What to do- turbo seals shot, smokes on deceleration

[reklund5]

So I've been pretty far removed from the Supra community for a while now. I built my car back in the early 2000s, and it's been pretty solid since. Back then, I did all the usual upgrades, MHG, ARP studs, lexus AFM, 550s, new IC, BOV, fuel pump, APEXi S-AFC and AVC-R blah blah blah. Recently, its begun to smoke pretty badly on deceleration when the engine is under vacuum, presumably due to worn out turbo seals/thrust bearings. My turbo is a modified CT-26, with a 57mm or so wheel in it and a clipped exhaust wheel(thats a wild guess- i bought it secondhand but it's definitely NOT stock). It still builds boost just fine, and doesn't smoke under load at all that I can tell. I feel it's time to address the smoke, and am considering options.

Option 1: rebuild the turbo I currently have. Where to send it? How much should I expect to spend?

Option 2: Replace it entirely.

-SP Racing makes/made a bolt-on turbo upgraded for the 7M. Do they still actually offer this setup? Its not clear on their website, and I couldn't get them on the phone to day to confirm. Will their setup literally "Bolt On" in place of what I have and use my OEM ECU, intake boot, etc? or will it necessitate a standalone upgrade and MAP sensor conversion?

-Driftmotion makes a kit. What is the consensus on their setup? I've heard its a mix of decent and chinese components. I also hear it doesnt play nice with OEM electronics and the AFM.

-Is there another kit or setup I should consider? I'm open to standalone, IF i can integrate it cleanly and make some more power. I'm certainly not taking the car apart to make it slower.

Option 3: Say screw it and consider an engine swap. I'm intrigued by 1JZ/2JZ setups, but not sure I can swing the cost at this time.

My car is pretty damn clean, and well-kept. I want to keep it that way. I'm not looking to booty fab a junkyard Holset on there.

Please provide advice, photos, links, etc if you have input.

Thanks in advance,

Ryan

 

[JL7mgte]

If you are happy with your current power level, I suggest a rebuild. I had to do mine about 6yrs ago. It was ~$500 then. An upgrade would allow you to take advantage of newer turbo tech that's out now...

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[Piratetip]

Are you positive it's not intake valve seals leaking?

 

[reklund5]

Are you positive it's not intake valve seals leaking?

Pretty confident. It ONLY smokes on deceleration, not on cold start, even after sitting for several weeks. I replaced all those intake valve seals when I did the head gasket. While it's been 15 years or so, it's probably only been 5000 miles.

 

[reklund5]

Any input on the SP or Driftmotion kits?

 

[MarkIII4Me]

Check your turbo and intake pipe for oil. None there? It’s your valvestem seals. Mine went bad from sitting over 10 years and engine had less than 3k mi on it. Originally I thought it was the turbo, and there was oil in the pipes. Had it rebuilt, no more oil on impeller wheel or in intake pipes. Engine still smokes under heavy vacuum. Leak down test numbers were all great. Gotta be the valve seals.

 

[supranaut]

Stay away from Driftmotion...SP's bolt on is a PTE unit, very good.

 

[Koenigturbo]

Are you positive it's not intake valve seals leaking?

I Agree here.

 

[sheedy126]

from past experiences when my turbos were having issues and needing a rebuild, my car would only smoke at idle or on startup after being completely warmed up within a few minutes of being shut off.

smoke on decel would also make me think valve seals.

one way i found out my turbo was to blame, i took the downpipe off and found oil on the exhaust wheel/housing but none inside the exhaust manifold.
nothing wrong with making a holset work on the 7m either ive had extremely good luck with the coupld hx35, upgraded hx35 and hx52's. they are cheap, spool super fast and make good power.

 

[Koenigturbo]

Is there a way to do valve seals on the car,( which I doubt), but if anyone knows how please share,...

 

[AbsoluteSpeed]

Is there a way to do valve seals on the car,( which I doubt), but if anyone knows how please share,...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pj1fRNpWNMs

Same idea on a 7M. Remove the cams, stuff the cylinder full of rope, turn the engine over by hand until the rope is firmly pressed against the valves.
Use a valve keeper removal tool (like the Lisle 36050 or toyotool, do not order the Lisle 36200 as it is to big) to remove the keepers.
Remove retainer and spring. Remove the old valve stem seal (some people have success with needle nose, most do not. I ordered a pair of valve stem seal pliers for $20) and ensure no bits of rubber are left behind. Install the replacement valve seals, reinstall the spring/retainer and use the valve keeper tool of your choice to install the keepers.

This is all in theory right now. I will be doing mine this summer so I guess we shall see how well that all works out!

 

[supranaut]

I've done this several times...any more I just use compressed air in the spark plug hole and have had good luck...Love my toyotool!

 

[AbsoluteSpeed]

I've done this several times...any more I just use compressed air in the spark plug hole and have had good luck...Love my toyotool!

Do you know which one you have? (VMT68 or the VMT2AZ?)
I really wanted to go with the toyotool but had a hard time justifying double the cost for the one time I would use it haha

 

[supranaut]

I have 2 of them...one I use for the JZ/7m/1m and the other for smaller stuff. And for as cheap as the plier are, they are a must!

 

[Koenigturbo]

I have 2 of them...one I use for the JZ/7m/1m and the other for smaller stuff. And for as cheap as the plier are, they are a must!

rent it o me,.."Gnuck,.. gnuck",.. nuck""!!

 

[Funkycheeze]

I have a SupraSport BOSS 60mm triple ball bearing bolt on turbo for sale, with water and oil lines etc. It just had the oil seals replaced in it as well. Will make 600hp easy, I was making 450 wheel at 14 psi, full spool by 4000 RPM. PM me.

 

[Skeezix]

My car was doing the exact same thing and it was the turbo, which had been rebuilt by Driftmotion and maybe had 2000 miles on it. Crazy amounts of shaft play. I bought the CX racing bolt on unit for $300. It's been fine so far. Only complaints was I had to take all my studs out of the old one, and then I had to clock the turbo. Figure if it lasts a year it's not a bad deal


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[supranaut]

Was the shaft play after the Driftmotion rebuild? I've heard bad things about their rebuilds. I need a stocker rebuilt and have no idea who to send it to...

 

[SupraTrbo89]

My car blew blue smoke on start up. I did the rope trick and replaced the valve seals. 100% fixed the problem and now have zero smoke on start up. My car currently blows smoke when coming to a stop......I can see a trail of smoke go by. I am pretty certain it is my turbo seals which sounds like your issue as well.

I will be following this thread as I need to have my turbo rebuilt or buy a new one. I planed on going with DM until I saw some of the responses here.

 

[Skeezix]

Was the shaft play after the Driftmotion rebuild? I've heard bad things about their rebuilds. I need a stocker rebuilt and have no idea who to send it to...

Yes it was after the rebuild. When I got it it was fine, was an upgraded 57 trim. I've heard when you start changing wheel sizes is where they run into problems with properly balancing them. Was thinking of maybe finding a junker and sending it to them to get rebuild to stock size, but by the time I get one shipped to me then to them and then back again I would probably be at $1000. I can get three CX racing ones for that price and it only took a week to get it all the way up to the subarctic lol. Probably have a couple thousand miles on it, running in some pretty harsh weather up here, and it's fine. Had the accordion off the other day and it was still nice and tight with no shaft play


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