legacycentral bbs

it has a fare bit of slopp in shaft. so what kind of gauge/tool do i need to use to messure the play and see if its worth my time to run. what is ok amout of slopp?

A tiny bit of play up/dn is OK.

There should be no in/out play.

If you describe the shaft play as "slop" it is probably too much.

The crappy thing is the TD04 isn't the most rebuildable turbo. Most consider it a paper weight if it gets too bad, and move up to a bigger, better model.

If it has like 1/8" play or less, you'll be just fine.

I have seen rebuild kits for TD05s selling for $90, but I know what you mean as I have a JDM WRX 90* TD05 16G that needs a rebuild & is currently a paper weight myself.
I'd rebuild in a second if this was my only 16G, but I have 2 others sitting in my garage.

I think folks do not rebuild TD04s because the rebuild kit costs the same as a buying a new "used" turbo.

Deadbolt's rebuild services:
http://www.boostplanet.com/services1.htm

Standard Rebuild Service (as outlined above)
Replacement of bushings, retainers, seals etc.

Starting at $299.00 for Mitsubishi, $349.00 for Garrett, model specific, some turbos cost slightly more, some cost slightly less (Certain models CANNOT be rebuilt.) Contact us for details.

TD04 basic rebuild kit
For the do-it-yourselfer we offer our lineup of basic rebuild kits. These kits include the common rebuild parts for turbochargers. Most rebuilds can be accomplished by someone with a decent amount of mechanical know-how in a few hours.

These kits SHOULD NOT BE used on any turbocharger that has had major failure, where the wheels have contacted the housings.

Includes bushings, bushing retainers, O-rings, turbine seal, thrust plate, and compressor seal.

Special - $109.00

It is normal for these types of turbos to have SLIGHT shaft play because of it's bearing design. Like BXSS said; A little shaft play up and down is OK but if you can push it IN or OUT the turbo is no good.

I think I have a spare tdo4 somewhere...

it was told it had about 20k on it. no shaft play up and down just left and right, the compressor side has the most and the turbine side has about half as much. i'll see what i can find out about a rebuild kit, guy at the parts store wants my vf11. how easy would a rebuild be?

just pore in some oil. it may have been sitting awhile.

this happens all the time with turbo's that have been sitting. the thin oil film just goes away

Well, the TD04 does not seperate into 2 pieces easily like the TD05 & TD06 turbos do. So it's hard to say. I'd personally leave it up to a service shop who's done it before.

i think i would be able to rebuild it myself, but the price of a rebuild kit is almost as much as i spent on the turbo it self. how many miles should a turbo be serviced? do i need a weird socket for the nut on the turbine side?

Well here is a little bit of info to put this situation in perspective.

The ORIGINAL vf11 out of my brother's 1991 SS which had over 300,000 miles on it had about the same amount of play as the td04 turbo we have. (The td04 has around 40k on it)

Seriously, pour some oil in it and spin it around a little. see if some of the slop goes away, most of it should because an OEM turbo with only 20k on it shouldn't be due for a rebuild unless the previous owner drove the shit out of it, used some kind of cheap ass oil and never changed it.

Plus, I doubt any rebuild kit for $100 will include the bearings for the turbo. I could be completely wrong, this is just my opinion.

Just remember, the bearing type in these turbo's isn't like a ball bearing setup. Its like one of your crank shaft bearing, it relies on a thin film of oil in between the turbine/compressor shaft and outer bearing race to lubricate.

for the effort of putting it in, run it, see what happens. watch for smoke and dissapearing oil/coolant.

Maybe it had 20k miles of 25psi of boost....

The $100ish TD05 rebuild kits I saw did include the bushings (that is the main wear item that leads to shaft play).

Again if there is slight play side to side/up down that is OK.
There should not be a differance in play between the front & back of the turbo as they share a common shaft & bushings.

Slop side to side & in/out play = dead turbo.

If the exhaust wheel is wet with oil, then the turbo may be smoking (or the jackass WD'd the wheels).

If the play is slight & the wheels are dry & do not contact the housings I'd put the turbo in the car & run it.

i am running the turbo on waste gate pressure, makeing almost stock boost like 7.8-8.2 psi. no dissapering oil or coolant. my vf11 had no shaft play but it didn't spin for shit. i was going through almost a quart of oil ever 150-200 miles and about a liter of coolant, now everthing is fine!

I'm thinking of sending my big 16g out to Deadbolt to have them rebuild it (which includes balancing internals for $300). I'm also think about having the hot side ceramic coated too.