Is my Turbo bad?

[Diesegas]

I was replacing the charge pipe and intake seals on my BMW N47 Diesel engine, whilst the intake was off I thought I’d have a look at the Turbo. The turbo seems fine and produces boost without any issues (apart from the boost leak I just fixed).
I noticed there appears to be some marks on the housing of the turbo near the blades, there is very little play in the turbo and doesn’t appear to touch the sides. I’m slightly concerned my turbo is on its way out?

 

[Audiman]

If you cannot move the compressor wheel over to touch the housing it will be fine. I cannot see any damage to the wheel either. I’ve seen more of these turbos seize the linkage where it goes through the housing than I have bearing failure, in fact the only bearing failure I’ve seen was on a remapped car.

Hows the timing chain doing? Swirl flaps removed? Glow plugs seized in the head?

 

[ecotourist]

I worried for the whole 18 1/2 years that I owned a Volvo 740 Turbo that the turbo would "go out" some day. But it never did.

A mechanic at the shop in Edmonton that serviced my Volvo had a 240 with a turbo that would scream under boost. That turbo really was "on its way out", as its blades must have been touching the sides.

 

[Diesegas]

If you cannot move the compressor wheel over to touch the housing it will be fine. I cannot see any damage to the wheel either. I’ve seen more of these turbos seize the linkage where it goes through the housing than I have bearing failure, in fact the only bearing failure I’ve seen was on a remapped car.

Hows the timing chain doing? Swirl flaps removed? Glow plugs seized in the head?

That’s good to know! You must be familiare with this ‘fine’ engine! Timing chain replaced as a precaution a few weeks ago! My specific engine didn’t come with swirl flaps from the factory, I discovered this when cleaning the intake manifold plus there’s no actuator! I did replace the glow plugs while I had the intake off but I was patient with them, used lots of penetrating fluid and had no issues.

 

[Audiman]

That’s good to know! You must be familiare with this ‘fine’ engine! Timing chain replaced as a precaution a few weeks ago! My specific engine didn’t come with swirl flaps from the factory, I discovered this when cleaning the intake manifold plus there’s no actuator! I did replace the glow plugs while I had the intake off but I was patient with them, used lots of penetrating fluid and had no issues.
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More than I care to admit sometimes!