem I had was I could not get one of screws out. I took it to my friend who has a machine shop,and he heated it with a torch and it came right out.
You may want to clean the rusty screws and reuse them.I did mine. Soak them in a strong solution of citric acid overnite. Citric acid is lemon juice and will not harm your skin. You can get citric acid at your Super Market. Look in the Home Canning Section. Yes, it is the same citric acid your Mercedes dealer sells for flushing cooling systems.Same stuff.
Bill Lewallen;Lexington,Ky.

this site never fails to amaze and please me ,finding out that you can rebuild the dreaded turbo for the price of a night out at a Burger King is akin to losing your fear of the I.R.S.
William Rogers.........

William Rogers,
Rebuilding the(dreaded) turbo was a lot more simpler(and cheaper) than rebuilding the 300 Turbo charged engine. There is hardly anything to the turbo; the housing; a long shaft with fan blades on each end,seals(rings) and the center bearing(2). As long as the shaft and housing are not damaged,I see no reason why you can't replace these few parts and have a good working turbo.
Bill Lewallen;Lexington,Ky.Home of fast horses and dumb asses.

How do you know?
 

Guys,

How do you know the turbo needs a fixin? I just bought a 1984 300D and it is very slow off the standing start but it is fine when I get it up to speed. But this is my first deisel so I have nothing to compare it to. What should this car do in a 0 to 60mph?

Paul

Edge,

In general, the turbo on these MB diesels are pretty rugged, and they often last the lifetime of the engine. The most important factor in a long-lived turbo is proper lubrication.

The simplest test for the turbo is as follows:

Simply remove the air intake "horn" from the air cleaner housing to the turbo. This piece is a plastic U-shaped duct, easily removed by loosening two large hose clamps. Make sure the engine and turbo are cool enough to touch. Reach into the intake side of the turbo (where the smaller end of the "horn" was attached) with your thumb and forefinger. If you can turn the turbo with ease, and if it keeps spinning for a second or two after you give it a good twist, then you know for sure that there's no problem with the turbo in general. However, this does NOT necessarily mean that the turbo is spinning up quickly enough for the engine to take full advantage of its properties. The wastegates on these turbos become fatigued over time, and besides, the factory at Stuttgart sets the adjustment on the springs very conservatively. In short, it's possible that your turbo lags well behind your engine RPM before any of its benefits are realized.

My other post to you mentions steps to take if your car is sluggish.

Good information
 

lost in time.
Glad I found this one. :)

Bump
 

bumpity bump

Are any of you guys running Pyrometers and Boost gauges to set up the fuel and turbo?

On Toyota diesels many are boosting the indirect injected engine to 14 psi. Conservative at 10 psi.

Also maximizing fuel useage can only be realized using a pyrometer(to effectively see Exaust gas temps) We go with a max of 1250 degrees F.

When older turbos start to produce less boost, either from a weak wastegate actuator or worn blades, your air levels drop and since your fuel is the same amount going into the engine you can get high EGT's, underload on a hill with your foot deep into the carpet. Enough so that damage could occur.

Notice older diesels smoking heavy under load. Could be many factors tho. Overfueling is the reason for the smoke.

Even Naturally aspirated diesels benefit from running a pyro, I was able on my Yota diesel to crank the fuel up a bit and get more useable power, with out getting too hot under load. Although any diesel can get to hot under load and get into the metal fatique range. I have see 1600 F on the pyro before. It requires downshifting to get more air in the engine and also backing off on the throttle.

Cheers, Darryl

I run a pyro and boost guage on my W116......I have the boost turned up a little and have the full load limiter turned up in the IP too.

Bump for people with leaky turbos. :D

bump

I just gave M&M Distributers a call. be sure to have your turbo's model number handy.

I need to do this-

Are M&M Dist's prices listed here still fairly accurate? This string is several years old. Looks to be about $50 for this stuff on ebay.

Rick