what's involved basically?
is it just a matter of undoing the clamp and turning or does the whole center cartridge needs to come out?
sorry about the newbie question
You will need to move the cartridge and compressor housing strip it to bits then mock it up on the engine and put it back together
undo the clamp, so you can get the oil feed/return at the right angle, then remove the circlip holding the compressor housing on, rotate the housing, so its facing the correct way for your boost pipe,
Dont forget that there are locating pins in both housings that need removed before it can be locked.
Comp housing is a big circlip and then housing will come off the cartridge, you will have to remove the small pin from the housing when you refit. Its just pushed in so grab and yank it out. Exhaust housing will probably need a hammer and chisel in the gay once the clip is removed to seperate the two halfs. Then clean both and put some copper grease on there. You can clock it roughly on the bench but chances are unless you have done one before it will need redoing when you actually bolt it to the car.
I just do it with a standard turbo sitting next to it
I didn't have the locating pins on mine
I did were a pain I ended up drilling another hole for the pin to go In
The hotside pin normally comes out easy enough.
Compressor side didnt so i ended up cutting it off.
Be careful levering the hotside apart as Tom has indicated. Do it evenly or else you will force the turbine wheel against the housing and possibly damage bearings and/ or the blades of the wheel.
I have a bare block and head that i use to clock the turbo....very handy.
You really need to have the turbo mounted in a vice so you can go round with a chisel carefully splitting it. Then when its loose go straight up until its clear of the turbine. The blades are fragile as f*ck and if you chip them you will put the turbo out of balance and it could then just shit itself when you have it doing 100,000rpm!
I had a nightmare seperating a GT20. There is nowhere to wedge open the hotside and it was stuck extremely tight.
I think i might have increased the play in the shaft slightly or else its just me being pessimistic.....time will tell
cheers for the replies
dont think i would confident in doing it myself by the sounds of it lol
anyone want earn some extra beer money?