Is it possible to clock the turbo compressor housing while it’s mounted?

[Artizan]

My turbo after the rebuild wasn’t clocked right and I made the Intercooler fit, but it no longer matches with the bracket on the right. 
 

Not the end of the world, but drives me nuts. is it possible to clock it in the car? I remember at least one of the torx screws was difficult to access if possible at all. 

[KZJonny]

Vf40/46?

Last word I had from JMP when I was installing mine was no. There are pins between the halves for alignment, and also some kind of sealant. He suggested you might be able to get a degree or two at most. They’re essentially fixed in their manufactured position.

The fix for me was to loosen all the bolts holding to the DP/block a little and fiddle with it until got a good seal to the intercooler. Then to round tightening it all back up. It was a bit tedious, but at least I know thats how to install it next time… having the GS intercooler makes it easy now with the silicon IC inlet.

You can also gain a little bit of play by switching to the Mr.Gasket silicon/aluminim gasket between the compressor and the IC.

https://partsavatar.ca/mr-gasket-thermostat-housing-gasket-738g

 

[m sprank]

No. 

A pic of the pin for reference. 

This thread (is old) is a different turbo, but same procedure applies. 

 

[Artizan]

5 hours ago, m sprank said:

No. 

A pic of the pin for reference. 

This thread (is old) is a different turbo, but same procedure applies. 

 

Mine 100% rotated. Maybe I’m talking about the wrong thing? 
 

There were 6 or 8 torx bolts, once I loosened those I could rotate the housing pretty much freely. I tried that when it was outside the car before. 

[m sprank]

You "rotated" the inlet side.  Thats a no-no.  You were grinding the cartridge against the sealing ring when you did that.  You are supposed to rotate between the inlet and hot side.  If it is not lining up properly after a rebuild, it was a sloppy rebuild.  I would pull the turbo to check/correct. 

[Artizan]

14 hours ago, m sprank said:

You "rotated" the inlet side.  Thats a no-no.  You were grinding the cartridge against the sealing ring when you did that.  You are supposed to rotate between the inlet and hot side.  If it is not lining up properly after a rebuild, it was a sloppy rebuild.  I would pull the turbo to check/correct. 

That’s absolutely infuriating. This was a highly reputable shop doing the rebuild. I hope I didn’t cause a lot of damage by doing this. Could this potentially damage the CHRA or just the seal? I rotate it maybe .5 cm. 
 

Once I get the turbo, how do I know which alignment is correct? I don’t have another turbo to compare with. 

Edited August 22, 2023 by Artizan

[m sprank]

Just the seal. If it was fresh the seal should have still had some lube from assembly. My gut says you should be ok. Knowledge is power. The more you know... it sucks trusting "pros" and still having to research enough to verify the work performed. 

I worked with Pure Turbos exclusively for rebuilds. In probably 1000 rebuilds I remember 1 turbo that I had to request a re-check. No questions asked they fully rebuilt and rebalanced it for free, in 24 hours. 

[Artizan]

58 minutes ago, m sprank said:

Just the seal. If it was fresh the seal should have still had some lube from assembly. My gut says you should be ok. Knowledge is power. The more you know... it sucks trusting "pros" and still having to research enough to verify the work performed. 

I worked with Pure Turbos exclusively for rebuilds. In probably 1000 rebuilds I remember 1 turbo that I had to request a re-check. No questions asked they fully rebuilt and rebalanced it for free, in 24 hours. 

Could you help me understand one point?

Once I got the turbo back from them it didn’t align perfectly with the Intercooler, which is why I decided to turn it a bit. 
 

When I turn it back, obviously it will go back out of alignment. One of the tells was that the upper coolant hose was just slightly kinked, but isn’t now after turning. These two situations don’t add up basically. Right now the coolant line is good and not linked at all, intercooler fits but doesn’t align with the bracket to the right of the intercooler. 
Once I turn the turbo back the other way, Intercooler will probably fit perfectly, but the coolant hose will kink just slightly. Is the hose just too long? OEM brand new hose. 

[m sprank]

Have a pic?  Intercooler can rotate in TB hose, TB hose can rotate on the TB which changes the position of the intercooler.  Could be the TB hose slipped causing the intercooler flange to move out of alignment.  Best explanation I can give is the flat side of the OEM intake hose needs to be at the 6 o'clock position.  Sometimes it is best to leave it loose while rotating it to find the best position.