I got my to4e in the mail the other day, the turbo has 60-1 wheel, and is supposedly new, it looks new anyway, upon further inspection though, there is a large amount of slop in the shaft radially, axially there is none, the movment is about .022 side to side, and if I rotate it while gently pushing upward the compressor wheel just scrapes the housing, this cannot be a good thing , I compared it to an old tII turbo and an old warner ishi I have here from a high mileage diesel truck, neither of the old turbo's have near as much slop in them, so how much is exceptable, and as the turbo haft expands with heat, do they tighten up somwhat clearance wise? Does anyone have a spec for to04e endplay? If this turbo is no good I am gonna be pissed...Max

 

if you can move it around and touch the housing that is WAY too much, i don't know measurements for play but as far as i was told any play is not good time for a rebuild

 

I was told that any radial play is too much, but axial is ok. I have a 43 page write up that a mechanical engineer that was hired by the insurance company to deny my claim, wrote up

 

IF thats the case, I think I just got burnt, now I have to figure out what I am gonna do with this 600.00 (us) paper weight..Max

 

Side to side movement even on new turbos often feels alarmingly excessive, bear in mind the small diameter shaft "floats" on a thickish oil film when turning with the engine running and oil pressure available the centre housing. In and out play should be very small, barely, if at all, detectable by feel, maybe 2 to 4 thou if measured with a dial indicator, although the side to side movement makes this tricky to do accurately.

It's the bit where you say the compressor blades can be made to rub the housing, normally this isn't the case, but they do get VERY close. Does the housing show ANY signes of abrasion where it looks as if this has been happening at high RPM, in usage? If not I think I'd be happy to run it and see it doesn't leak oil (smoke) or make any odd noises. Buying used turbos is a bit of a gamble, IMO.

 

This is what I have come up with for Garrett turbo's so far for radial specs:
new - .007-.009
in service- .016 maximum wear limit
If anyone can add anything to this, or has other numbers, post 'em, it may be good thing for others to be armed with when buying turbo's over the 'net..
I know there has to be room for oil and thermal expansion, I did my measurements with oil and without, it made a .001 difference, the smaller the journal though the less clearance there should be, there is a machinists equation that states the journal clearance is directly proportional to journal size, being that your average crank pin for a v-8 runs .002-.004 oil clearance and is 2" in diameter, I would think .022 is way to huge for a turbo shaft, being that' its roughly 1/2 in diameter, although speed is a factor, but in this case is no excuse for the .022 play..
The turbo was supposedly "brand new"...
something tells me they are factory seconds..
after turning the wheel a few times, yes there is evidence of contact, you can see and hear it, I am gonna take it to a turbo shop on monday and have them evaluate it, then track down the seller and practise some dentistry...Max