Undriven Turbo

[Myetball]

Well, I inherited my '88 GA 2.0 turbo some months back and only had to make the trip from San Antonio to San Diego to pick it up. When I got there it had been sitting for four months, my brother hopped in, turned the key, and it fired right up. About 20 seconds later a steady flow of blue/white smoke came pouring out the back. In less than a minute we couldn't see across the street and shut it down. Diagnosis...oil leaking through turbo seal.

So, she still sits in San Diego only right now she's missing the head, cam carrier, and turbo. When I pulled the head I immediately noticed the camshaft was in a sad state. All the lobes had signs of wear but the #4 intake lobe was worn almost round and the follower on that lobe looked like a lays crinkle cut chip.

I got the head into the shop yesterday and got a call today telling me it had three cracks, two between valves and one in an exhaust port. It's gonna get welded and redone for $145. A new cam/lifter/follower kit is gonna run $236, gasket set and head bolts $100.

Of course I'm on the lookout for another turbo. Once I get it all together it's back out the SD to put it all together and drive it back to SA. So even though I've owned a turbo GA for several months now I have yet to drive it. Hopefully by September.

[Hybrid T2T3]

if u still have time i would get a custom grind cam instaled instead of putting the stock back in, when i got mine rebuilt i was kicking myself in the ass for not doing it, the car dosent seem to have any top end power, i always thought turbo cars were faster on the highway in higer rpms but thats not the case with mine. it seems to stop pulling after 5500 rpm and dosent really pull on the highway like it does 0-70mph, after that it dosent seem to want to go anywere fast. dont get me wrong its pretty fast compared to other cars but just not what i expect on the highway.

as for the turbo upgrade, i had Majestic turbo in waco tx. do mine, it cost me 535 for them to turn the stock t2 in to a t2/t3 hybrid. they told my it should get me in to the 250-285hp range but i didnt notice much diffrence except turbo lag was decreased quite a bit. i think the cylinder head wont flow enough to make the extra power. if you can get your head ported and polished it will help alot, better to do it now while you got it off. this place in ca. called portpros wants 800 to do a full race head for me, i think i can find a better price but then again everything has to be custom fabracated. since you have to get the turbo rebuilt u might as well get it upgraded, it only like a extra 100 bucks.

[Myetball]

Well, I've two project cars. An '85 Sentra Coupe that's waiting for a 125hp 1.8l DOHC swap and the turbo GA. Right now I want too get the GA back on the road so I can drive it back to texas. The Sentra project is on hold till the GA gets going.

The stock cam/lifter/follower kit is about the same price as a custom ground cam. So, being on somewhat of a budget, I'm gonna redo it stock and drive it until I finish the Sentra rebuild. Then I'll tear down the GA and make it a monster.

My son had the same problem with his '96 Talon Tsi. He had a stock T25 and would top out on his turbo. He put a small 16G on and says it pulls like a raped ape all the way to the limiter.

If you are still running the T2 compressor it may be that it just tops out early. Being a single cam, eight valve engine also limits it quite a bit. A race head setup would do a world of good.

I found a place in Alabama that specialized in custom fabs for import engines. They got some reasonable prices and they should be able to work on a Brazilian Pontiac head. Check 'em out at http://www.paeco.com/ order a free catalog, it has alot more stuff than on the web page.

[Myetball]

I picked up the new cam/lifter/follower kit and head set w/bolts today. My original turbo is currently up for auction on ebay. A fellow nissanforums.com member in Miami hooked me up with a freshly rebuilt T25 for $350, it should be here soon. Now I just need to get an intercooler and piping. I'm hoping to get an intercooler from a Probe.

So I'll run this car for a year or more while I'm working on my Nissan project car then the turbo GA goes up on jackstands for some serious work.