things to look for when buying used turbos

**mrhappiepants** · 10-23-2008 09:09 AM

what should i look for?

**mrhappiepants** · 10-24-2008 11:24 AM

also i'll be buying new oil feed lines. do i need new oil drain lines as well?

**tbone5446** · 10-24-2008 01:37 PM

I would say

A.a reputable company to rebuild them, or

B.someone to sell them to, so you can buy new ones

**infinkc** · 10-24-2008 01:55 PM

price around ~900 so you can buy some new chras to put in and call it a day.

**MissingPixels** · 10-26-2008 02:40 AM

If you're buying a turbo locally, check it for shaft play.

Grab the nut holding the compressor wheel with your fingers and see if you can pull it side-to-side or in-and-out (up and down). A little side-to-side play can be normal, but any in-and-out play is usually bad.

**MacDaddy** · 10-26-2008 03:00 AM

if its possible, see if there is an oily film in the housings.

**generationjdm** · 10-26-2008 07:25 AM

heres what not to look for, used turbos . chances r if he asked the question on what to look for when buying a used turbo he wont detect accurate shaft play. theres way to many things that can go wrong other then shaft play. If you do buy used turbos make it a must to buy new chras or dont bother buying them.

**zmw** · 10-26-2008 10:14 AM

nothing wrong with used turbos, it's that ours are such a bitch to replace that you might as well plan on getting them rebuilt if you do - because the 150-300$ per turbo to rebuild them is WAY WAY cheaper than having to pull the engine to do it again....

If it were an STI i'd run a used turbo all day long because you can LITERALLY swap them in an hour or less w/o removing anything larger than a heatshield. But on the S4, just not worth it to try and save 3-500$ rebuilding when it would take you 22 hours of labor to replace them if it failed.

-Z

**zmw** · 10-26-2008 10:16 AM

oh and if it weren't obvious - because our turbos are such a pain to replace, chances are good if someone has taken the time to take them OFF the car, there is probably something wrong with them - again in the STI world, not a big deal - people take them off to upgrade/downgrade/whatever - I even know guys that swap them before going to track events and swap them back when they are done.

-Z

**MissingPixels** · 10-26-2008 11:15 AM

Originally Posted by MacDaddy

if its possible, see if there is an oily film in the housings.

+1, this would indicate "blown" seals.

**MacDaddy** · 10-26-2008 03:17 PM

I wish audi put the turbos on the front of the engine so you could access them the same way you do for a timing belt. it would cut down on alot of the piping too.