K03 turbo shaft play

[samsalter]

Hi Guys,

I bought a "working" K03 from the bay of e.
It has a lot of shaft play, both left to right and backwards and forwards, which tells me it is not "working"
I know there is a small amount of play in turbo shafts, but this is a lot more than a small amount.

Question I have is, will a rebuild kit fix this problem?
or should I buy a new turbo?
I have rebuilt a turbo before and it is relatively easy, so if that will fix the shaft play then that's great.

Now for my rant,
The turbo has significant obvious shaft play, and has oil residue all over the casing.
how can someone sell the turbo and say "it was working when it came off the car"
It looks like this turbo would have been leaking oil through the seals, smoking like hell and that would have been the reason for the turbo removal.
looking at its current state, there is no way it was "working when taken off the car"

The advert was poor, but I asked loads of questions to the seller, which is where he said it was "working"
Should I start a dispute and try for a refund?

 

[<tuffty/>]

It will still 'work' under those conditions but its obviously worn... side to side play is normal as its a journal bearing turbo so will need to float in the bearings from high pressure oil feed....

In/out play is the thrust bearing... arguably a rebuild kit should sort this but I would suggest it needs rebalancing afterwards...

As for...

...how can someone sell the turbo and say "it was working when it came off the car"

...never underestimate peoples ignorance, stupidity or more importantly a persons ability to not give a sh*t about selling something thats obviously past its sell by date...

Buying a secondhand turbo is always a risk especially as refurbed K03's are relatively inexpensive to buy these days..

Depends on how much it owes you but I would at least start a dispute on eBay to get a sizable refund to mitigate the rebuild

<tuffty/>

 

[samsalter]

Buying a secondhand turbo is always a risk especially as refurbed K03's are relatively inexpensive to buy these days..

<tuffty/>

How much we talking?
I may buy this, to save time.
I have seen some new K03 for £150 on ebay, but these must be cheap Chinese sh*t.
but if you are aware of a reputable seller for cheap turbos, please let me know.

 

[pablo]

well in fairness it was a second hand part and was indeed working when it came off the car (which really means it wasn't smoking or had blew up).

was it perfect? no, but how far can a seller go to ensure that a part off a breaker is perfect?

personally Id dispute it too and get a refund, but technically is it actually defective? Or just subject to wear and tear (which being a second hand part would seem reasonable).

grey area imo

 

[<tuffty/>]

How much we talking?
I may buy this, to save time.
I have seen some new K03 for £150 on ebay, but these must be cheap Chinese sh*t.
but if you are aware of a reputable seller for cheap turbos, please let me know.

http://www.aet-turbos.co.uk/

Try these guys... they are Bill's (Badger5) preferred supplier and make the K04 hybrid that broke 400hp on Bill's Lupo...

Based on the prices of the special offers I would imagine you are looking at 100-150 for a CHRA and 200-300 for a full turbo but worth giving them a call tbh

<tuffty/>

 

[samsalter]

annoying thing is, the inlet pipe was loosely fitted with the bolt half screwed in.
this tells me that the seller has taken the inlet pipe off to reveal the compressor and he could(would) have checked the shaft for play.
I did ask about the shaft play in particular, he said he was unsure.
he must have known there was play in the turbo but told me "it was working fine when removed"
this answer may not be a lie, but it is definitely giving me the wrong impression in order to sell his item, leaving me feel like I have been ripped off slightly

 

[samsalter]

http://www.aet-turbos.co.uk/

Try these guys... they are Bill's (Badger5) preferred supplier and make the K04 hybrid that broke 400hp on Bill's Lupo...

Based on the prices of the special offers I would imagine you are looking at 100-150 for a CHRA and 200-300 for a full turbo but worth giving them a call tbh

<tuffty/>

Thanks! enquiry sent

 

[rallye_turbo]

eBay have a great refund policy - and they deal with disputes fairly. The buyer is mostly always protected! I guess it all depends on how much you spent and your motivation to pursue.

Cheers, Paul

 

[pablo]

for the sake of clicking a few links and filling in a few boxes its worth a go.

 

[samsalter]

I have messaged the seller and he still claims that, there is nothing wrong with the turbo.
also asked me what i mean by shaft play.

 

[samsalter]

moving on with this issue as I do not have time to dwell on this.
Will this work on my turbo?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AUDI-A4-A...hash=item2a28330ba8:m:m037DzX-9rFthdF-GBJl4Ag
it doesn't show the A3 on the compatible list

or this?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Turbo-Tur...353436?hash=item43c810ce5c:g:EYwAAOSwv0tVBxZa
has a long list of turbos that this will repair

 

[ayfreetee]

The second one looks like it will do the job, but as said, the shaft needs to be balanced, if not, it may just knock itself apart.

 

[manwithtool1]

Buying a secondhand turbo is always a risk especially as refurbed K03's are relatively inexpensive to buy these days..

Depends on how much it owes you but I would at least start a dispute on eBay to get a sizable refund to mitigate the rebuild

<tuffty/>[/QUOTE]
Where's a reliable place to get a turbo reconditioned ?

 

[<tuffty/>]

Where's a reliable place to get a turbo reconditioned ?

http://www.audi-sport.net/xf/threads/k03-turbo-shaft-play.272367/#post-2724304

<tuffty/>

 

[samsalter]

right, I have spoken to the seller through whats app.
I sent him a video of obvious play in the shaft, you can even hear the turbine hitting the compressor housing.

his answer was,
"oh ye, I did check that before I sent it, it didn't seem too bad. is the packaging damaged at all?"

I replied,
"come on man, that ridiculous, the packaging is fine and this damaged would not have happened during transit"

outcome - he is giving me £20 refund for a rebuild kit.

I will rebuild it without balancing it, I have done it before to my other car and it that is fine.
This is my other car's engine bay btw, try not to cream you pants!


and for the record, its 100% easier to work on an inline engine. tonnes of room!

 

[pablo]

dispute via eBay, you'll get an entire refund but you'll have to post it back

 

[samsalter]

Guys,

I have bought a rebuild kit for the turbo and have started rebuilding.
have run into a little issue, see photo below



looks as though I have bought the wrong kit?
everything else is fitting ok but the main bearing is totally different.

Can someone confirm what I should do?
use new different one? (will this work even tho it looks different)
use old one? (is this knackered and my shaft play will still be there)
buy a new correct one?

 

[samsalter]

More specific thread created regarding the above post for more interested