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BMW 3-Series (E90 E92) Forum > E90 / E92 / E93 3-series Powertrain and Drivetrain Discussions > N54 Turbo Engine / Drivetrain / Exhaust Modifications - 335i > Is repairing turbos a good idea? If so what to buy



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      09-27-2019, 10:52 PM   #1
TheMidnightNarwhal
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Is repairing turbos a good idea? If so what to buy

So it seems my turbo seals are blown. I have oil smell and occasional smoking. Already replcaed valve cover gasket, PCV insisde valve cover and the PCV external flapper. Valve cover PCV cyclone ports also look perfectly clean.

I also notice a oil leak coming from hot side intercooler piping, I need to pull my intercooler tomorrow to confirm 100% how much oil there is in there but seems to me oil is being pushed from the seals right into the intake...

That said, if turbo repair is a good option I would rather do that than buy OE replacements. I see you can buy new CHRA for like 500$ and at the same time I could also do a waste-gate reinforcement on it.

Or is rebuild/repair not a good idea? I don't want to push this car with more HP and I am satisfied with MHD Stage2+.

By the way car is 2011 335is with 70k miles.
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      09-27-2019, 11:22 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TheMidnightNarwhal View Post
So it seems my turbo seals are blown. I have oil smell and occasional smoking. Already replcaed valve cover gasket, PCV insisde valve cover and the PCV external flapper. Valve cover PCV cyclone ports also look perfectly clean.

I also notice a oil leak coming from hot side intercooler piping, I need to pull my intercooler tomorrow to confirm 100% how much oil there is in there but seems to me oil is being pushed from the seals right into the intake...

That said, if turbo repair is a good option I would rather do that than buy OE replacements. I see you can buy new CHRA for like 500$ and at the same time I could also do a waste-gate reinforcement on it.

Or is rebuild/repair not a good idea? I don't want to push this car with more HP and I am satisfied with MHD Stage2+.

By the way car is 2011 335is with 70k miles.
Honestly,

You are way ahead of the game if you bought RB stage 1 turbos with cash/ money order for about $1600.00 out the door. Of course you'd need a turbo accessory kit with all the seals, nuts etc.

I almost pulled the trigger this summer, but found my 30ff code. So, I'll stay the course until my turbos kick the bucket.
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      09-28-2019, 05:03 AM   #3
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Turbo's don't have seals in them, they have a piston ring type affair on the turbine end, and a collar and thrust bearing, on the compressor side.. if its smoking, it's more than likely coked up!!
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      09-28-2019, 12:35 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mweisdorfer View Post
Honestly,

You are way ahead of the game if you bought RB stage 1 turbos with cash/ money order for about $1600.00 out the door. Of course you'd need a turbo accessory kit with all the seals, nuts etc.

I almost pulled the trigger this summer, but found my 30ff code. So, I'll stay the course until my turbos kick the bucket.
Yeah I'm not paying 1600$ for new turbos when OE replacements are bout 1000$. It's just a matter of principle.


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Originally Posted by cozzyman View Post
Turbo's don't have seals in them, they have a piston ring type affair on the turbine end, and a collar and thrust bearing, on the compressor side.. if its smoking, it's more than likely coked up!!
You're right. But still that can go bad and cause oil to go into the intake or exhaust side?

Point is, if I buy new CHRA it's basically a brand new turbo right? All I am keeping from the old is the housing and the wastegate. There seems to be a popular website here TurboPartsCanada but no one dealt with them on here so I'm a bit afraid.
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      09-28-2019, 12:39 PM   #5
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I've rebuilt several turbos off of diesel motors without any issues....why would the N54 turbos be any different? Anyone with some hand tools, and some basic mechanical knowledge should be able to do it...right?
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      09-28-2019, 12:48 PM   #6
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Originally Posted by iqraceworks View Post
I've rebuilt several turbos off of diesel motors without any issues....why would the N54 turbos be any different? Anyone with some hand tools, and some basic mechanical knowledge should be able to do it...right?
My turbo knowledge is basic but correct me if I'm wrong, if I buy new CHRA can I easily just pop the old parts oput and pop in the new CHRA.

And that's all is needed? I might just try to find a turbo re builder somewhere instead, Turbo Parts Canada really seems promising.
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      09-28-2019, 09:47 PM   #7
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Ok I pulled down my intercooler. The oil inside of both sides seems to be normal levels, the typical N54 pcv oil.

So it's just smoking on the exhaust side of the turbo so I guess I'll just let it be for now.




Last edited by TheMidnightNarwhal; 09-30-2019 at 05:23 PM..
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      09-28-2019, 10:10 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TheMidnightNarwhal View Post
Ok I pulled down my intercooler. The oil inside of both sides seems to be normal levels, the typical N54 pcv oil.

So it's just smoking on the exhaust side of the turbo so I guess I'll just let it be for now.
Catch can ?
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      09-28-2019, 10:21 PM   #9
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What is your rate of oil consumption?
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      09-28-2019, 10:42 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mweisdorfer View Post
Catch can ?
No I don't but seeing the minimal ammount of oil I don't see why I should. I'm sure it would help but a catch can isn't to prevent exhaust smoking right? It's more to increase the lenght before having to walnut blast valves?
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      09-28-2019, 10:45 PM   #11
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Quote:
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What is your rate of oil consumption?
I don't lose a lot which is very surprising... I was almost thinking my sensor is bad considering my exhaust reeks oil.

I do around 5k miles oil change and within that time I may add 1 liter of oil when it tells me.
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      09-29-2019, 01:58 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by iqraceworks View Post
I've rebuilt several turbos off of diesel motors without any issues....why would the N54 turbos be any different? Anyone with some hand tools, and some basic mechanical knowledge should be able to do it...right?
No you need a VSR machine to re balance the core after a rebuild. and a flow rig to set the waste gates up.
The rebuild is quite simple, about an hour the balancing and flow testing about the same..
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      09-29-2019, 06:09 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cozzyman View Post
No you need a VSR machine to re balance the core after a rebuild. and a flow rig to set the waste gates up.
The rebuild is quite simple, about an hour the balancing and flow testing about the same..
If you are not changing the turbines on the cold or hot side...why would you need to re-balance it....or re-flow it?

Even if you did change them out, they come pre-balanced anyways.
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      09-29-2019, 08:08 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TheMidnightNarwhal View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by mweisdorfer View Post
Catch can ?
No I don't but seeing the minimal ammount of oil I don't see why I should. I'm sure it would help but a catch can isn't to prevent exhaust smoking right? It's more to increase the lenght before having to walnut blast valves?
Catch can only decreases the amount of oil in the intake system. You should still walnut blast every 30-36,000 miles. It's just when you do, there will be less crap on the valves.

I wouldn't increase the length of time you blast.
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      09-29-2019, 08:21 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mweisdorfer View Post
Catch can only decreases the amount of oil in the intake system. You should still walnut blast every 30-36,000 miles. It's just when you do, there will be less crap on the valves.

I wouldn't increase the length of time you blast.
Alright then a catch can is completely useless then. My intake oil is minimal.
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      09-30-2019, 06:06 AM   #16
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I've heard that th BMS PCV valve really helps cutdown on oil usage.....
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      09-30-2019, 06:28 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by iqraceworks View Post
I've heard that th BMS PCV valve really helps cutdown on oil usage.....
I've got that already, it was first step in trying to fix my oil issue.

I need to pull downpipes to confirm 100% it's turbos.
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      09-30-2019, 09:16 AM   #18
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Originally Posted by cozzyman View Post
No you need a VSR machine to re balance the core after a rebuild.
False; he's not rebuilding, he's swapping CHRAs. All that's been done already.

Quote:
Originally Posted by iqraceworks View Post
I've heard that th BMS PCV valve really helps cutdown on oil usage.....
You heard wrong. Low-side is what will catch oil for most. High-side is unlikely to catch all that much on a street car.
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      09-30-2019, 09:19 AM   #19
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Turbo Lab America will rebuild your turbos and upgrade your wastegates for $650
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      09-30-2019, 09:27 AM   #20
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Quote:
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False; he's not rebuilding, he's swapping CHRAs. All that's been done already.


You heard wrong. Low-side is what will catch oil for most. High-side is unlikely to catch all that much on a street car.
Even if I rebuilt them why would I need to balance if I'm re-using the same shaft and wheels? Anyways if I DIY I think CHRA would be a better idea. You basically have a new turbo that way without paying to much.

And I could buy waste gate repair kits and do that as well since I have a cheapo welder at home. Seems simple enough to do the fix.

But now I don't know... a big turbo S2000 wants to race me so doing around 650whp would be nice on this car... but it's a 335is I don't want to make it into a 5000$ N54 by putting a bunch of mods and "breaking" it.

Plus if I want to do 650whp that means in additions to new turbos, I need new inlets, new clutch and pretty sure I'm gonna need a custom tune right?
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      09-30-2019, 09:29 AM   #21
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Turbo Lab America will rebuild your turbos and upgrade your wastegates for $650
I'm in Canada though shipping would kill the deal. I think I will just get CHRAs as all you have to do is snap ring them in place on one side and V band the exhaust side right?

And the wastegate arm upgrade is just drill out the old bushing and grind and weld the new arm to bushing.
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      09-30-2019, 09:35 AM   #22
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Then use Turbo Parts Canada. Same type of service, unsure of cost.
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