[demr7777]

Hello, I am trying to separate my turbo housing from the manifold it is attached to so I can send the turbos in to RT turbos to be rebuilt. Anyone know how to do this I have already stripped the wastegates, shields and lines. I have loosened the clamp that appears to hold the turbo itself to the manifold. I have sprayed PB blaster all over this thing and I have had no luck separating them. I don’t want to risk breaking anything I’m using a rubber mallet. Should I be loosening something else that I don’t see? Or just keep banging on it? See attached picture

 

[xBlitzkriegx]

nah, youre pretty much on track really, tons and tons of penetrant. something else you can do is to position the turbo with the turbine up and try to spray a generous amount of penetrant on the turbine wheel. the penetrant will seep down the wheel and collect around the heatshield area.

once its nice and soaked, use a deadblow hammer or plastic face hammer and hit the turbine housing in 180 degree increments in an X pattern. dont be afraid to get forceful on the turbine housing, just dont go full hulk on it. you can be pretty rough with it though, its pretty robust. it might help to heat the entire assembly if its extra stubborn.

if youre still not sure, call RT tuning and ask for advice since they also rebuild them.

 

[IridiumRS400]

FWIW, I'm not aware the turbo and manifold need to be separated - they are upgraded (and sold) as a unit, at least that's what I've seen with Pure Turbos, for example.

Did R/T Turbos tell you to separate the turbo from the manifold?

 

[demr7777]

Yes sir. Rt Tuning told me the only thing they rebuild is the turbo itself. And that I need to separate them. I have yet to see a turbo for sell that has the manifold included. Like stock OEM turbos from Infiniti. There is no manifold attached to theirs either from what I can tell. Hopefully I'm not being told wrong but they told me over the phone today not to ship them the manifold because the only rebuild the turbos for $2500. Obviously they are upgraded (according to them) Hmmmm.🤔 Right now I'm just trying to figure how the come apart. I'm thinking the are frozen/stuck together but they don't seem to be that rusty and dirty at the connection point. Afraid to hit it hard LOL.

 

[demr7777]

nah, youre pretty much on track really, tons and tons of penetrant. something else you can do is to position the turbo with the turbine up and try to spray a generous amount of penetrant on the turbine wheel. the penetrant will seep down the wheel and collect around the heatshield area.

once its nice and soaked, use a deadblow hammer or plastic face hammer and hit the turbine housing in 180 degree increments in an X pattern. dont be afraid to get forceful on the turbine housing, just dont go full hulk on it. you can be pretty rough with it though, its pretty robust. it might help to heat the entire assembly if its extra stubborn.

if youre still not sure, call RT tuning and ask for advice since they also rebuild them.

Ok great! Thanks for the advice. I will work on it again this weekend. Pretty confident I can get it, I was just afraid to tap it to hard. I will go get a plastic faced hammer first. I don't have one.

 

[IridiumRS400]

I have yet to see a turbo for sell that has the manifold included.

Recent ebay listing for BN Pure Turbos (note the 4-bolt exhaust manifold flanges facing down):

Pure Stage 2 Turbos For Q50 | eBay

 

[eljoker]

They dont separate, they are integrated. I see OEM and upgrade turbos all the time and never seen them separated. I would clarify with RT on what they mean, my money is on its miscommunication.

 

[xBlitzkriegx]

Oh, they definitely separate. They're press fit together. Whether or not RT needs you to do that is a different thing, but they definitely come apart.

 

[demr7777]

They dont separate, they are integrated. I see OEM and upgrade turbos all the time and never seen them separated. I would clarify with RT on what they mean, my money is on its miscommunication.

I just went back and forth with SonicTune and he is a certified Infiniti mechanic and ecutek tuner. He said "let them soak for a while" I took that as they come apart.

 

[Blkq50s]

RT tuning rebuilds turbos? Hmmm

 

[demr7777]

RT tuning rebuilds turbos? Hmmm

Yes sir! They have their own upgraded version that has a larger spool and they claim it produces 30% more. They require you send the core into them because they use the OEM core and rebuild it.

 

[xBlitzkriegx]

@demr7777 did you end up having to separate the housings after all? also, was it just the turbine housing or did you also need to unbolt the compressor housing?

 

[demr7777]

@demr7777 did you end up having to separate the housings after all? also, was it just the turbine housing or did you also need to unbolt the compressor housing?

I never sent them in. I found a good deal on stock T's brand new and couldn't pass it up. might be a mistake but... RT tuning was so backed up on delivery times I was not going to be able to wait. Need them replaced now.
As far as separating them, I did confirm they want them sent separated if possible because they do not rebuild the manifold portion. I am to reassemble them with the old turbo manifolds. I think that's sort of BS to me. That's half the turbo assembled new the other half in question. It really would not be a big deal if Infiniti made repacing the T's a little more mechanic-friendly LOL. Dropping the motor to replace T's? Sheesh! How about providing turbos that don't go bad after 20k-60k miles I say.

 

[xBlitzkriegx]

i understand your situation. i was going to go the RT turbo route myself if the dealership was going to play games about turbo replacement. my car isnt tuned or anything but still, options. they gave me a two month lead time. a little long but palatable since i have a beater to drive.

the oem turbos are not the only ones that are difficult to split. they ALL are that way, regardless of brand or mileage. older, crusty turbos are worse but they all are like that. forever ago, a friend and i split the turbo open on the FB RX7 as it was burning oil faster than the 13B was itself (lol, jokes). i think we went through 3 cans of PB Blaster with one full can squirted in the turbine end, facing up and let it sit over night. we didnt have mallets so we improved with a baby sledge and a small piece of 2x4. it took, i dont even know, too long but it finally split apart. the turbine seal had cracked in half and the shaft was several pretty colors of blue.

you only have to drop the engine for AWD cars. i would also advise it for RWD cars but you dont HAVE to. it just depends on tools and shop availability. the passenger side turbo is a MF but the driver side isnt too bad.