Stealth 64 Rebuild?

[Lennydmaxguy]

Hi guys, I need expert advice.

I've had a DuramaxTuner Stealth 64 in my LLY for about 3 years now. Overall, it's done ok. I've been reading on here about guys who didn't fair so well. Lately though, it's getting slower on spool-up, EGTs go higher than I'd like, and it makes a squealing noise at lower engine RPMs with a few PSI boost.

I'm wondering if I can rebuild the turbo myself with a kit like this. I see they also offer a complete center section. Would I be ok to reuse the compressor and turbine? What about balance? Would it need rebalanced after reassembly? If so, I might be farther ahead just sending the complete turbo to an expert and have them go through it and balance when they're done.

If I do end up doing this myself, is there anything else I should do while I'm in there? I see unison rings and low profile vanes for sale. Would that be worth it? Or maybe the stealth already has something like that?

I really hate the idea of dropping 2K+ on a whole new turbo. If I can get this one working well again, that's what I want to do. But I do need the truck to be reliable...

 

[Chevy1925]

Sure it ain’t a drive pressure leak

 

[1FastBrick]

I don't have enough experience with turbo's but I think you would only need the center section if yours was damaged.

I have seen Rebuild kits like that, but I don't know which brands are good or not.

What I do know, is that you should mark the end of the shaft and the nut when you remove it as well as the wheel's location prior to removal. This will keep you in the balanced range if it was balanced properly before.

 

[Lennydmaxguy]

Sure it ain’t a drive pressure leak

I'll make sure I check that. The up pipes are the same age as the turbo, but I guess that doesn't necessarily mean they couldn't leak.

 

[PureHybrid]

I've heard good and bad about KB for turbo parts. If duramaxtuner is worth their weight they'd be able to source bearings and seals for you. Rebuild is fairly straightforward, provided nothing has made contact, don't stress about the balance if you're using the same parts again

 

[Lennydmaxguy]

I'll make sure I check that. The up pipes are the same age as the turbo, but I guess that doesn't necessarily mean they couldn't leak.

I looked my exhaust over with an inspection mirror today. I don't see soot anywhere. Is there a better way to check for leaks?

 

[Lennydmaxguy]

I don't have enough experience with turbo's but I think you would only need the center section if yours was damaged.

I have seen Rebuild kits like that, but I don't know which brands are good or not.

What I do know, is that you should mark the end of the shaft and the nut when you remove it as well as the wheel's location prior to removal. This will keep you in the balanced range if it was balanced properly before.

I've heard good and bad about KB for turbo parts. If duramaxtuner is worth their weight they'd be able to source bearings and seals for you. Rebuild is fairly straightforward, provided nothing has made contact, don't stress about the balance if you're using the same parts again

Thanks for confirming that I don't need a rebalance. That's what I was thinking as well.

I may try to contact Duramaxtuner, but my previous experience with their customer support hasn't been the best.

 

[Lennydmaxguy]

I decided to go with this kit: https://kcturbos.com/products/360-extreme-rebuild-kit?variant=8188725067864
This company seems to be really good with the Garrett's in 6.0 Powerstrokes, which are very similar turbos. And the kit looks more complete than KB's.

I'm hoping to have time to get this done in the next few weeks. I plan to pull both up pipes for a thorough inspection and replace the gaskets. Maybe fix 2 problems at once if I do have a leak.

 

[1FastBrick]

Nice. They seem to have good reputation on the Ford side. A buddy of mine has one on his 7.3L

 

[Bdsankey]

Personally DT has been NOTHING but a pain in the rear on customer support. They "plug every one of our stealth IHI wastegates. We only leave them open if the customer is running compound turbos". I spent 3 hours on the phone trying to explain why that was false and kept getting told "you're wrong".

It took me finally saying "Listen man, if your statement was true why did blocking the wastegate line pick up 15psi of boost?". After that the most they offered to do for my customer was send a plug and force him to pay labor to install said plug (remove downpipe they claim is all that's needed) OR to have him drive the truck to them so they could perform the work (~3.5hrs one way).

This turbo is out of warranty by age but has maybe ~1000mi on it at this point.



As for your rebuild, my only concern is if you're experiencing noise that the compressor wheel may have already contacted the cover. As James said, I would also really really really look over the manifolds and up-pipe connections for exhaust leaks of any type as they typically show up as a squeal.

 

[Chriselmore_1]

Duramaxtuner sucks. They won't sell you any parts to rebuild or give you any info on the parts. The only option is to mail it in for an $800 rebuild. Or you could buy the LLY bearing kit from KC turbo. I've used a few of them with no problems

 

[Chriselmore_1]

An FYI when you rebuild the turbo You will notice those two square Teflon o-ring seals on the actuator shaft. I was freaking out when I rebuilt my first one trying to find those o-rings. There is no part number and you can't find them anywhere. But after doing my research I found out that Garrett discontinued those seals. Apparently they were causing too much drag on the shaft and they are not needed.

 

[Lennydmaxguy]

An FYI when you rebuild the turbo You will notice those two square Teflon o-ring seals on the actuator shaft. I was freaking out when I rebuilt my first one trying to find those o-rings. There is no part number and you can't find them anywhere. But after doing my research I found out that Garrett discontinued those seals. Apparently they were causing too much drag on the shaft and they are not needed.

That's good info, man. Thanks. The kit from KC arrived today. Now I need to find time to actually do it...

 

[Lennydmaxguy]

Update on this...

Finally had time this weekend to pull the turbo and rebuild it. Luckily, the compressor is still in relatively good shape. There were no signs of contact with the housing. Nothing jumped out at me as being badly worn, but the turbo is WAY more responsive now. I'm really happy with the result.

I also pulled my up-pipes and manifolds in case they were leaking. I didn't find anything obvious, but I did all new gaskets to be safe.

The KC Turbos kit is nice, has all the seals and new bolts besides the bearings. One note, though. The thrust washer spacers that go on either side of the washer were a different design on the Stealth turbo. I had to re-use the old ones. I was a little disappointed, but honestly, I don't think they are a wear item. At least less so than the thrust washer itself.

For anyone else interested in doing a rebuild, it's fairly simple. Just keep track of all the parts, take lots of pictures, maybe even watch some Youtube videos. There's good info out there for these units.