Head and turbo...
 

The Head

So im getting my engine rebuilt by my mechanic.. It's still at the machine shop!!!... My mechanic just told me that the machine shop says the head is no good. He says it has rust.. He says it can be repaired, but the guy at the machine shop has another one... I don't know jack squat, but rust on the head doesn't sound right.. What do you guys think of this explenation?

The Turbo

Apparently the oil seals in the turbo are bad along with some bearings. They are having a hard time finding a turbo specialist to fix it up, so im going to send it some place to get it rebuilt. I saw some guy (sorry don't remember the name) on these forums who sent his turbo to Majestic Turbo and had it rebuilt with a upgraded wastegate and trim. I'm thinking that I want to do the same thing.

What kind of options will I have when it comes to upgrading my ct-26? Will I get more boost right out of the box or will it just have more boost potential? I am going with my stock boost gauge and don't have the money to get an aftermarket gauge right off the bat. so I'm hoping with an upgraded wastegate and turbine(turbine the right term??) that I will have around the same boost (no more than 8 psi) untill I'm ready to get a boost controller and a gauge. This is just what im thinking i really dont know much about this stuff, so please if you have any comments or suggestions spill it! ;)


You guys are one of my only sources of info on my car so PLEASE I need some responses! thanks a lot fellow supra lovers

-Dan

if you have the means do it all

you call majestic they ask you how much horsepower you want out of the turbo .
you send it to them they send it back rebuilt in 24 hrs

http://www.ddmcse.com/turbo/turbo_upgrade.htm

I firmly believe that not every mechanic nor every machine shop is capable of working on our cars/motors, so I never have 100% faith in what one them would say.
I have those thoughts from my own experiences.

Rust on the head? It is made of aluminum.
So what is rusted on it?
They told you that? Or did you find that out on your own.
To check for wear on the bearings, you just need to spin the compressor wheel of the turbo at different points to see if there is any binding/rubbing.
I once heard that if you see dampness on the turbo, that is a sign of a bad oil seal.

Do you know how to shim the wastegate? That adds some PSI to your boost level, but most will tell you to just get a manual boost controller, since they are cheap enough (something like 10 bucks?)

They told me that...

I see. Maybe they are correct, but maybe they are B.S.ing you.

Let me tell you of my past experiences.

Case 1:
I had a leaky coolant hose, and this one mechanic was telling me that my head was cracked.
He opened up a book and was telling me he could get oversized valves while he was at it and other sales tactics like that.

I got a second opinion, and it turned out that my problem was the 90 degree hose at the back of the head. It only cost me like $5 tops to fix it.


Case 2:
I took a head to a machine shop and they told me that I needed to buy a new head because the cams had what looked like scoring.
The head they wanted to sell me cost about $700.
Turns out that what they said is bad, is actually how all cams look that come out of the 7M head.

So that is why I am so skeptical of when I hear of bad news from mechanics.
I consider the fact that they may either not know what they are talking about, or the possibility that they are trying to hustle me.

Sounds like they're trying to screw you on the head.

As for the turbo, try here: http://www.mdcmotorsports.com/mdc%20front%20page.htm

Thanks for the help and advice guys! I went down and talked to the mechanic on saturday to see what was up with the head. He assured me that it is actually rusted due to no anti freeze being in the coolant system. He said the water ate away the aluminum or some such and it is rusted. Im going down there today and he is going to show me the rusted head, or drive me to the machine shop to show me it if the he wasnt able to get the head delivered.

These guys have a lot to lose by messing with me like this, and they know it, so we'll see.

The head is made of aluminium, it can't rust. Water doesn't eat anything that isn't ferrous. I would attempt to rub off the rust when i see it...

The head doesn't rust at all. But it will oxidize and with the dissimilar metals of the block and head, electrolisis will occur. That is why you must always use a good antifreeze and have ground wires running from head to block and head and block to body.

I have seen what you have been described to on quite a few heads. They can be fixed, but a lot of heliarc welding to fix the ports and in the long run a good used head is a better way to go. It seems that you just can't get the head gasket to seal around those water ports and the combustion area and it ends up leaking antifreeze into the system somewhere.

Try to find one at the junkyard or look on ebay, just make sure you check the water jacket ports on the bottom of the head first or make sure there are good, clear pictures of that area if you bid on something.

I just pulled the head off my turbo supra to fix a headgasket. I have another head I am going to use, so if you can't find one let me know and we can talk about it.

Russ.