Ford Turbocharger Rebuild - Bringing Back The Boost

With just the cast-iron turbine housing left, it was time to remove it from the exhaust manifold. Some of these nuts proved to be incredibly tight so we used a pneumatic impact gun and a 15mm socket to blast them off. With the wastegate housing removed, you'll have a straight shot at the mounting nuts. This is why we recommend taking out both as one piece.

With the two separated, we saw two things right away. The most apparent was the size difference between the exhaust outlet of the manifold and the inlet of the turbo housing. All '83-'85.5 turbo 2.3s had the E3 manifold. The desirable E6 manifold appeared in 1986 and was much closer in sizing, resulting in power increases. Also noticeable was the blown gasket, which was the source of an elusive exhaust leak we had been trying to find for weeks.

In an effort to maintain the factory balance between the turbine shaft and compressor wheel, we marked everything with a permanent marker. In hindsight, we would have been better off using a scribe or a rotary tool of some sort because once you start using cleaning solvents, the ink from the marker can wear off. Once you remove this nut, slide off the compressor wheel, and the turbine wheel and shaft come right out from the other side. Take off the aluminum baseplate with a 10mm wrench from behind.

With the centersection stripped bare, we cleaned it thoroughly and checked for cracks. Ours was still in good shape, so we initiated the reassembly by installing the circlips that retain the new bearings. Here's an interesting tidbit-the opening has a slight taper to it and acts like a ring compressor when you install the turbine-shaft assembly. No special tools are required.

Next up, slide in the new bearing for the compressor side and make sure it's fully seated. Then put a new rubber seal into the receiving groove.

While staring down the exhaust housing, we used a 90-degree pick to remove the original rear bearing. Like an engine bearing, it appears to be a copper-based and aluminum-coated piece. It's held in with small circlips and it comes right out without an interference fit. Repeat the procedure for the other side, and clean off everything.

Now for the thrust-washer assembly. It can only go on one way, so line it up with the two dowel pins. Put a light coating of oil here.

As you can see on the right, the old rear seal had let go. Technically, the seal is only a seal by name, but it acts more like a piston ring with an open gap. By design, the ring sits stationary while the turbine spins inside it, but, as you can see, our old one overheated from our high-boost antics. It's made of high carbon steel and sits in the lower groove. The upper groove is an oil sling. Slip the new ring/seal into its groove by hand and put some oil on it.

On the backside of the compressor backplate, insert the new front seal. This crushes up against the thrust washer when you tighten the nut onto the shaft and it controls oil. Make sure it sits as shown-otherwise you'll have catastrophic results.