well i pulled the turbo apart today if it was rebuilt it was along time ago or somethin but this thing was clogged up with junk it the back plate behind the turbine wheel and the core. it now spins so a spining turbo is better than on that is not but the least it will do is blow smoke. i am aware that pulling a turbo apart will make it unballanced when re asembled but there are ways of getting it close, well to what it was

my first turbo had the carbon seal but i no this doesnt not my only concern atm is getting the engine to work again. this is a draw thru set up with some type of su carby.

from what i have gleaned over my years of tinkering with turbos,
you WILL (if I did not make that claer) WILL need a carbon front seal if you want your motor to run for more than a few seconds, before fouling the plus with oil.

Iv found they index turbo balancing off the shaft and exhaust wheel , and only take material off the turbine wheel.
So I just line up the index marks on the shaft and wheel and bob should be your uncle.
Iv done this a few times, once re-building a std. tarbin, and a couple of times with "hybrid" style turbos, (one compressor on another turbine)
they all seem to run fine with no balance problems.
If your running a draw thru set-up, Id recomend getting it rebuilt with a carbon seal. (if your running a draw thru set-up you WILL need a carbon seal)

G O T H E C A R B O N S E A L !
G O T H E D A T! ...

I can back that up - if you assemble the wheel to the shaft in the same 'clocking' that it was, you haven't affected the balance so it'll be ok (if it was to begin with of course)

You can actually get rebuild kits for them and diy it - unless it's damaged the shaft in which case it might need to be polished/turned down and oversize (or is that technically undersize) bush/bearings utilised.

Anther quick tip - when starting the motor for the first time, pump oil with an oil can into the turbo, then hold the compressor wheel (*gently of course) with air intake off, whilst someone else cranks the motor over with the plugs out, do it with a slightly cracked open oil feed pipe to the turbo, and have them do this until oil starts to flow out the pipe/flange, then re-tighten, fit plugs and proceed. I'd go a little further and suggest pumping a little oil into the turbo centre as soon as you get it, as speaking for myself - any turbo I have on a bench, every man and his dog picks the damn thing up and twirls the compressor around!

It _is_ actually possible the turbo was ok as far as the seller knew. If the last time it was shut down, it was shutdown hot, or some other unforseen issue, then it might have lead to coking of the oil still in the turbo centre/bearing area, and it ran fine right up until then.

Generally speaking, as much of an extra headache as it is, I always buy s/hand turbos on the basis they 'are' stuffed and pay accordingly. That way if they turn out ok, bonus, if not, well I haven't dropped a lot of money on them, and the money saved will cover a rebuild.

yeah last time i put the turbo in i filled it with oil,filled the lines with oil nd the oil cooler so it was sure to have oil there when itstarted but when i was puttin the turbo in, it did feel a bit tight to spin but i assumed it was gonna free up as i broght a "rebuit" turbo. i have had a turbo #### itself from lack of oil but that was due to an oil line that got kinked when the car rolled of the trailer but i hve fixed that problem from happening again but since then i do my best to fit the turbo making sure its all perfect and ready to go with out anything to worry about