What brand of gasket would you go for? Febi-Bilstein or would BGA be as good? Reinz? Elring?
 
Got my current engine from Charles.. o_O

You've put a new one in?

I had a look at the turbo this evening. No real play in it at all so I am going to leave it. It looked like a Garret but had BMW stamped on the side and a plate with TD04 something or other. -11G-something, I think.

The good thing about swapping the head from tbe scrapper is it is pretty much unpack, lift and shift.

Incidentally, getting the valves out is a sod because the standard Clarke valve compressor cannot fit far enough down to allow it to compress!
 
Just made up a shopping list of the gaskets and bolts I need fror reassembly and came across this site. Anyone ever used them? Safe? Reliable?

This set looks rather handy although I reckon I can reuse my cam-cover gasket as it was new a few years ago.

https://www.bestpartstore.co.uk/7438926-reinz-gasket-set-cylinder-head

I got a set that looks exactly like this for my own cylinder head job, though I ended up not needing the replacement o-rings. Since you've got the cam cover gasket already, if you order the intake and exhaust gaskets separately you'll be able to save about two thirds of the price, I figured that I overpaid dearly by getting the whole set. But getting the set is playing it safe in any case. I've used Autodoc a couple of times for my parts needs, no complaints with them.

What brand of gasket would you go for? Febi-Bilstein or would BGA be as good? Reinz? Elring?

I did a round of googling about month or two ago and did not hear good things about Victor Reinz. Seems like they've been decent in the past but their quality has gone down the toilet since. Elring and Febi-Bilstein appear to be the best rated brands overall.
 
@Slooby got a kit to refurb your own turbo for under £20

This was who I bought my Turbo bits from:

Sure, Flat Back Rebuild Kit:
https://www.turborebuild.co.uk/webs...urbocharger-Bearings-and-Seals-Flat-Back.html

I gave them a call to make sure it was the right rebuild kit and ordered it along with the gaskets (which I can't actually find on their site) and Royal Mail 1st Class shipping which all came to 25 quid and some pennies inc VAT

Be very aware that the shaft nut and thread are left handed and if you have a lever switchable drive Teng 5 to 25Nm torque wrench it does not do torque when reversed...I learnt that the hard way...alltough a replacement Mellet exhaust wheel and shaft was only 40 quid

I had a look at the turbo this evening. No real play in it at all so I am going to leave it. It looked like a Garret but had BMW stamped on the side and a plate with TD04 something or other. -11G-something, I think.

It's a Mitsubishi (MHI) turbo built under licence by BMW, TD04 is the series, 11G is the compressor wheel spec, it's tiny....
 
Parts ordered. Just spent rather a lot on the credit card so need to lie down and let the sweat evaporate.
 
Just for the record, my exhaust studs were looking a bit tired so I thought I would get some new ones. I have a vague memory or part code STC2014 but I rang the Stealers just to see hiw much they want and they want a lot: they only supply in packs of 5 despite only 12 being required (go figure) and they want £40 odd quid plus VAT = near enough £50.

The studs are M8, 55mm long and 1.25mm pitch made from stainless steel A4-80 (8.8 hardness) .
 
@stustrong what would be the inpact of giving the turbo waste gate actuator rod a half-turn? Am I right in thinking you said it could take 1/1/2 turns before causing any issues?
 
The only way the turbo could loose any 'zip' would be if the seals were on their way out and old getting out to effectively damp the impellor, carbon build up around tge exhaust housing and wheel, extra drag in worn bearings or a worn compressor wheel so less efficient compressor. But as you mentioned that there didn't seem to be that much free play in the shaft of the turbo one also presumes that it wasn't swimming in oil on the compressor side which suggests the turbo itself is OK. However, this doesn't mean that the CAT in the downpipe hasn't become clogged in carbon, and that really could slug the spool. I meant to check mine, but have yet to get round to it

Another thing to look for is boost leaks between turbo and cylinder head, plus an intercooler swimming in oil.

Having looked at the state of my camshaft, while re-seating the cam cover on a new seal, I noticed it was seriously worn, and that really would/does affect performance.
 
The only way the turbo could loose any 'zip' would be if the seals were on their way out and old getting out to effectively damp the impellor, carbon build up around tge exhaust housing and wheel, extra drag in worn bearings or a worn compressor wheel so less efficient compressor. But as you mentioned that there didn't seem to be that much free play in the shaft of the turbo one also presumes that it wasn't swimming in oil on the compressor side which suggests the turbo itself is OK. However, this doesn't mean that the CAT in the downpipe hasn't become clogged in carbon, and that really could slug the spool. I meant to check mine, but have yet to get round to it

Another thing to look for is boost leaks between turbo and cylinder head, plus an intercooler swimming in oil.

Having looked at the state of my camshaft, while re-seating the cam cover on a new seal, I noticed it was seriously worn, and that really would/does affect performance.

The intercooler wasn't swimming in oil but there was more than a misting on that side of the system. There was also some oil on the turbo but I thought maybe the drain-pipe gasket was weeping.
 
The 'old' (oil ‍:confused:) would have been puddling inside the compressor housing if the seals were really bad like mine. If you only have light misting in the intercooler then it sounds like the core of you engine is fairly fit and not suffering much blowby
 

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