Is My Turbo Healthy? Wheel Making Contact With Compressor Housing
 

Hey guys, hoping someone can give me some info on this before I move forward with my build:

I recently purchased a used BW S256 journal bearing turbo. I noticed when the turbo came in that if I spun the shaft quick enough with my fingers, the compressor wheel would make light contact with the compressor housing.

There's some very small/fine scratches on the housing where the blades have made contact, and also some very light rubbing done on the blades themselves.

Is this normal, or do I need to get this turbo balanced/rebuild prior to installing it? Picture is not my turbo, but very similar to what I'm seeing:

Attachment 135783


According to this video, I'm definitely in the "acceptable" range of shaft play (maybe even less than what the video shows), but my main concern is the contact with the housing... If you guys DO think I need to rebuild this turbo, I'd definitely appreciate any links to some rebuild kits for the S256. I can't imagine I'd need any new wheels/anything like that, probably just a re-balance and new seals for good measure.

That turbo is no good if it's making contact with anything in the housing

Damn, that's what I thought. Sending small fragments of metal off of the turbine through the intercooler and eventually into the engine, I'm sure... Rather disappointing since I bought it off someone on this site.

Any idea what all I would need for a rebuild kit? Nothing really seems damaged that badly right now; I think I just need the shaft re-balanced.

not good OP, return to seller ASAP

Yeah that was my first thought, you dont want that metal dust getting in your engine.

The turbo was the first piece I bought back in March... I asked my turbo-diesel guy if this was a problem at that time and he said no, but I'm now obviously finding out that he was wrong. I don't really have much room to negotiate a refund/price drop or anything like that, but we'll see what happens.

Yarp. If anyone has any links to some good rebuild kits or any info on getting a turbo rebuilt I'd appreciate it. Once again, i don't think I really need to replace any turbo components themselves, just get the shaft re-balanced to get rid of the compressor contact.

It was my understanding that some side-to-side shaft play was ok on journal bearing turbos, as the oil pressure should keep them centered when actually running. However, the scratches on the housing would concern me. as it does look like it was making contact while running.

Yep, it's not the shaft play that worries me (very minimal) but the contact with the housing.

I don't think I can really rely on the oil pressure either to keep the shaft centered and stopping contact either when I'm actually running the car; it seems like too much of a risk.

I'm going to PM the guy that sold me this soon and see what he has to say. He struck me as a pretty honest guy so I'll see what he suggests, although if I recall correctly I don't think he ever actually ran this turbo on his car...

honestly though if you bought it in march its on you now. your way beyond the paypal claim time frame and as a seller if I legitimately didnt know something was wrong i'd tell you sorry after this long. now if it was a week ago you bought it your entitled to a refund

I'm not at all looking for a refund, that opportunity walked a long time ago. I'm just curious to see what he says and if he has any input on how to repair it.

I live in a really small town in Texas, and there aren't really any reputable tuner/mechanic shops within 100 miles of me. I'll have to figure out where to go to get the turbo rebuilt/re-balanced, and what parts I'll need to get the job done.