I've read alot about turbos and rebuilds and the like, and I kept seeing "balancing" in alot of the threads I searched. Decided to search what turbo balancing was, but couldn't really find anything. I was wondering what exactly turbo balancing is, and if I needed to do it from just taking off my compressor and exhaust housings. I forgot to mark where they were before I took them off, so I'm kinda in a tough spot, and I was wondering if balancing had anything to do with it, and if anyone could help me as far as putting the housings back on without reference markings. Thanks in advance.

 

The only turbo I ever took apart only went back together one way. The impeller fit the shaft and that was it. I do remember that you should not try to scrape clean any carbon or deposits off the impellers by yourself. Send it out if things are that bad. When they balance the rotating bits they spin them with compressed air thats all I know, its got nothing to do with the orientation of the housings. I guess with the RPM's they turn in use (100K+) if you don't get it evenly clean it can cause problems. The housings can be spun around into any position you need. Its all a matter of how it needs to fit your plumbing.

 

Awesome info, I appreciate it. Now I can put my housings back on with peace of mind. *lol*

 

Take a look at the "nut" on the back of the turbine. It has a peice that sticks out and doesn't form a complete circle. I may be wrong, but I think that is a counterweight to balance it.

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought anytime a turbo was rebuilt it had to be rebalanced.

 

I think it all depends on what was replaced. If your compressor wheel had hit the housing and needed to be replaced I would have it balanced. I did a bearing job on one everything was fine(no re-balancing) but I used the old wheels. Thats when I learned about not cleaning them because of balance issues. I might have just been lucky but that turbo is still going strong 8yrs later. Not bad for a $125 rebuild kit.

 

There is static balancing and dynamic balancing.
Static balancing is getting the parts to balance without moving.
Dynamic (also called "VSR") balancing entails spinning the center shaft and wheels on a very expensive and specialized rig to be able to detect imbalance and be able to correct them.
Parts are initially statically balanced and then dynamically balance to get the best performance and reliability.


-Ted