Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
Guys, with the recent interest I figured I'd throw a few pictures up for those interested of an actuator replacement.
This is where I got mine for reference. This was posted by another member a while back although it escapes me who at the moment. Regardless, thank you! It is the best price for a reman I have found.
https://www.mddistributorsstore.com/cummins/5494878rx/remanufactured-turbocharger-actuator-kit
There are two parts to a turbo actuator. What is called by some as the half shell (part one) and the gear housing (part two). Clarity is poor but in the first picture the three screws across the top (horizontally) are tamper proof torx. I believe there are 6 total, this is what fastens the half shell to the gear housing. If you purchase the shell that Geno's sells through City Diesel the half shell is all you get. You will not get the drive gear housing that is attached to the half shell in the second picture. The gear is below my thumb. (Another poor picture, sorry!)
The Shell drives the gear, the gear turns the arm on the turbo charger. My gear did have a very small amount of wear.
The actuator is easily accessible through the passenger side wheel well once the tire and fender skirt is removed. You will need to drain your coolant. I slowly unbolted the actuator and let it drain into a large diameter drain pan I have, but this could get messy if using a smaller pan.
For you rust belt guys this is a good opportunity for some rust prevention. I dug this out of the back side of the fender, about a dust pan and a half of mud and leaves.
There is also a hole in the cab that runs the length of the rocker panel that is only accessible with the fender skirt removed. I got the fluid Film gun out with my hose extension and let er rip for a good minute or two. An ounce of prevention....
Back to the actuator, once it's unplugged you will need a 5mm Allen. I used an Allen socket on the top two but the bottom two there isn't enough room. The shock tower is in the way. I couldn't find my 5mm single Allen for the life of me so I ended up using a 5mm bit and 6 point wrench. I think it ended up working out better because I was able to get up on it closer and with better leverage on the bolt compared to an Allen wrench.
Actuator removed.
While you are here full travel of the turbo arm HAS TO BE verified. There are scribe marks for reference in the actuator mounting flange. Arm should move with little resistance between travel marks scribed on the flange. This is critical. The ecm monitors actuator travel range, time, and resistance. If something doesn't seem right here you need to stop and reassess.
Now for the calibration. I used the Alpha OBD app so I will show that but regardless of what you use the calibration process is the same. In the picture above you can see a half of a hole behind the arm, this is the alignment hole for the arm for the calibration sequence. An alignment pin is provided with the kit. Align the hole in the arm to the hole in the turbo and pin it (see below).
Next, the new actuator needs to be plugged in but NOT INSTALLED.
Turn ignition key to ON (not start) and fire up the Alpha. Rather than post individual screen shots of the steps I'm going to try a link to my Google Docs. If you guys can't open it let me know and I'll try something different.
It's very straight forward, plug actuator in, run pre installment calibration, pull alignment pin and install actuator on to turbo and run post installation calibration. The calibration on the Alpha part takes 1-2 minutes. Very straight forward with clear instructions. You can't screw it up....as long as you can read
I wish I could provide the proper torque specs but I could not source them before doing the job. I just cross tightened in incremental steps to what felt appropriate for the fastener size.
One thing I did, and recommend doing, is coating the entire bolt - thread and shoulder - with anti sieze. My two bottom bolts were seized to the actuator housing. Steel bolts passing through an aluminum housing in a corrosive environment....bad ju ju.
I ended up shipping my old actuator out with one of the old bolts intact. It fought me the whole way all the way until the last thread. I had to put heat on the housing with my torch and a pencil tip designed for soldering. I spent a good 45 minutes on this one last bolt. Patience is paramount! Aside from ruining something on the truck the core must be in usable condition or you will be out $200. Hopefully my experiences were the exception and not the norm here.
Once buttoned up its a matter of topping off the coolant, reinstalling the fender skirt, and tire. You will need 3 of the Christmas tree type push pins to install the fender skirt. I can get the part number if anyone is interested. You will need 4 gallons of coolant on hand. I used around 3.5 gallons to top off using the "drain through the actuator and refill" method.
This is where I got mine for reference. This was posted by another member a while back although it escapes me who at the moment. Regardless, thank you! It is the best price for a reman I have found.
https://www.mddistributorsstore.com/cummins/5494878rx/remanufactured-turbocharger-actuator-kit
There are two parts to a turbo actuator. What is called by some as the half shell (part one) and the gear housing (part two). Clarity is poor but in the first picture the three screws across the top (horizontally) are tamper proof torx. I believe there are 6 total, this is what fastens the half shell to the gear housing. If you purchase the shell that Geno's sells through City Diesel the half shell is all you get. You will not get the drive gear housing that is attached to the half shell in the second picture. The gear is below my thumb. (Another poor picture, sorry!)
The Shell drives the gear, the gear turns the arm on the turbo charger. My gear did have a very small amount of wear.
The actuator is easily accessible through the passenger side wheel well once the tire and fender skirt is removed. You will need to drain your coolant. I slowly unbolted the actuator and let it drain into a large diameter drain pan I have, but this could get messy if using a smaller pan.
For you rust belt guys this is a good opportunity for some rust prevention. I dug this out of the back side of the fender, about a dust pan and a half of mud and leaves.
There is also a hole in the cab that runs the length of the rocker panel that is only accessible with the fender skirt removed. I got the fluid Film gun out with my hose extension and let er rip for a good minute or two. An ounce of prevention....
Back to the actuator, once it's unplugged you will need a 5mm Allen. I used an Allen socket on the top two but the bottom two there isn't enough room. The shock tower is in the way. I couldn't find my 5mm single Allen for the life of me so I ended up using a 5mm bit and 6 point wrench. I think it ended up working out better because I was able to get up on it closer and with better leverage on the bolt compared to an Allen wrench.
Actuator removed.
While you are here full travel of the turbo arm HAS TO BE verified. There are scribe marks for reference in the actuator mounting flange. Arm should move with little resistance between travel marks scribed on the flange. This is critical. The ecm monitors actuator travel range, time, and resistance. If something doesn't seem right here you need to stop and reassess.
Now for the calibration. I used the Alpha OBD app so I will show that but regardless of what you use the calibration process is the same. In the picture above you can see a half of a hole behind the arm, this is the alignment hole for the arm for the calibration sequence. An alignment pin is provided with the kit. Align the hole in the arm to the hole in the turbo and pin it (see below).
Next, the new actuator needs to be plugged in but NOT INSTALLED.
Turn ignition key to ON (not start) and fire up the Alpha. Rather than post individual screen shots of the steps I'm going to try a link to my Google Docs. If you guys can't open it let me know and I'll try something different.
It's very straight forward, plug actuator in, run pre installment calibration, pull alignment pin and install actuator on to turbo and run post installation calibration. The calibration on the Alpha part takes 1-2 minutes. Very straight forward with clear instructions. You can't screw it up....as long as you can read
I wish I could provide the proper torque specs but I could not source them before doing the job. I just cross tightened in incremental steps to what felt appropriate for the fastener size.
One thing I did, and recommend doing, is coating the entire bolt - thread and shoulder - with anti sieze. My two bottom bolts were seized to the actuator housing. Steel bolts passing through an aluminum housing in a corrosive environment....bad ju ju.
I ended up shipping my old actuator out with one of the old bolts intact. It fought me the whole way all the way until the last thread. I had to put heat on the housing with my torch and a pencil tip designed for soldering. I spent a good 45 minutes on this one last bolt. Patience is paramount! Aside from ruining something on the truck the core must be in usable condition or you will be out $200. Hopefully my experiences were the exception and not the norm here.
Once buttoned up its a matter of topping off the coolant, reinstalling the fender skirt, and tire. You will need 3 of the Christmas tree type push pins to install the fender skirt. I can get the part number if anyone is interested. You will need 4 gallons of coolant on hand. I used around 3.5 gallons to top off using the "drain through the actuator and refill" method.
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