NightmareTA

iTrader: (20)

Hey guys. I bought this turbo used in the classifieds here, and I've started the engine with it a few times but the car isn't finished so I never had any boost through it. Shaft play seems pretty minimal, and I just recently decided to get my exhaust side custom welded for a 3.5" V band instead of the stock 3" so I removed it. Well I found that the fins on the impeller didn't look so healthy. Heres a pic. Let me know what you think, and if this will hurt the turbos performance. Do I need a new one?



Also found some oil in the compressor side....not sure if this is normal or not but I don't like it regardless. Apparently the turbo only has around 3K miles on it and it's not a very old unit.



And if anybody knows hot to get a bit more info on the turbo itself, I'd appreciate it. I know it's a T76 with a .84 A/R hotside, but I want to find out what trim wheel it has. Anybody know what to look for and how to find this out? This is the only number I could find on the turbo...

crashly

send that serial number to Turbonetics, they will tell you who bought it, and build spec

turbine wheel is shagged... use it for a paper weight on your desk
looks like a F1 series profile
measure the diametre of small section ( undamaged section)
looks like the F1-68 wheel ( 68mm across diametre)

the shaft being out of balance can cause the front section to leak, or it had a air cleaner on it, that was too small.

bottlefed96

Bad news my friend. That turbine is destroyed! Something went through the turbine housing....probably a valve, spark plug ect.... That doesn't just happen. Not saying that the seller knowingly sold it to you but that has catastrophic engine failure written all over it. I second the contacting turbonetics. The upside it that for a few hundred bucks they can rebuild it and it will be good as new. I would ask them if they would recomend any changes to the wheels for your application. During the rebuild they could make changes that may make it more suited to your application! So there could be a silver lining in this after all!! Good luck and have fun!

NightmareTA

iTrader: (20)

Oh man....not good news but thats kind of what I figured. Called turbonetics and apparently it's a 76mm turbo with a .81 A/R hotside and the older S-trim style wheel. Which also happens to be discontinued so I'm basically fucked on this one. God I love being ripped off. The seller may very well not have known but it still pisses me off. I bought a T56 as well on here from a guy with lots of feedback and I came to find out after it was installed that it has no reverse. Guess you can't find too many honest sellers anymore, unfortunately.

Well, thanks for the opinions guys. Looks like I have to figure out my next move. On another note, the new magnum turbos come in ball bearing style and can be matched closely to this one. Hmmmmmmm....

Johnv

pretty sure you will be able to upgrade to the f1-68 wheel, turbo should be rebuildable.

NightmareTA

iTrader: (20)

Got another question for you guys. I had turbonetics look up the serial number and was told it was a journal bearing turbo with an S-trim wheel. Well a local well know turbonetics dealer looked at it and said it's not an S-trim because thier S-trim exhaust housings didn't fit it. They also told me it was a ball bearing turbo since it has the pin hole drilled where the drain fitting goes. This leads me to believe it was upgraded at some point. Now I'm curious because looking at turbonetics website, it shows a side by side of the old S-trim and the new F1 wheel, and mine definately looks like the F1 wheel. Anybody have ANY experience with having a turbo rebuilt and what something like this would cost to fix? I called turbonetics and they said to send it in but theres a 100$ fee to check it out and I just want to be sure it's the new style so that I know it can be rebuilt. The woman at turbonetics also told me that if it HAD in fact been upgraded, they'd have no records in thier system showing that, so theres no way to tell for sure unless they looked at it.

kbracing96

iTrader: (25)

Get a hold of Forced Inductions. They can probable put a new turbine wheel and shaft in it and balance and get you going.

bmech211

Sorry you're dealing with this..

But yeah, your whole turbine inducer is shot and something definitely made its way through the motor & into the turbo, most likely pieces of piston rings. You're housing may also be chewed up too, so take a look at that. I also wouldn't discount the shaft being knocked out of balance as well.

Perkman87

I hate shady sellers!!!!

Nitroused383

iTrader: (10)

Sorry to see this, I always have a seller take the turbine housing off and take pictures of the wheel. Sometimes they are not even aware the unit is toast. I have a used TC76 with .96 a/r 68mm FI wheel if you're interested.

NightmareTA

iTrader: (20)

I'll keep that in mind...thanks for the offer. And if I do end up buying another used turbo I will def use those words of advice!

My only concern is that I have no clue if this is actually an F1 wheel or not. I don't own a dial caliper so I really can't make precise measurements but it does look much closer to an F1 style than the old S-trim. I got a mailing number from turbonetics so I'm probably going to send it back and let them see if it can be rebuilt for a decent price. In all honesty, I don't even think the kid that sold it to me knew what it was because he told me it was a journal bearing, but I've been told from turbonetics that it's a ball bearing.

If anybody knows if this is truly an F1 wheel by the pic, please chime in. I would greatly appreciate knowing!

ANTICOP RAM AIR

iTrader: (7)

Wow.. looks like Chuck Norris stuck his dick in that turbo... Seller knew what he sold you. He is a douche bag...

Grr

iTrader: (2)

Ive ran 3 different turbos that had similar turbine damage, and all 3 are still going. First one has at least 15k miles on it and the 2nd a good 8-10k. IMHO if it isnt leaking oil I would run it! Unless of course you just dont want to.

MillsMotorvation

Your kidding right?

ANTICOP RAM AIR

iTrader: (7)

thats what I said... Maybe HE'S the guy who sold that piece of ****..

tripblackls1

iTrader: (11)

Do you mind sharing who the seller is (if there on here) to do us all a favor to stay away from them ?

'02 StripedSS

iTrader: (14)

Well before you post the seller, you should at least give him/her a chance to make it right. They might not have known the condition of the turbo.

NightmareTA

iTrader: (20)

His name on here is 25thredrs, although I bought it from an add he had listed on thirdgen.org. Pretty sure his feedback rating was pretty good over on thirdgen. Seemed like a straightforward guy.....but with this kind of damage, he had to have blown his engine with this turbo on it. To sell it as a perfect working turbo without checking it out is a little hard to believe.

EDIT: And 02 stripedSS, I bought it about a year ago. My trans am has been an extremely long build, and whenever I saw something I was going to need for a good deal pop up, I would jump on it even if I didn't need it for a bit. Because it was so long ago, I doubt there would be any kind of negotiating. And for the record, I did find his cell number and left him a message. Havn't heard from him yet, and may never, but I guess we'll see.

Skillet

I've seen plenty of rotary guys run dinged up turbine wheels for a long time but none of them were as bad as the one pictured and they had all been re balanced.

While you are spending money you might as well get an upgrade.

NightmareTA

iTrader: (20)

Well, found out some good news!! Apparently after speaking with turbonetics numerous times, this is in fact the newer F1 wheel, and it is also def a ball bearing turbo. I'm pretty happy about that since now I know it can be rebuilt. I guess the new F1 wheel has 10 fins and all the older styles have 11 I think is what the guy said. Mine has 10 fins and it looks just like the pics of the taller F1 wheels. Guess theres a ray of hope in this story after all. I appreciate all the help from you guys as well.