Right, so I had a smoky bank on the engine, and I eventually decided to pull it out and change my turbos. I had purchased a pair of " good" second hand tubs from eBay ( you can see where this is going?!) to fit.

 

So 4 tubs on the bench and I'm trying to decide which if any I can use... They all have various amounts of end float ( in and out play) and up and down movement on the shaft ( they don't move so much as to cause the wheels to rub against the housings)

 

So first question - what's the spec limits for play and is it possible to assess the " health" of the tubs - I'm thinking oils seal, bearings etc....

 

If they are all screwed, what are my options?

 

I'm considering rebuilding them myself - and then getting them balanced or carefully marking the appropriate components so the balance is unaffected.

 

What are the upgrade options - anyone got any (decent!) second hand ones?!

 

Thanks!

 

M

Sunday morning bump!

I assume you've ruled that it is definitely the turbo.. (oil in the intercooler/induction pipes)

 

as far as i know there are few companies that recon and or check turbos... someone might post.

 

did you try a search for that?

il start out with saying im not expert but this is what i understand from my recent conversations

a little play is actually quite normal, its rare to get them perfectly tight unless they are new because the oil pressure within the turbo is part of what governs the play to a certain extent. im actually currently in the same scenario as yourself. but ive chosen to rebuild the tubs rather than buying good second hand ones for the reason youve had.

if they have play then you will need more than the stock rebuild kits on ebay, you will need possibly some new internals and possibly a different size seal or bearing.

SIMPLY MARKING THE SHAFT ETC AND PUTTING IT BACK IN THE SAME PLACE WILL NOT GUARANTEE BALANCE

sadly because they spin at such a fast rate a little inbalance goes along way and will quickly make your hard effort a waste of time. i dont know where your based but as said there are plenty of places that will do turbo rebuilds, mine will be going over to cr turbos. for three reasons. they are responsible for some of the very best builds in this country, they are very local to me within 5 miles and they are very helpfull and open with their knowledge.