So I pull the turbos off that came with the car, and this is what I find.
It's hard to see, but not only did someone weld the casting where the turbine is, but also welded the area around the wastegate.
The weld around the turbine didn't really stick, and I suspect it has come out and shaved down the turbine. The clearence in this turbo looks a lot bigger then the clearence in the other turbo.

So I'm looking for ideas? Besides going to a single (don't have the money for that) Turbos have minimal shaft play and haven't been spraying oil into the intake track.

My plan at this point is take the turbo apart and gind out the welded area and reweld.

Thanks

 

That's really ugly. Maybe you should look for a used set of twins.

 

Yeah, that's really not lookin good. Hit up Ebay.

 

Yea, I would NOT rebuild that turbo, that turbo is complete junk. Look at the oil leak that is making the turbine area dirty as hell and wet. Who would weld there...that's retarded.

 

there is no good way to weld cast metal anyway. it would crack out again, and probally damage alot more than just the turbo. (changed grain structure within the metal from heating will weaken the whole part, and if an inclusion in the casting is heated to hot, it can literally explode)

 

where the turbos spooling good and everything when you got the car? was there no way of knowing the turbos had been welded?

 

Buy a used set if your're not ready to step up at this time. There are plenty floating around on here.

 

if you want to get robbed

this is the kind of thing where you can't tell quality from a couple crappy pictures. unfortunately i speak from experience. luckily i paid with paypal and got a refund... both time i got ripped off.

 

It's the same thing if you buy it off a forum. Either way your buying a product without seeing it. It's either you take the chance, or spend 3,000 on a set of new twins.

 

Thanks for all the help guys. The strange thing the turbos are boosting fine and the intake has no oil in the intake.
I guess I'm in search of a new primary and housing.

 

That doesn't look like any kind of welding to me, the housing doesn't look deformed or anything from the heat of welding there's no cracks in the area just alot of carbon build up from running rich. Let me know if you want to get rid of them (I've got a set with cracks in the wastegate area nad you housing is in much better shape than mine.

 

Actually there are plenty of good ways; the shipyard and aerospace industries do it all the time. The problem is that just like anything else the results are limited to the knowledge and talent of the person doing the welding.

I'm no expert but I do know if you want to weld cast iron properly you have to preheat the work and then cool it slowly afterwards. Some guy in his garage just sticking a mig in there and making some beads over the cracks is worthless.

 

I have a used set in my garage I'm holding for a friend , if your interested I'll call him and see what he wants for them.

 

generally, forum members are more knowledgable than some shmuck on ebay. not to mention there is not a limited time frame, so you don't have to rush in on the buy. on the forum you can also request better pics or that the person inspect something.

i have had MUCH better experiences buying from forum members than ebayers. obviously, you haven't quite had my shitty luck... but shitty luck is easy to come by when you buy something that spins at ~100k rpm used.

personally, i was looking for a used set, but decided there is no such thing as a used set you can bolt on with confidence. basically there are only these options: new (or like new), rebuildable core units, and finally: scrap iron.

the latter of these is what the original poster has

 

not to jack your post but i'm selling my stock twins email me @ fd3s@houston.rr.com if you want pix. later.



Los

 

Thanks to everyone. Here's where I am now.
Talked to many rebuild shops about rebuilding the turbos, and all the rebuilt shops seem to be telling me the same thing - it's not a good idea to rebuilt these turbos. I've located another casting, and have a looked at a few turbo cartridges but nothing that I want to put in.

Yes, there are correct ways to weld cast iron. Usual steps are to drill holes at the ends of the cracks to relieve the stresses. Then to grind out the cracks. Then weld. DamonB is correct that many areas weld castings - the nuclear industry included. But you need to be able to get the correct amount of heat in (usually the normal MIG welders can't provide enough heat)