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What is the acceptable play for a 1986 KKK 951 turbo? I have slight side to side play but quite a bit of up and down play on the shaft, but not enough for the vanes to hit the housing. The turbo is off my car now and I don't want to put it back on and then have to replace it in in several months. Thanks for you help!!
There is a description and pics in the turbo service manual if someone can post. I am not able to post images from my factory turbo manual at the moment but if someone else reads this and could post the info
Stock turbos should have little to no play up down, left to right, in and out. If your questioning it now, the play will only get worse over time. It's pretty reasonable cost wise to rebuild them. If nothing else, it's peace of mind. If you let it go and damage it, it's a lot more to rebuild it.
Having bought brand new turbos at $1200+, I think for around 375 to 600 you can have them rebuilt. Lart might give you a deal on a good used one as well.
Contrary to popular opinion, it is normal for journal bearing turbos to have a small amount of shaft play. The play is there because as you move the wheels side to side or in and out, it takes up the clearance between the shaft and the bearings...if there was no clearance on a journal bearing, the shaft wouldn't be able to spin.
Factory manual lists max radial play at 0.42mm, and max axial play at 0.16mm. The manual states that the radial play is to be measured on the turbine side.
If you're looking for a replacement turbo, I have a recently rebuilt k26/6 for sale. It only did about 15k km's since the rebuild before I did a turbo upgrade so it is still in very good condition. I'll take 400 USD for it, send me a PM if you like Bob.
01-24-2019, 02:45 PM
turbo impeller play
