996 Turbo (refurbishing both Turbos)

Hi, I was wondering if anyone has had both turbos refurbished on a 996 Turbo, who they used and what there experience was like ? As you can appreciate it represents a significant expense and so I am keen to see if anyone can recommend someone that has had it done. The process as I understand it is that firstly the Turbos are taken off the vehicle and then sent to a specialist turbo refurbishment company (as opposed to using Porsche directly, who will charge fortune), who will take a week or do two to do the work, then you get the turbos delivered back to the to your Porsche specialist and they refit the turbos. However in addition to the turbos being refitted then you may as well also get the oil return lines and actuators replaced at the same time. Has anyone gone through the same process, and have any recommendations ? Barry

Hi Barry, I used Nine Excellence in Surrey when I had both turbos totally refurbished as new on my TTS ~18 months ago. I also had some other bits done too so it wasn't cheap but attention to detail and overall result was great and I've had absolutely zero problems with the car since. Definitely recommend HTH Gary

Hi Barry, Mine were refurbished a few years ago and sent to AET for the actual turbo unit overhaul. As I recall, there were a lot of ancillary parts that were changed including the actuators, oil lines and heat shields. Naturally there were all fresh nuts and bolts too. Hope that helps John

Hi I helped my friend change his turbos on a 996tt a couple of years ago & then did the same job to my 997tt last August, once removed I had them refurbished by turbo technics in Fordingbridge who did a great job, i also replaced all of the corroded oil lines plus plugs & coil packs and a few other items during that were looking a little worse for wear. I also did all of the manifold bolts as well which was a scary job considering they corrode badly just below the bolt heads and then break off when you try to remove them. Regards Karl

Any particular reason you're doing this? I've only had one fail in the last 40 years, took it out, sent to a refurb / repair company and put it back in with new seals and gaskets.

I've had a few done through AET turbos using Northway Porsche. Tim The most likely issue is the outside skin of the turbos rusting through. Normal signs are sounds like your exhaust is blowing and the other turbo over boosting to 0.9/1,0 bar to compensate

I did mine because the exhaust bolt nuts had corroded to nothing to a point where it started blowing, the turbos were reasonably rusty & needed removing anyway so it was a case of now or replace them in 5 years, the manifold bolts were nearly shot so im glad i replaced those (all came out) the turbos on my friends 996 had rusted all the way through, fortunately we managed to pick up an as new secondhand pair.

Hi Everyone, I just wanted to thank you all for your thoughts and recommendations, really appreciate the support. Sadly I do not have the space and equipment to remove the turbos my self, send off the turbos get them refurbished and then refit, along with actuators and replacement oil lines etc. Currently I have my car maintained by Northway Porsche, they have quoted as an estimate 6.2k +vat. I will check with them to see if they still use AET Turbos as a couple of you have mentioned using them. Really wanted to get some confidence in going down a proven route as the cost is significant. Many thanks. Barry

You must be getting an awful lot more work done than the turbos refurbed. At least Northways will be cheaper than anyone else.

Im actually in the process of doing this - naively I started off just trying to replace the broken exhaust straps (and replace a few rusted nuts on the way). One I got the exhaust off (which was not that easy due to those pesky nuts!) I noticed that one of the turbos wouldn't spin (by hand). Bearings shot. So I set about trying to undo the oil lines. None would turn so I had to cut. Luckily all other nuts/bolts undid ok. I sent the turbos to AET who have dismantled and examined, quoting just under £2k to fit (including 2 new actuators). They should arrive back to tomorrow so I can then report on how they look. Refitting - Im trying to resolve the cut oil lines now, leaning on RedLine Hydraulics and AdvancedFluidSolutions for fittings. Im no mechanic (and admittedly I haven't put it all back together yet - including a new TopGear exhaust I treated myself to) but there is nothing too complicated. Its just a matter of taking your time and buying the correct tools (which are £ and not ££££). If you do decide to give it a go just plan your exit strategy - the 'what if I get totally stuck'. I would flatbed it to my local (Wrightune I think) Hope that helps Todd.

my turbo oil lines and coolant lines were very difficult but persistent wiggling and spraying over a couple of days did eventually free them up, the only lines i had to cut were the feeds to the reservoirs, the ones at the rear of the engine, these were cut off then we put a 6.7mm or 6.8mm drill backwards into the cut pipe to stop it being crushed, we then used spray and a snap-on stud extractor to grip it and twist it alternately in both direction, they all came out & were replaced with new. Karl

Hi Todd, From your post if I understand you correctly is £2k (inc vat ?) to refurbish two turbos (including actuators). Sounds like a good deal. Just for reference mine are rusting through the outer case, and as described by another post from Gordon, my car sounds like the exhaust is blown, the other turbo is rusted but not yet gone through, from what Northway said. As I cannot take the turbos off myself or refit them then I am reliant on Northway or another independent to do the work. From what I hear then the oil lines should also all be replaced, not sure how much that is. In light of the quote I was given by Northway clearly I need to get a much more detailed breakdown of the costs involved (something I was going to do anyway). Please let me now how you get on with AET when they come back and how you get on generally. Thanks for the response. Kind regards Barry Quote from Todd.. Im actually in the process of doing this - naively I started off just trying to replace the broken exhaust straps (and replace a few rusted nuts on the way). One I got the exhaust off (which was not that easy due to those pesky nuts!) I noticed that one of the turbos wouldn't spin (by hand). Bearings shot. So I set about trying to undo the oil lines. None would turn so I had to cut. Luckily all other nuts/bolts undid ok. I sent the turbos to AET who have dismantled and examined, quoting just under £2k to fit (including 2 new actuators). They should arrive back to tomorrow so I can then report on how they look. Refitting - Im trying to resolve the cut oil lines now, leaning on RedLine Hydraulics and AdvancedFluidSolutions for fittings. Im no mechanic (and admittedly I haven't put it all back together yet - including a new TopGear exhaust I treated myself to) but there is nothing too complicated. Its just a matter of taking your time and buying the correct tools (which are £ and not ££££). If you do decide to give it a go just plan your exit strategy - the 'what if I get totally stuck'. I would flatbed it to my local (Wrightune I think) Hope that helps Todd.

Hi Barry - yes, final bill from AET was £1998 including VAT. Thats for rebuilding two K24 turbos (one was quite bad) and 2 new actuators. Everything is back and fitted on the car now, I even drove her today for 20mins to get up to temperature and check everything was ok. AET were fine. There was a little confusion over pricing, and I suggest anyone using them gets written confirmation of any telephone quote, but other than that they seem pretty good. I also fitted a TopGear linked stainless exhaust. Pretty happy with it so far. Fit was tight but not crazy and it sounds decent (a little deeper than the original exhaust but not much louder). Although I haven't pushed the car yet to really hear it. So overall I found it quite easy. I am not a mechanic (or particularly mechanically gifted!) but everything is logical and straight forward. There are Youtube videos for most things and if not there are these forums full of great advice. I just took my time and bought the tools required (mostly to do with removing rusty nuts and studs). Oh, and the oil lines are around £1k to replace + labour, which Im guessing they will drop the engine for. Its possible to do without dropping but why would they not charge for it... Hope that helps Todd.

Hi Todd, Glad to hear that your turbo refurbishment has gone well, and you are back on the road enjoying it. Thank you for sharing your experience and giving me some idea of what outlay I am facing, your help is very much appreciated. At the moment my car is testing me financially, but as all petrol heads know, this is forgotten once you are on the open road. Many thanks Barry