turbo housing alignment question

[d.delano]

I had a turbo that I bought cheap rebuilt that supposedly came off an '85 SD(has an ARV and it's a Garrett with an internally adj wastegate, looks like the one); got it back and the guy did a great job. Tumbled both housings and used new bolts and hardware and the thing just looks like new. Only one problem. The oil feed/return flanges look like they are about one bolt off in alignment in the clockwise direction relative to the exhaust housing, so that once mounted the lines won't match up. The compressor outlet, which is supposed to be pretty much coplanar to the exhaust flange, is facing almost straight down. Can I rotate the center section on the exhaust housing myself or should I take it back and have him do it? Don't think it's his fault, I think someone tinkered with it before I got it and just didn't put it back together correctly. He told me he put it back the way he got it, and I have no reason to not believe him. I'm worried that it will be something I shouldn't try to do myself.

[Bio240D]

Hi there,
This is dead easy to do yourself. Just loosen the bolts on the clamp rings and you can turn the center section to any position you want in relation to the turbine housing. Ditto for the compressor housing. The turbine (exhaust side) usually fits pretty tight, so you may need to pull the center section out a little from the turbine housing to turn it. Do be carefull because you don't want to ding the compressor or turbine wheels!

Cheers, Chris

[d.delano]

Ah, thanks
Still learning turbo theory
So the center section is not keyed to the exhaust housing, so I do not have to pull the exhaust housing off and go one bolt over, I can just loosen the bolts and rotate as needed without disassembly? Thanks

The turbo was rebuilt using a .36 A/R exhaust housing, a little bit tighter pitch which is supposed to spool up just a bit quicker. ARV inlet on the inside of the compressor housing was welded shut and wastegate set at 12 psi. I've got turbo seals and an small exhaust leak in the manifold to fix soon, so I thought a rebuilt turbo while I've got the manifolds off might not hurt. Got a W116 EGR-less intake manifold, need to find an exhaust manifold to go with it.
I may chicken out and reinstall the stock turbo anyway.

[Bio240D]

Hi d.delano ,
Don't chicken out. Where's the fun in that? I run the .36 A/R housing on my 616 240D and it works very well. With a 5 cyl engine you should have boost practically right off idle. Try it and let us know what happens.

To answer your question, No the housings and center section are not keyed together. You can set them pointing any direction that works for your application. Really the only critical bit is having the drain line from the center section pointed down so the center section drains properly.

Cheers,
Chris

[winmutt]

Purty. Clean means faster.