Replace the turbo actuator

[TrondOstli]

Hi, guys.

My turbo actuator is dead- its got a rust-hole in it, and it makes strange noises when I apply pressure to it. A brand new one is sitting on my desk, and I wonder if anyone has replaced it before without taking the turbo from the car? What to watch out for.

[Agarner]

I replaced and upgraded my turbo a few months ago i replaced everything apart from the actuator...bad move as that needed replacing to so....after it was put back in the car i didnt want to go through the whole thing again so i replaced it from the top instead... its awkward as hell to be honest if you have patience it is possible...its held ti the turbo by 3 bolts...if i remember rightly they was 10mm but could be wrong... 1 pipe and also its connected to the wastegate by a threaded bar and the nuts are if i remember rightly they was either 7mm or 8mm...firstly i would take the pipe off the top..then undo the wastegate followed by the 3 bolts then it will come out.. then reverse order for fitting....the hardest part is setting the preload while its in place as you dont have much room...what i did was i coloured 1 edge of the nut so i could see and count how many times it was being turnt...the actuator is "MEANT" to be a 5 turn preload... two nuts on the threaded bar so one is used tk adjust the gate and the other acts as a locking nut... feed the threaded bar through the wastegate connection and then push it untill the wastegate shuts (flap will have no resistance) then spin the nut up to the wastegate conection untill it just touches the connection.....then you tighten that nut 5 full turns and then lock it off with the other nut...sorry its a long one but its hard to explain and since getting a new phone im un able to upload any pictures... hope this helps its not a hard job its just awkward and youll find yourself lying across your engine bay lol

[Guest]

if its not 4x4 go from the bottom, you can leave the exhaust manifold in place and save on that gasket and trying to get all the nuts and washers back on without losing them down the engine bay. mine is 4x4 and iv done it a few ways and the best way is to have the engine out, iv done that twice and iv gone in from the top once and the bottom twice. if you go in from the bottom you can look at upgrading bushes on the subframe and not just sort one problem