How tight should a tubo be to rotate?
Turbo Mini Forums

Hi Gents,
I had a second hand turbo delivered today just as I got it cheap and it may be a good option for what I want to do. As ths is actually the first turbo I have ever had hold of I'm a bit of a novice on what to be looking for.....how easy should the turbo spin? I can turn the mueller by hand if I stick my finger in but I would expect it to spin totally free and easy butitfeels a little tight. Is. Ths just because the oil feed is needed?....any pointers?
Cheers
Andy

it should be free, but wont just spin and spin due to the seals.

with a finger & thumb spin, best you can expect is about 1/4 sec before it stops.

Right it's possibly a little tight then.....certainly doesn't spin freely.

There is also oil on the intake impeller....I guess it's likely shagged then?

a little oil is ok,

if its been stood a while they can get a bit tighter.

Thanks Joe ive Just spun it a bit actually and it has freed up quite a bit.....can I strip and clean it or are these things shimmed and adjusted etc.
thanks
Andy

you can rebuild them yourself with a kit, as long as you keep the shaft impeller and locking nut in the same position when rebuilt.

What the mind can conceive the mini can achieve
MITP 2012 17.01 seconds 1/4 mile against "The Don"
MITP 2013 16.83 seconds 1/4 mile

I would leave it and try it, it probably just needs a bit of oil through it, soon as you start it up you'll blast 40-50 psi of oil through it, that should do the trick!

However, the assy is pretty basic, the only thin you need to wory about is balance, so mark up the wheels so they go back in the same place.

Excellent, thanks gents.

Will just clean it up then and see how It goes. Also is it possible to rotate the exhaust housing in relation to the intake side?

Thanks
Andy

Also is it worth keeping the standard compressor bypass valve or should I just blank It off?
Cheers

the exhaust and intake housings are just held on with some bolts or a big circlip, you can just slacken the bolts and move them, the circlips are trickier but can be done.

if theres a compressor by pass you can jsut use that as your dump valve.

Ahh right so I can just pipe the bypass to the inlet then.

Will pay Carl a visit in the new year as I will need one of his k kits and also some parts making like the exhaust manifold. So I guess it's best to leave it as is for now and see how I get on, as rotating it would mean I need to move the actuator as well.

Thanks again

Cheers
Andy

I stripped a gt17 that was a little tight, and the bearings were perfect. So needn't have. I fucked it though as I didn't realize the compressor had an anticlockwise thread and snapped the shaft!

Edited by minimole23 on 27th Nov, 2013.

This was only a cheapo but to be honest now ive had a closer look it really doesnt look too bad at all. I thought i would buy it for mock up anyway but will probably still go down the route we discussed on PM.

Im a bit skint for now and next months wages are already spent as well.

I was thinking I might spin the turbo on a battery powered drill just to help get it moving again as well...there no play in it and no sign of the impellor hitting the housing so it may well turn out to be a good buy.

One last question....what about downpipes, are these just fabricated to suit or do you need to buy specific flanges as a starting point?

Will defo try to get some pics up of the car and parts ive built up so far over the weekend.

Cheers
Andy

Edited by Andy500 on 27th Nov, 2013.

if you don't plan on using this straight away...it might be worth hanging onto it for a while until someone local might be able to have a look at it for you.

from experience if something doesn't seem quite right in your mind...it often isn't.

even if someone looks at it local and its ok...at least then you have peace of mind.

there nothing worse than having a doubt about something on the engine that you are putting together

dan

dont spin it without oil pressure.

down pipes depends on the turbo, but prety much just fab to suit, what is the turb?

What joe said, they pretty much run on a film of oil, not the bearing itself, much like most of the rotating assembly inside your engine. Rotation without oil pressure will definitely knacker it up.

Good point chaps....will leave it as it is. Its a TD04 of a Volvo

Looks really nice and compact (although i aint got anything to reference it against!)

Im hoping to nip over to see Colin in the new year so will take it with me and see what his thoughts are. Is actually much better now ive just turned it by hand a few times.

Certainly it wont do a solid journal turbo much good. Wouldnt do this on a bb item either though!

Ah,

Very similar to the GT17 I think, should be a good choice.

Hi Joe, yeah the map looks good plus it was cheap and there seems to be a lot of them about. It might also be easier to get In front of a standard bulkhead as its small

the gt2056 looked marginally more efficient but they seem expensive and harder to get hold of.

This also looks to be water cooled as there are a coupe of threaded ports as well....not sure if that's better or not but I guess it should help prolong turbo life!

Edited by Andy500 on 27th Nov, 2013.

Nice. Look forward to seeing how this goes.

How does it compare with the Saab TD04?

In the 13's at last!.. Just