Aaron_King
Aaron_King GRM+ Memberand UltimaDork
9/15/23 11:06 a.m.

My son and I are going to rebuild the distributor and turbo in his 86 900 Turbo this weekend.  Should we use assembly lube for both/either or will regular grease work?

Captdownshift (Forum Supporter)
Captdownshift (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
9/15/23 11:14 a.m.

I suspect regular grease won't cut it based upon the temperatures that it's going to be exposed to. 

Aaron_King
Aaron_King GRM+ Memberand UltimaDork
9/15/23 11:24 a.m.

For the turbo I am concerned about regular grease blocking oil from doing its job.  For the distributor, now that I think about it, grease should be fine as there are no oil passages to clog up.

gearheadE30
gearheadE30 Dork
9/15/23 11:45 a.m.

I would be a bit leery of a DIY turbo rebuild (though I have done it before). Balance is very important for their long term durability. If you go for it, mark everything. Make sure the shaft, turbine, compressor wheel, and nuts all end up as close to exactly the orientation in which they were disassembled as you can.

Aaron_King
Aaron_King GRM+ Memberand UltimaDork
9/15/23 12:12 p.m.

In reply to gearheadE30 :

We got the turbo taken apart in a box with the rebuild kit.  My plan is to put the cartrige together and send it off to get ballanced.

procainestart
procainestart SuperDork
9/15/23 4:19 p.m.

I have a NIB 8V distr rebuild kit and will check tonight to see if it has any instructions. It's essentially the same stuff for 16V.

procainestart
procainestart SuperDork
9/15/23 8:36 p.m.

Mr. Bosch didn't include instructions in the distr rebuild kit. 

I haven't done a full rebuild before, but I recall being told by a tech to be careful to pull the shutter wheel off completely parallel to the shaft, in a way that doesn't cock it and bend it. In other words, don't pry it off with a screwdriver. 

If the sensor plug is still intact, treat it very carefully, as they are fragile and used to be NLA, may still be. Or, if it's already broken, or it's intact but loose or cracking, JB Weld is your friend.

Paul_VR6 (Forum Supporter)
Paul_VR6 (Forum Supporter) UltraDork
9/15/23 9:26 p.m.

As long as you put the nuts in exactly the same spot you don't need to balance the turbo. 

Aaron_King
Aaron_King GRM+ Memberand UltimaDork
9/18/23 8:44 a.m.

We ended up not getting to either rebuild this weekend.  After finding out how hard it is to find front rotors and calipers for the car we spent most of Saturday pulling the rear axle and from spindles off of a car at an LKQ yard.

procainestart
procainestart SuperDork
9/18/23 7:24 p.m.

In reply to Aaron_King :

Are you converting it to 88+ brakes?

Aaron_King
Aaron_King GRM+ Memberand UltimaDork
9/19/23 8:18 a.m.

In reply to procainestart :

At some point in the future.  Want to get the car on the road so my son does not loose motivation, but I figured with a complete parts car readily available it was a smart move to grab the parts now.  Besides, it is the only way to get Super Aeros on the car.

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