need an opinion on a turbo rebuild

[airman86]

hey all - i bought this turbo that needed a rebuild (was just told it had shaftplay and was ruined when the oil feed line broke loose) for $110 including shipping. it is a 56 trim, .63 a/r garrett journal bearing turbo. here's a picture:



i was told that it had a chip in the exhaust turbine, which i would replace. once it got here, and taking it apart, i found out that not only does it need a rebuild kit (already purchased), a new exhaust turbine, a new compressor wheel (edges are dull, probably from when the thrust collar tore up the inside bore of the compressor plate back seal and it rubbed on the compressor housing) and a new compressor seal back plate (the part with the model # on it and stuff - the bore is scarred and won't seal on the thrust collar.

so - for this turbo to be fully set up these are the numbers with all parts from gpopshop (only place i can find that sells good parts):$110 turbo + shipping$90 rebuild kit$195 turbine shaft and wheel$90 compressor wheel$50 back plate$40-$70 for balancing

that makes my investment in this turbo a little under $600. i have only bought the rebuild kit and put the new bearings in the center cartridge. I was planning on buying a new turbo anyway for my ka-t setup, but i was wondering if i should invest the other $400 that i haven't spent yet into another turbo? i have no idea what this thing is worth brand new. the garret model number is 466159-5004, and i can't find anyone selling new ones.

so - build this turbo from the ground up or cut my losses and find a new one?

[j-z]

if you have a professional rebuild it then it will be just as good as new. but, the question if you want to keep it or not depends on your goals of what you want to do with the car, hp numbers, etc... what stage is the exhaust wheel? if its not better than a stage three i say ditch it. if you want someone who knows what theyre doing talk to charlie brown at evergreen turbo. hes located in ocala florida and has done 4 custom turbo for me so far. you can just call him, tell him what youre looking for (power wise), and he will suggest a turbo for you (or what to change out on that one, and build you a custom one.... YOUR BEST BET). he does turbos for factory Porsche race teams, and many many others. very nice guy, and i would listen to what he says because he knows what hes doing. giving him a call wont hurt anything....

[airman86]

what i was really asking is if what i'm putting into this turbo will be less than what i could spend to get a new comparable turbo? when you say what stage is the exhaust wheel, it's being replaced anyways so i'll just be getting whatever is in there from the factory. gpopshop asked for the model number of the turbo and they told me what i needed. i asked if i could get a larger trim compressor wheel, but they said that would require machining of the compressor housing. i thought trim was just the ratio of inducer^2 over exducer^2? if so, you can just have a larger inducer.

either way, i'm sure this turbo will be able to put out the power that i need it to. the owner says that he would run 18psi and it held fine - which is right around my goal range. i plan on no more than 400hp to start, but i will be throwing forged internals in the motor right off so i have room to play around with.

[j-z]

you seem like a smart guy.... how much does a brand new turbo cost compare to what you will have invested in this once all is said and done??

sure, you can run 18 psi on that turbo, BUT is it efficient there in that range??? you need to find out more about this turbo, and not go by just what the owner says. ive done that a couple times until i met charlie brown and just send them his way with what i want. a t25 can boost 18 psi but is it efficient there??? hell no. i know im comparing apples to oranges, but i think you get where im going at....

[airman86]

.63 a/r and 56 trim is a pretty good size. in my opinion. most of the garrett journal bearing turbos that I have matched up to be comparable new are about $700 (not from ebay, from authorized dealers).

so i guess i'm coming out for less than buying a new turbo, with ending up with practically a new one. this thing is a lot bigger than my t25 from my old eclipse, and that thing would hold 14lbs well so i'm sure this one will do 18lbs easily.

[j-z]

i know it will i was just saying for s***s n giggles.... i ran 17psi on my first kat with an identical factory garrett turbo. had a stage one wheel so it sucked asss. put one with a stage three wheel on my third one, and @ 12 psi that thing had even more balls. i miss all my 240s.

[koukiFC]

if you have a professional rebuild it then it will be just as good as new. but, the question if you want to keep it or not depends on your goals of what you want to do with the car, hp numbers, etc... what stage is the exhaust wheel? if its not better than a stage three i say ditch it. if you want someone who knows what theyre doing talk to charlie brown at evergreen turbo. hes located in ocala florida and has done 4 custom turbo for me so far. you can just call him, tell him what youre looking for (power wise), and he will suggest a turbo for you (or what to change out on that one, and build you a custom one.... YOUR BEST BET). he does turbos for factory Porsche race teams, and many many others. very nice guy, and i would listen to what he says because he knows what hes doing. giving him a call wont hurt anything....

charlie is the shiz. he is know all through the southern US. definatly talk to him. he wont try to sell you off like most shops. hell do what needs to be done and is damn good at what he does.

also to the op what motor is this going on?

[airman86]

it will be on a ka-t. i found a local member on nico here that has a motor that i'll be using. i plan on getting an engine built and ready to go and ready to drop in once i find a suitable shell. (man, it's super hard finding a good shell - at least these)

it will have forged internals, clevites, arp, all that stuff. head will have bc 264/264 cams. this turbo will do the trick for now as I am transferring into a different college away from home so i won't have a the space to work on it once the summer is up since i'll be living in an apartment unless i find a friend with a garage.

as far as exhaust wheel STAGES....i honestly can't tell you. i can't find anything anywhere that explains it. i could measure with my caliper what's left of the exhaust wheel if someone would tell me what factors there are, but this is all that's left:

[airman86]

after scouring the internet, i found the model number of the turbo rather than just the part number that was on the birth plate. the model number is the garrett ta3405. that being said, i was able to do some research on that particular model and i was able to find that this has a stage 3 exhaust wheel - at least that is what it's regarded as most commonly.

[j-z]

sweet. oh yeah my last turbo for my ka, i had charlie clip my exhaust blades too on a stage 3 wheel. man, what a difference!!! im telling ya, send the turbo to him and it will be well worth it. youre not rebuilding the turbo are you??? and yes, charlie is a straight up guy. will not d!ck you around, and has a turnaround time of a couple days depending on how busy he is. give him a call, whats it going to hurt? your long distance phone bill?? hes the expert, not I, nor anyone else on here. two people (the only people who posted in your thread) said to talk to charlie brown @ evergreen turbo in ocala fl. im done.

[airman86]

what do you mean by, "you're not rebuilding it are you"? I will be reassembling it but i will be taking it to a shop to do the balancing. the rebuild is pretty straight forward, i've helped someone rebuild one before and they've been running the same turbo for the past 2 years with no problem. it was a journal bearing turbo just like this one. i will be taking it somewhere to be balanced though, for sure.

when you say he clipped your exhaust blades, what all does that do and what was clipped? does it just spool faster?
Modified by airman86 at 2:36 PM 5/10/2009