I was initially daunted by the task of removing the stock turbos because I was told it would be a difficult job. It certainly wasn’t a walk in the park, but afterwards I didn’t think it was horrible either. A factory service manual isn’t completely necessary, anyone one with a bit of mechanical aptitude should be able to figure out the process. I think I actually preferred taking off the turbos versus installing the roll bar or even the differential brace. While the job was far more in-depth in comparison, it didn’t end up being a huge PITA like the aforementioned installs. Having the right tools is a must, however. Some of the areas are tight and the right combination of extensions and universal joints are necessary.
I spent a few hours yesterday night primarily stripping down the y-pipe and all the various hoses, connections, and actuators to the turbos. This was probably the hardest part since there were so many.
The downpipe also came off.
I saved the actual unbolting for this afternoon. A rainy day makes for a great opportunity to get some wrenching done.
There is a combined total of 8 nuts and bolts that hold the sequentials to the manifold. All of the studs ended up backing out with the nuts, even though I soaked them in liquid wrench the night before. 1 of the 2 14mm bolts ended up snapping off in the manifold, but luckily this had no impact of the disassembly. Stripping threads is what needs caution. That is why I used hand tools exclusively for this job. Once everything was loose, the turbos were lifted out with only the manifold left to go.
Here are a few gratuity shots of the stock sequentials… for old time’s sake. Although contained in a relatively compact package, it is very dense and heavy.
The manifold is held on by 4 nuts to studs on the engine block. While all of the turbo-to-manifold studs backed out, they do not matter. If the 4 manifold-to-engine studs came out, it would be extra work because I’d have to thread them back in. I soaked them liberally in liquid wrench and then used a propane torch to heat up the nuts, which I guess did the trick because they all came off without a fuss.
MUCH more room now.
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