BNR GTX14 turbo kit install difficulty?

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Durdenss

New member
Hi guys, my drivetrain warranty ended last month and of course my check engine light popped yesterday. Turns out turbo is going bad. Dealer said $1600 to replace and install. The gtx14 kit is $2400. My question is how hard is it to install. I am guessing the injectors in the kit would be the hardest to install, and the turbo is just several bolts... but i have no idea. Is this something i can do in my driveway fairly easy? I do have access to a lift at my father in laws house but its an hour and a half away.
Or is this a slippery slope of continually having to tweak and mess with the car. It is just my daily driver that I don't want to keep dumping money into...
 
JesusTheAgnostic

JesusTheAgnostic

New member
Lol wut. Injectors are actually the easy part. You just hit the little valve on top of the fuel rail, and disconnect the fuel line. Then it's literally just pressing down on the clips to remove the electrical connection to the injectors and then if I remember correctly after that there may be a nut or bolt to remove but you can literally just pull the fuel rail out. As to the actual turbo I have no idea but mja said it was comparable to changing a clutch, and my friend said it's a pain because you have to get under the car and disconnect coolant hoses, but that was his biggest complaint. The car in general is really easy to work on as long as you can get to what you need. You will of course have to wait for the turbo and then for the tune for the injectors and I don't know how long that process is.

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cuartz7o

New member
Agreed the turbo removal (draining fluids and removing the lines) is the hardest part but doable with patience. How comfortable are you with wrenching / DIY?

Also I can agreed having just swapped out intake manifolds that the injectors were super easy. I even used the fuel line disconnect tool which many don't even remove but since I was swapping to a new fuel rail I needed to but still very straight forward to work on this car

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Durdenss

New member
I am pretty comfortable with doing the work, and my father in law is a weekend mechanic (why he has a lift). I just hate dealing with fluids, but if it saves me 800 bucks.... is it really bad for the car to drive it an hour and a half while the turbo underboosting?
 
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cuartz7o

New member
Assuming Jerry would set you up with a base tune he could work with you to give you a safe time to get home I imagine. I would recommend getting the tune and injectors installed before you tackle the gtx install. That way you'd have less risk (I think) driving home with just the new gtx two installed.

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JesusTheAgnostic

JesusTheAgnostic

New member
I don't know about driving it an hour and a half with a blown turbo. It's not particularly fast. Might wanna get a tow

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boostiboo

New member
I agree with agnostic, I've tried to limp vehicles with blown turbos before, sometimes it works out, other times the poor turbskie tries to revive itself and ends up causing more damage. All in all it will be slow, run like absolute crap and be a general pain to drive. Trust me. A tow or trailer will make life easier

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mja

mja

Site Supporter
OP - Get a stock turbo on ebay or in a junkyard, or buy a new OEM one. Make sure the car is running like a top before getting a turbo kit.

This ensures you dont dump 3k$ into a POS. It also gives you an extra turbo if there are issues with the BNR one. GTX turbo is awesome, a car that drives is better. This is coming from someone on his 4th turbo on a Sonic.

Edit... & I 3rd the getting it towed 100 miles to wherever
 
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Durdenss

New member
I ended up chickening out and just had the dealer replace it with stock. It wasnt completely blown when i took it in. It didnt feel very sluggish or anything at all when the light came on, I was even playing with an audi a6 through the backroad twisties about 40 minutes away when it came on and he couldnt hang... but the code and dealer say the turbo is going bad. Thats why I was wondering if it would have even been bad to drive that far.
 
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pbkn1p

New member
Durdenss said:
I ended up chickening out and just had the dealer replace it with stock. It wasnt completely blown when i took it in. It didnt feel very sluggish or anything at all when the light came on, I was even playing with an audi a6 through the backroad twisties about 40 minutes away when it came on and he couldnt hang... but the code and dealer say the turbo is going bad. Thats why I was wondering if it would have even been bad to drive that far.
Click to expand...



So your turbo went bad ? May I ask year and mileage of your sonic ??
And

Did you keep up with maintenance ??
What oil did you use ?
Thanks in advanced.


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2014 Blue RS

2014 Blue RS

Active member
Durdenss said:
I ended up chickening out and just had the dealer replace it with stock. It wasnt completely blown when i took it in. It didnt feel very sluggish or anything at all when the light came on, I was even playing with an audi a6 through the backroad twisties about 40 minutes away when it came on and he couldnt hang... but the code and dealer say the turbo is going bad. Thats why I was wondering if it would have even been bad to drive that far.
Click to expand...
Hahaha. I'm not hearing concern for the turbo on your way to the dealer.

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JesusTheAgnostic

JesusTheAgnostic

New member
My turbo "failed" according to the dealer. I got it replaced under warranty at around 40k or so. I was following GM's recommended oil change interval. Do yourself a favor and just change it as you should.

But about the GTX install

If anyone installs the GTX you should take pictures and all that. I'm thinking about buying one soon but I don't know how good the instructions are.
 
JesusTheAgnostic

JesusTheAgnostic

New member
Aww yis. I have the money right now but I'm holding, waiting to see if there's a holiday sale :D

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Durdenss

New member
It doesnt come with instructions. I asked if they would send me the instructions so that i could study what i would be getting into. And they just replied "there are no instructions, you just replace the stock turbo with the gtx14" lol
 
mja

mja

Site Supporter
Ya just pretend its a header swap except theres a turbo in the way, its really not that hard, the gasket setup is sooo nice compared to some old V8s. You'll need to first drain the radiator coolant and disconnect the oil drain & coolant from underneath, disconnect feeds on top, and gota remove the wastegate to get to all the bolts. Its not difficult at all, just takes some time and effort. PM me if u want some videos, I have an extra turbo to show what needs to be removed. I like using the Marco Polo app for this type of thing.
 
mja

mja

Site Supporter
Ya I get busy and forget, things happen.

Unhook this line
gplus1357116733.jpg


Unclip, careful not to lose it
gplus123039380.jpg


Take out 2 bolts
gplus600966750.jpg


Ease it out, and don't adjust it. Install is reverse of removal.
 
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