Today I was all ready to get to work on the car and it was a fail. With these ******* pins in my wrist I have such a hard time using my left hand for anything strenuous. Went to clock my turbo and the ******* snap ring pliers I bought yesterday are too small. I tried using regular pliers and pushing down on the compressor outlet with my foot, but not a chance.

I also noticed the nut on the exhaust side blades is missing a little chunk. I took the whole turbo apart, but once I got the nut off on the compressor side...I couldn't get much more done. I probably shouldn't have started taking the turbo apart without reading up on it some, so hopefully I didn't **** anything up. I think I'm going to look around for a kit to rebuild it.


Vash-

 

that little bit of missing nut is normal... fyi

 

I think that's what they grind off when they balance the turbo.

 

Thanks guys, that makes me feel alot better.

I'm looking now for instructions on taking apart the turbo. After I got the reverse threaded nut off the compressor side I figured the 2 housings would separate, but no such luck.

I figured I'd be better off just jumping right into it and not thinking about it....guess not.

Vash-

 

The one in my garage has a chunk missing too...I guess its normal

 

I was wondering if that was your arm. What did you do? I missed that post.

I was going to clock my turbo this year, but I decided I'm having enough problems and it's better to just leave it be for now. I'll be watching to see what you have to do in case mine decides to be tough.

 

Here is a turbo rebuild how-to.
Have fun. As the others said already, that piece taken out of the "nut", which is actually part of the turbine shaft, is from when they balanced the rotating assembly.

 

https://www.miataturbo.net/forum/showthread.php?t=5164

The snap ring is a pain, i had my dad help me with a flat head prying against the compressor housing while i pulled the two holes closer with the largest pliers i had. Worked much faster.

 

Thanks snow for posting the link, I failed.
Screw using snap ring pliers, just about all of them bend/break unless you have the awesome ratcheting kind. Get a cheap pair of these and file/grind the tips down until they fit the holes like they should. If you're craft enough, make a little hook on the ends so they really bite into the ring to keep them from slipping out.

 

yes, the "chunk" missing from the nut is how they balance turbos. And I only have about 20% use of my left hand, so I can definitely relate!! But I have put together my Miatas and lifted my Jeep, so it's amazing what one can do once they adapt.

 

btw, what are you trying to paint?

 

Hey guys, thanks for that link, also led me to the turbo rebuild site as well. Awesome really!

My manifold looks a little fuber and I was playing on the idea of getting a ETDracing manifold anyway. So I think I'm gonna get a new manifold, and now I'm thinking about rebuilding the turbo.

Seeing I have the new headlights on the way, once I took my pop ups out I saw the disaster that was under them. So I used rust converter on all the rust and now I'm in the process of painting the engine bay flat black. Basically keeping busy until I can go back to work. I start my 48hrs of community service tomorrow, this way I have something to look forward to all day.

Vash-

 

Ohh and my wrist is just a ******* nightmare. Unlike alot of people on this site...I skipped college and went right to fulltime work out of highschool. Poured concrete, mechanics, ran a farm, and now I'm back to pouring concrete...so basically my body makes my money.

The concrete is the family business and with my dad almost at 70 now he's struggling to work in the field these last couple years. So my bro and I work with 2 Brazilians on the form work, and the other 3 Brazilians help my dad lay out, do footings and floors. Really, it seems like the best route at this point career wise, good money, I like being outside, and I'm pretty much my own boss.

Back in June my brother was being a fuckshit and like a idiot I let it get to me...and in the process of stripping the forms I snapped my ligament. This was during busy season so I kept working with it until January. It would pop out of the socket about....2-3 times a day at first. My last day of work it completely came out, looked horrid....I had to take my right hand and push it back into the socket. I was about 15 feet up on scaffold when all of this happened, saw stars and almost ate it big time. So I knew it was time for surgery to take care of it. Good thing is I'm right handed, bad thing is my right wrist needs surgery too. 6 years of carrying 1000s of lbs of forms around everyday fucked my wrists up pretty bad I guess. This year I'm gonna let someone else be superman....

Vash-

 

My brother is a contractor and is stubborn when it comes to asking for help, so his body has taken its share of abuse.