Hi every one, i am looking at buying a car that is equipped with a gt35 turbo, the owner of the car tells me he never hooked up the water coolant lines and i also think it never had a restrictor installed either. from every thing i have learned ball bearing turbos must have both, I believe the turbo has been driven well over 3000 miles like this. what are the chances this turbo is fine and i can simply install the water lines and oil restrictor and be fine. and can a GT ball bearing be rebuilt and if so whats the cost typically?

 

from what i know, bb chra's cant be rebuilt. i dont think there is too much of an issue with the coolant lines not being hooked up, just put that on your list of things to do.

what size is the feed line?

 

I will have to ask him, in the pic i saw it was a rather small looking SS one but i know that dont tell us what its inner diameter is, he said the car would not smoke when daily driven unless you went on very long drives he said that if you drove for a hour or more with sustained rpms at or above 4k it would puff if you got in and out of the gas but it never does it around town.

 

I'd look into finding another turbo to put on before buying this car, or make a condition that he must change the cartridge and wheels before you buy the car.

 

Pull the intake/filter off the turbo and manually check for shaft play. Inspect for any oil leaks too while you're at it. If none and spins freely, I say you should be fine and throw on a restrictor and the coolant lines later to make you feel more comfortable.