About Turbo Repairs: UK Turbocharger & Actuator Specialists
Turbo Repairs is a UK turbocharger and electronic turbo actuator specialist, working from a dedicated workshop in Epsom, Surrey. Rebuilding turbos and actuators is not one service among many here — it is the only thing we do. Drivers and the motor trade the length of the country send us their failed units, and we strip, inspect, rebuild, calibrate and bench-test every one before it goes back on a vehicle. We have rebuilt turbochargers this way from our Epsom workshop since 2011.
We are turbocharger specialists and nothing else — one workshop, one focus, every turbo and actuator rebuilt to cure the fault at its root and backed for life, with no mileage cap.
- Since 2011Rebuilding turbochargers from the same Epsom workshop
- Lifetime warrantyUnlimited mileage — no time limit, no mileage cap
- VSR-balancedEvery rebuild spun, balanced and bench-tested before sign-off
- 1–2 day actuatorsTypical actuator turnaround; turbo rebuilds 2–3 days
What We Do
Two rebuilds sit at the centre of everything here.
Turbocharger reconditioning
Full rebuilds of variable-geometry (VNT/VGT) and conventional wastegate turbos — stripped to the core and rebuilt to original specification or better.
Electronic turbo actuator repair
Both electronic and vacuum-operated units, for when a single bolt-on part has failed and the turbocharger itself is mechanically sound.
Both run as a mail-in service, so where you are makes no difference — we rebuild units posted in from across the UK and from customers overseas. You remove the faulty unit, post it to us, and we return it rebuilt, tested and ready to refit — actuators need no programming on the vehicle. If you would rather buy a ready-to-fit reconditioned unit for your exact fitment than send your own in, our shop is stocked by make and model.
How We Rebuild a Turbocharger
A turbocharger is a precision-balanced machine, not a bolt-on box. The shaft at its centre can spin past 200,000 rpm on a thin film of pressurised oil, so a rebuild that skips the balancing or the running clearances will not last. Every turbo that reaches us goes through the same disciplined process, in the same order, every time:
- Full strip and inspection. The unit is dismantled to component level and the centre housing rotating assembly (CHRA) is checked for shaft play, wheel damage, oil coking and bearing wear.
- Genuine wear parts renewed. Journal and thrust bearings, the thrust collar, seal rings and the wastegate or VNT nozzle-ring mechanism are replaced with OE or OEM-grade parts that meet or exceed the original specification.
- Root cause corrected, not reinstalled. Where a known design weakness caused the failure — a sticking vane mechanism, a worn wastegate pivot, a tired seal — we address it rather than build the same fault straight back in.
- VSR balancing. The rebuilt rotating assembly is spun and balanced at full operating speed on a VSR (Vibration Sorting Rig), the same principle used in original turbo manufacture, so it runs true with no destructive vibration.
- Bench testing and sign-off. The finished turbo is pressure and flow tested, and an engineer signs it off before it is packed. Nothing leaves the workshop untested.
Electronic Turbo Actuator Repairs
On most modern diesels the turbo is controlled by an electronic actuator — a small geared motor with a built-in position sensor that sets the VNT vanes or the wastegate and reports their exact position back to the engine ECU. That feedback runs in a closed loop: the moment the commanded position and the actual position stop agreeing, the ECU drops the engine into limp mode. Because manufacturers often supply the actuator only as part of a complete turbocharger, a small electronic fault is frequently quoted as a four-figure turbo replacement.
We rebuild the actuator instead. The unit is stripped, its worn motor, gears and sensor components renewed, and — the step that so many repairs miss — the position sensor is recalibrated to the vane end-stops so the ECU trusts its readings again. Every actuator is bench-tested under live boost targets and returned plug-and-play: you bolt it on, clear the stored codes and drive. There is no dealer programming to arrange on the vehicle.
Why a Rebuild, Not a Replacement
A new or used replacement turbo carries the same design as the one that failed — including the weakness that caused the failure in the first place. A proper rebuild is the chance to put that right: the parts most likely to wear are renewed, the original fault route is corrected, and the assembly is balanced and tested to a standard a used unit never gives you. You keep your matched, correctly-specified turbo for your engine, and you get back a unit that is set up to outlast the original rather than repeat its history.
Mail-In From Anywhere in the UK — and Internationally
You do not need to be near Epsom to use us. The mail-in service works the same for a driver in Aberdeen as for one in Surrey: remove the unit, complete the online repair form so we have your fault codes and vehicle details, and post it in on a tracked courier. We rebuild, test and return it. We also take units from customers outside the UK — contact us before you post an international unit and we will confirm the return shipping arrangement first. Turnaround is quick because we know a car or van off the road costs you every day it stands still — electronic actuator repairs are typically completed within one to two working days, and common turbo rebuilds within two to three.
Who We Work With
Our customers split two ways.
Private owners
Drivers weighing a rebuild against an expensive dealer replacement, usually after a limp-mode warning, lost power, whistling or an unexplained boost fault code.
The motor trade
Independent garages, workshops and main dealers sending us units on behalf of their own customers, because a mail-in remanufacture is faster and less costly than sourcing a whole new assembly.
Both get the same rebuild, the same testing and the same warranty. We regularly work with common fitments from Ford, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi and the wider VAG group, Vauxhall and Jaguar Land Rover, among others.
Backed for Life
We stand behind our work with a lifetime, unlimited-mileage warranty — no time limit and no mileage cap.
It is not a marketing line; it is a statement about how the units are built. We only offer it because every turbo is VSR-balanced and bench-tested, and every actuator is recalibrated and proven before it ships. When the process is right, the part lasts — and the warranty simply says so.
Our Ambition
Our aim is straightforward: to be the UK’s first-choice turbocharger specialist. Not the biggest catalogue or the loudest name — the workshop the trade and drivers turn to first when a turbo or actuator fails, because the rebuild is done properly and it holds. Every unit we sign off is a step towards that.
You will find us at Unit 102 Reaver House, 12 East Street, Epsom, Surrey, KT17 1HX. Wherever you are in the country, the quickest way to get a failing turbo or actuator moving is the online repair form.
Start your repair
Send us your turbo or actuator
Complete the online repair form with your vehicle details and fault codes, post the unit in on a tracked courier, and we will rebuild, test and return it — ready to refit, with no programming needed on the vehicle.
Lifetime unlimited-mileage warranty · VSR-balanced and bench-tested · Rebuilt in our own Epsom workshop