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Turbo out of order

Nicodess

Active Member
Hi guys,

After a few hundred miles, my Turbo is out of order :wall::eek:

The mechanic where I sent the car has no eplainations about if, the fact is that the horizontal axle of the turbo has moved and then the turbo has to be changed.

They have hard time to find another one and will wall Garrett to try to find a solution. A replacement one or maybe the name of someone who could maybe machine again the turbo.

Would you guys happen to have any way where I can find a stock turbo or how I can handle with that trouble.

I am very frustrated as I was able to enjoy this amazing car for about 300 miles and now I can't drive it.
 
Hmm...
I would want to investigate and learn why the turbo failed out of the blue? Is it because it is just old or did something kill it?

Aside from that you can get a replacement turbo from several vendors on turbobuick.com. New turbo would be my route.

Jarred
 
well at least a stock appearing turbo would not be a bad idea if it is impossible to find a stock one.

When you say they are much better can you give me some examples ? I dont want to make modification on the TTA
 
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These guys here in the UK have everything you would need to either rebuild or replace the internals with a complete new original unit.

The housing on ours is a bit unique to the TTA if you want to keep the original look of things I would opt to replace the internals.

Turbo Rebuild, Reconditioned and Remanufactured Turbochargers items in Turbo spares store on eBay!


So the core would be something like this and is very straight forward to swap out:
Garrett T2 Turbo CHRA Core Landrover 452055-1/4/7/8 | eBay


But as suggested I would try to figure out what made the turbo go bad in the first place ... poor oil pressure cooling / dirty oil or something else.
 
These guys here in the UK have everything you would need to either rebuild or replace the internals with a complete new original unit.

The housing on ours is a bit unique to the TTA if you want to keep the original look of things I would opt to replace the internals.

Turbo Rebuild, Reconditioned and Remanufactured Turbochargers items in Turbo spares store on eBay!


So the core would be something like this and is very straight forward to swap out:
Garrett T2 Turbo CHRA Core Landrover 452055-1/4/7/8 | eBay


But as suggested I would try to figure out what made the turbo go bad in the first place ... poor oil pressure cooling / dirty oil or something else.


Awesome Jan! Never knew....

Good luck and replace the turbo lines.

Joe
 
Thx Jan and and the others for the informations. I may have a touch for another turbo. Anyway I have sent the ebay links to the mechanic then he will see if it is possible, it would be less expansive replacing the internals only.

I will let you know if we find why the turbo unit stop working.
 
You can get a great upgraded turbo that looks stock. Get a double ball bearing turbo that has larger (MM) internals but will spool efficiently with your stock stall convertor- like a 60 mm. It's totally possible to upgrade minor things and increase hp by 50 to 100 hp legitimately.
 
I agree with these guys. I'd upgrade from the stock turbo when the time comes again. You just can't be the TE60's for a stock looking upgrade.

My TTA before upgrading to the Bison 62/62, put down 411RWHP, 456TQ with a TA60-1. With more left in it.

Happy you will be getting you car on the road again! It will be a great feeling for sure! :WOOT:
 
It seems I am saving a poor TTA. Given the money I put in it to buy it it was not intended, but the truth is this engine has a big problem.

With the ignition coil changed a road test was performed. Half the level of engine oil disappeared in an afternoon, the car smokes at more than 3 000 RPM, 2 cylinders have bad compression ratio.

I am really angry after the seller this engine is not why it was selled for. With a closure look on the engine bay, dry oil has been found so the problem is well known and it was cleaned to make it appear a nice and well performing engine.

It looks like "piston rings" (not sure of the translation) are leaking which does not fit a 11 000 miles engine. I am very puzzled about this. Is the car VIN written on the engine ? I want to be sure that my engine has not been swapped with a bad one before departing for France (dont think it is possible but...) or maybe a hard driven track car could make the engine in this poor condition ? Well at least I know why the Turbo broke....

Interior an under the car are in almost like new condition so tend to valid the 11 000 miles on the car.

Anyway I plan to fix it up and enjoy it but I am really disappointed the car was clearly not worth the money I paid it with a failed engine :disgust:
 
That's terrible luck, sorry that happened. I actually wouldn't be surprised by your initial thought that "my engine has not been swapped with a bad one before departing for France (dont think it is possible but...) "

It's totally possible that the motor was switched for a older/fractured one. It wouldn't be the first time I've heard of it.

The LC2 turbo Buick drive-train is very reliable and functions well if maintained correctly.

(good fuel - higher the octane the better- and no detonation)

For real Buick parts and advice from a real person on the phone, I'd call Jack Cotton, he is a vendor for these specific Buick manufactured parts and fitment requirements for the TTA, he may have or know where to source a new block that is in good order and also to replace parts. I only name him because I've bought several parts from him and he has always answered questions to my benefit and represented the parts he sold honestly.

http://www.cottonsperformance.com/

Don't give up, these cars are very competitive and fun when you get them in proper order.
 
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Yeah its unfortunate that some people do business that way, did you have someone inspect the car before buying ? Maybe Jan knows somebody across the pond that can sort it out, good luck.
 
Maybe this question has been asked already - but, what is the octane rating of the gasoline you're using over there in France?
 
Yes the car was inspected prior to the purchase and the car was said to perform well....

Octane rating is 95 or 98. I use 98 on the TTA and my daily driver. Well I guess I will have the engine carefully inspect and then change what is wrong.

Would you know about the VIN being on the engine too or a way to be sure I have the original engine ?

Ratfink thanks for providing this link it could be very helpful as soon as I know what is damaged.

Dont worry I am not giving up and this rocket will soon smoke some french road for a long time :thumbup:
 
Well at least you will learn how the car works in the end, if certain conditions are happening at once then a short blimp of the throttle can cause BIG damage... not sure about the vin on the block.
 
Vin # is supposed to be on the block according to a knowledgeable Lad in the UK. I have a picture of the location somewhere. It was in a thread on here sometime back.
Good luck with the TTA, when you get it straightned out you will be very happy!
 
Very sorry to read of your troubles, hope you can get everything straightened out in short order and get to enjoy the car.
Any recourse with the seller? Seems to border on Fraud.
 
I will try to get informations about if I can have any recourse with the seller. But with the car crossing the pond my guess is it will be some hard time.

The worst answer would be : " ok, bring us back the car then we can repair it ":fuckkk:
 
That is really bad luck; I bet they just did a quick service, meaning topping up the oil and nothing else before shipping it out.

Did you change oils, filters etc. when you got it?

For the engine VIN location see picture; can be a bit hard to see and you might need to clean and or use some marking paint to help you read it ... it's only the last digits of the VIN on there.

You also have the VIN on the transmission if you like to check that out.
 

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Well they open the engine and now I know what is wrong with it. Just have a look.

I call them tomorrow to have more informations, wasn't at home today so get the pictures by e-mail. They assume some jakass run it hard with the engine cold prior to shippment for France and when I took it unfortunately it was too late damages were there. The small I drove it was enough to finish it.

So I am looking for a piece to replace it. Cylinder Head gasket right ? (not so good with technical english)
 
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