Is shaft play normal on a new 35r?
 

So I just bought a new gt35r.

The shaft does not play in and out, but does wiggle side to side enough and hit the housings.

Any thoughts?

BB normally have a little shaft play. When the bearings fill with high pressure oil it goes away.

A little play is normal in the GT ball bearing turbos, but the wheels should not contact the housings. How much are you forcing it? I have two 35Rs at the shop and neither move to that extent.

The wheels (both sides) easily hit the housings. They will wiggle back and forth hitting the sides.."tink tink tink". I'm not pushing hard, I just grab the wheel and push a little and it immediately hits the side. When I'm back in town, I'm going to swing by my shop and have them take a look.

Obviously, when the compressor wheel hits the side, the exhaust wheel hits the other side, since they are connected via the shaft.

The play on this new turbo is greater than I've seen on old stock turbo's I've pulled from MR2s. This is my concern... :scratch:

When people talk about "shaft play" are they specifically referring to side-to-side play, in-and-out play, or both?

Thanks,
Ian

Usually, people don't specify which direction the play they're talking about is. But side to side play (enough to contact the housing) is bad. Something's wrong. A little in/out play on a new BB turbo is something I've seen before and "normal" for the most part. But side to side is no good.

Damnit... :wallbash:

It was in a Garret box with the plastic still around the turbo.. :icon_no2:

Just to be clear (re-reading my post now) enough side play to hit the housings is BAD. A barley detectable amount sohuld be OK.

Sorry!

I was told by the vendor that what I'm experiencing is normal on BB turbos that have not yet had oil run through them.. So I take it you guys totally disagree? Does anyone agree that side to side contact is acceptable on a new turbo?

Maybe I could post a video of the shaft play. I've never uploaded a video, what site should I use?

youtube works well.

As I said I've seen a *little* but never enough to contact the housings. Any turbo I've seen where the wheels touch the housings was trash.....

Well, I can't even do that until Friday when I'm back in town. I'll Youtube it friday night.

The shaft play feels loose enough that it would go further if the housings weren't in the way.

you need oil. Oil will take up the slack....
BB Gt35's will have movement.

So now we have split opinions, Haha:

2 people (enzo, and vendor) are saying it just needs oil.

2 other members say it should not be hitting the housings (period).

:dunno:

It's probably not hitting the housings, you are just hearing the play in the dry bearings. My GT40R did the same thing.

They all have some play I would say around .5mm off centre isn't uncommon but I wouldn't want much more. Try spinning it with little force applied to the shaft laterally, with the turbo in proper orientation, if it seems to spin without hitting the housings, it should be fine.

It definitely hits the housings. I'm not pushing that hard and it is rubbing the housing. But if I spin it it seems to stay centered just fine.

I will remove the housings and see how far it moves laterally, without too much force.

That sounds completely fucked.

Tell your vendor you want an exchange.


I know garrett has a bb chra buy back gaurentee. Dunno if it applies in your situation but you should probably give them a call and let them know what's up.

It should not hit the housings...period. Turbo maybe was assembled a little to "loose". Tolerances on the DBB units is usually pretty tight.

have you tried lubing it up, and checking afterwards? it shouldn't take that long, and will probably save you on shipping costs on something that you can test yourself. no point going nuts until you have confirmed that it has excessive play.