Opinions sought for state of my Turbo

TAABVW

A2OC Donor
Picture of the intake impeller on my rescue TDI90. You will see it has some damage to the leading edges of the blades. The turbo seemed to perform ok when I drove it home but the car had a boost leak so I can't be certain. I would be grateful for the forum's opinion: Is this damage imminently terminal for the turbo or would it be ok to leave it be?

Engine is out of the car at present. Its currently on about 130k miles.

Trevor
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That damage may put the balance of the turbo out at speed...……...but it might be worth cleaning the edges with a needle file and giving it a go......….the turbo might whine if the balance is out too far.........to be honest I've seen similar that have gone on for miles like that.
Chris
 
As said any damage to the impeller on the turbo will cause it to be out of balance. And at the speeds a turbo spins at, any imbalances will cause excessive wear to the turbo resulting in a failure. With the horror stories of turbos failing and causing damage the engine, is it worth the risk? Personally i would remove and either replace or refurbish.
Good luck
Steve
 
What about getting it refurbed by somewhere like 'theturbounit' ? Presumably then you'd have a warranty for the part that may be more difficult if you're buying it in and installing yourself as above.
 
What about getting it refurbed by somewhere like 'theturbounit' ? Presumably then you'd have a warranty for the part that may be more difficult if you're buying it in and installing yourself as above.

Thanks for the suggestion Robin. I have contacted theturbounit this morning. They have given me a refub price of £258 inc VAT. Seems a good price given the refurb services on ebay seem to be about £400. I have perhaps naively sent them the same photo of the impeller and asked their opinion. I know its their business but there is a very small chance I might only get a slightly biased view. one in a million maybe!

I guess it comes down to whether I think its worth £258 not to have to get the turbo out again shortly...
 
It does beg the question, how to impellers get this sort of damage? One would assume the car hasn't been run without an air filter, so where would particles come from? There was what looks like a long standing boost leak, the plastic clip on the side of the oil sump had worn a hole in the aluminium pipe, but this is after the turbo.
 
What comes to mind is when i serviced mine and had the old filter jammed near sideways all crumpled up - if it was services by a blacksmith ape in the past it could explain it - luckily mine didn't seem to be letting dirty air through but the filter was actually bent/creased in places vertically... seems bottom pegs weren't aligned, ignored, and just jammed shut.
 
Thanks for the suggestion Robin. I have contacted theturbounit this morning. They have given me a refub price of £258 inc VAT. Seems a good price given the refurb services on ebay seem to be about £400. I have perhaps naively sent them the same photo of the impeller and asked their opinion. I know its their business but there is a very small chance I might only get a slightly biased view. one in a million maybe!

I guess it comes down to whether I think its worth £258 not to have to get the turbo out again shortly...

I should stress that I'm nothing to do with them; but they had mostly decent reviews on the B5 S4 forums - the critical thing being that I saw both good and bad reviews, but the bad ones seemed to be fuelled by someone having fallen out with them having asked for the moon on a stick and lashing out without being very balanced (as now seems to be the way). I think if you're realistic about what it is they're doing for you - and what you're asking seems pretty plain-vanilla - then it is more likely to be o.k.
 
What comes to mind is when i serviced mine and had the old filter jammed near sideways all crumpled up - if it was services by a blacksmith ape in the past it could explain it - luckily mine didn't seem to be letting dirty air through but the filter was actually bent/creased in places vertically... seems bottom pegs weren't aligned, ignored, and just jammed shut.

Good point. I haven't got round to checking the air filter yet...doh! There are so many more serious problems with this rescue that the simple air filter had somewhat passed me by. I would have/will got a round tuit (google it) but the car is still some way from turning the key.
 
I should stress that I'm nothing to do with them; but they had mostly decent reviews on the B5 S4 forums - the critical thing being that I saw both good and bad reviews, but the bad ones seemed to be fuelled by someone having fallen out with them having asked for the moon on a stick and lashing out without being very balanced (as now seems to be the way). I think if you're realistic about what it is they're doing for you - and what you're asking seems pretty plain-vanilla - then it is more likely to be o.k.

I am grateful for the lead and didn't think for a moment that your brother/sister was the financial controller......but thanks for the clarification. I broadly agree with your comments.
 
Picture of the intake impeller on my rescue TDI90. You will see it has some damage to the leading edges of the blades. The turbo seemed to perform ok when I drove it home but the car had a boost leak so I can't be certain. I would be grateful for the forum's opinion: Is this damage imminently terminal for the turbo or would it be ok to leave it be?

Engine is out of the car at present. Its currently on about 130k miles.

TrevorView attachment 58866
Hi
Are you looking to keep the project or moving it on once complete , as I would be looking at TPS for a price for a new one with I think 2 year warranty I seem to recall £500 approx.
this would be my choice if I were going to keep the car.
Thanks
Keith
 
Either way, unless you are a qualified mechanic running a registered business I would be careful about self fitting new parts that come with a warranty. I had mine recently done by WOM for this very reason as I need the car to serve me well for a good number of years and they worked hard to keep the prices sensible. Of note, I think it was turbotechnics that did mine and they stipulated that for the warranty to remain valid, evidence of new oil pipes being fitted to the turbo were essential. Sure most turbo suppliers will probably say the same.

I am also glad I paid WOM to do it as it was the first time the turbo had been off my car and as such they had a good fight with the nuts and studs securing the turbo and manifold in place!

It will all be buried in small print for all warranties.
 
Engine currently out of the car so its more difficult to get it to WOM or other garage than deal with myself. I agree that any warranty for either new or refurb turbo would be voided by self fitting. All the more reason to fit it correctly. A good refurb should be as good as new shouldn't it?
 
It should yes but as others have highlighted, if you can negotiate new for similar money I know which I would go for (although would stick with OEM brand). That said, I would hope a good refurb company may even produce a better than original turbo if there are known issues with any internals.

I think the refurb cost for mine was around £300. It was fine and was done as a preventative measure after what some recent failures have led to (major engine rebuild) and as the 90 engines can be hard to come by when you want one. If the engine is already out you have good access so would hope that all will be slightly easier to remove and replace.

If you are doing major works, I would consider looking at the chain and its associated tensioner. had mine done at the same time and while no immediate symptoms were apparent the tensioner was very worn.
 
i remember reading turbo dynamics do refurb/rework of them for around 300 mark, from memory a2steve had it done to a hybrid turbo for additional performance and better power band? could have been someone else on forum though.
 
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