VNT turbos on ebay

[The Pope]

VNT turbos spin pretty fast even at idle.

A carbon type seal is totalled if it is run at all dry.

These are old turbos that sat for years no doubt before they were used. So people are spinning dry seals and then using them. One turbo company on Ebay tells people to hold onto the compressor with your fingers and have someone start the car first time and not rev it lol. Then wait for 30 seconds for the oil to hit and let go. Pretty funny lol. But I would suggest taking off the timing belt and running the oiling system for a bit and spinning the turbo some before starting the engine the first time. With any new turbo really so they don't dry fire. I soke my turbo parts in oil when I rebuild, no leaks. But the turbos are run before they dry out though too.

[TurboDodge]

This turbo was installed on a freshly rebuilt engine. I prime all rebuilt engines for 30 seconds or so of cranking with fuel and coil negative disconnected. Also, they claimed that even the 200 NOS turbos that they had were taken apart, cleaned, and re-oiled. There was definitely signs of it being oiled too, it wasn't dry inside. So I don't think the seals were ran dry for the first bit of operation on this one. I may ship the smoking unit to the guy, I know he won't cover the shipping costs though.

[dhugo1]

I feel a little bad now for suggesting them to the forum.

I still have the two I purchased sitting on the shelf. I contacted the seller to find out if they have more information on these failures. I am wondering if there might be a fix.

[The Pope]

I'd also like to add the seal doesn't seal the whole thing in a turbo. You have a slip collor that goes around the shaft. That is supposed to spin with the turbine shaft. Then the carbon seal around the out end of it on the compressor support. Oil enters the compressor on the shaft from the bearings and works over to the support, collor and seal. If the collor is wore or the tolerance is higher oil goes right past the seal under it.

On the exhaust side there is a oil ring, like a piston ring holding back oil on the shaft. This doesn't exist on the compressor side. The seal is on a slip collor not the shaft. Later TDs have a T in the return line up to the air box for more vac on the return side of the turbo, to help get more out. Maybe adding this to a catch can will help if it isn't there anymore. Not a ton of info is out there on this turbo but it is a pretty small thing and the oil return may need more help than other turbos. Maybe a little axle grease on the shaft at the collor?

[GLHNSLHT2]

I wouldn't grease it, that grease will coke up when it gets hot and clog/ruin everything.

[dhugo1]

I got a response from the seller today and he asked me to post it so here it is. Sounds like they are a reputable seller.

"Hello Dan,

I looked at your forum and was surprised to see that two others have had problems. I would like you to go ahead and post this on your forums to give your members a bit of back story on the turbos. I sold hundreds of these turbos that I purchased from an old Garrett distributor.I purchased approx 200 new turbos from this distributor for a ridiculously good price which is why I sold them so cheap. They had been sitting back in their warehouse for years. They had gotten wet and the boxes were destroyed. The water also caused some surface rust on the housings and actuator. We took them apart and cleaned the rust off and painted the actuator. If when you purchased your turbos they were listed as new then they were new guaranteed. If when you purchased them they were listed as reman then they would be reman. All of the reman turbos receive all new bearings, seals etc and all internal components. We also have new VNT nozzle rings that come in all of the reman turbos as well. I assure you the rebuild was done with the highest quality parts and service available. I am confident you will not experience any problems however if some problem did arise I assure you we would take care of it for you. I was surprised that I did not hear from the forum members who had a problem with one of these units. I will extend an offer to them to send me back the turbos and I will diagnose the failure. As an added bonus I will also repair the turbos at my cost for those members. I want your forum members to know that we are a reputable company and appreciate your business.

Thank you
James Nimmo
Turbos R Us"

[dragbaron]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dhugo1 I will extend an offer to them to send me back the turbos and I will diagnose the failure. As an added bonus I will also repair the turbos at my cost for those members.

That would be very nice thing for him to do. However, when mine failed, I was in the middle of a trip and still had 300 miles of driving to do and blocked the oil supply to it. You can imagine what happened to that turbo after that. The shaft is broke, the wheels are destroyed. No way of telling what failed on it now. It's been sitting in my junk pile since I removed it and has been rained and (as of last night) snowed on.

Maybe I'll just send him a message and see what he has to say. Thanks for taking the time to maybe get us a resolution to this.

[dragbaron]

Update: Been messaging back and forth with Mr. Nimmo today, and he told me to send it in and he will fix this problem! I just shipped it to him, and he should see it Friday. So, I should have another update next week sometime.

[dhugo1]

Thats good to hear. Keep us posted. Sounds like it will work out.

[TurboDodge]

I am also sending my turbo back to him. I definitely complained to him about the failure before this recent inquiry. He must have forgot about his and my email exchanges. I'll let you know what happens with the service work/replacement of the failed unit.

[92TurboTona]

thats good, as its always good to hear about a good person thats willing to fix the problems on ebay as thats usually rare LOL

[dragbaron]

Update: Well here it is exactly a week after I shipped the turbo to James at Turbos R Us, and he shipped me out the repaired/replaced unit today! Now that's a quick turn around for a warranty issue! So far, I'm very pleased with his customer service. He has kept me updated the whole time.

Of course, as I guessed, he could not determine the cause of the failure since I had to run the turbo without oil to finish my trip. It was destroyed! He wasn't able to reuse much of my original turbo!

[TurboDodge]

Excellent news. All you had to pay was the shipping one way to his location right? I shipped mine out at the beginning of this week and it will be to him any day now. Glad to hear a success story! That gives me hope that soon I will see my replacement with no hassle!

[dragbaron]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TurboDodge Excellent news. All you had to pay was the shipping one way to his location right? I shipped mine out at the beginning of this week and it will be to him any day now. Glad to hear a success story! That gives me hope that soon I will see my replacement with no hassle!

Yep, just the $22 for UPS to ship it to him is all I paid. With the way he has been with my turbo, I don't see you having any issues!

[TurboDodge]

I just got an email from James Nimmo that said, "Call me about your turbo". I tried calling but he was out of the shop I believe. I'll report back when I find out what he has to say. I must say I am curious.