8mm Bolts Cause Havoc for ‘FTE’ Member’s Turbo Rebuild
When a forum member has trouble removing bolts on a rebuild project, he turns to fellow Ford truck enthusiasts for help.
We’ve all been there. A project that should take a day or two is going along great. And then a corroded, rusty bolt (or bolts) stops the project in its tracks. Until the stubborn fasteners are removed no more progress can be made. In the process, you usually end up with a pile of tools that can include hammers, chisels, grinders, punches, torches… well, you get the idea. Such was the case for Ford Trucks forum member “MTP55.” He recently decided to perform a turbo rebuild on his 2000 F150’s 7.3-liter turbo diesel. It’s no secret that turbos produce a ton of heat. That constant heat cycling causes bolts and metal components to expand and then shrink. Over time they can also become completely stuck in place. That’s exactly the problem that MTP55 encountered. So he turned to his fellow truck enthusiasts for help.
“I’ve been working on rebuilding my turbo on my 2000 7.3. On the exhaust side of the housing theres two of the 8mm bolts that wont give up. I’ve been soaking them in PB blaster for two days and tapping on them with a hammer. Both have their heads pretty well stripped. I didn’t want to break out the torch because I wasn’t sure how much heat that thing can handle before things start to get compromised. Any suggestions?”
Forum member FordTruckNoob suggests heat.
“The exhaust side? Hit it with the torch. You’re not going to hurt anything.”
That suggestion is seconded by Walleye Hunter:
“Torch it already. I had to get mine cherry red. And clean the hole out with a tap or thread chaser.”
Walleye Hunter also suggests cutting the bolts off with a Dremel or cutoff wheel and then removing the leftover bolt material with a torch and an air chisel. After much struggling (and no doubt a good amount of swearing) the OP is able to extract the turbo housing and related plumbing from the truck’s engine bay.
“…after some wiggling they pretty much came right out the top. I was very happy. First victory so far with this whole project.”
Once he was able to extract all of the parts from the engine bay MTP55 had a few more questions about rebuilding the turbo as well as the installation process. Once again his fellow forum members were a huge help. At the end of the day, the turbo rebuild was a success and MTP55’s truck is back on the road. He expressed his gratitude to Ford-Trucks‘ helpful online community.
“Just wanted to say thank you to those of you that helped me with this project. No leaks this far and the turbo hasn’t come apart so this should be a success. Very happy with how it all turned out and how the truck responds now. I learn as I go and appreciate the advice.”
