I am going to build a turbo and need a t3 turbine housing. i can't find a .63ar housing for less than a couple hundred.

Can I use a eBay (cx racing, etc) housing on the garrett? I'd toss the rest of the ebay turbo...

 

bump, needs a turbine housing.

 

Its hard to say. They typically fit, but there are some that I've had to modify the housing to fit if tolerances were too tight, or couldn't do it at all. I've found that it is much easier to just get the whole unit as a Garrett and not just try to add parts to it; this is only a rule of thumb. you're really at a point where you're going to have to try it out for yourself.

 

I bought a spa turbo hotside once for a t04b that I had that had a 1.15 ar on it. when I got it it wouldn't fit and the guy later told me that it would have to be machined to fit the wheels which was some general rule of thumb (that he neglected to tell me when I asked him if it would fit) I ended up sending it back to him cause I didn't wanna deal with it at the time.

if you do buy a whole ebay turbo and dont need the rest lmk cause Ill give you a little bit of cash to ship it to me + a little for the part instead of letting it go to waste.

 

It doesn't sound too promising then.
If I buy a housing or a whole junk turbo, how do I know what wheels I can use? Will all T3 turbine wheels fit all T3 turbine housings? P trim, stage 2, stage 3, the regular wheels? Does it go by AR of the housing? Like a .63 housing will only fit certain wheels? Could I do a .63 AR with a stage 1 wheel, or a .48 AR with a stage 3?

 

also, will a ball bearing housing fit a journal bearing turbo? Or other way around? I'm looking at a housing that says it's a T3 .63 AR Stage 2. So I'd probably be stuck with a stage 2 turbine wheel?

 

The cost of the individual parts of a Garrett turbo are more than than a complete unit (almost by double). Trying to think you'll save a few bucks by swapping over parts is more than a waste of time, money, effort. Considering that Stage 2 and 3 turbine shafts/wheels cost on average $280 (if you have a vendor willing to ship), and over $350 to switch cartridges. Just forget about this ebay turbo and either save it for parts for another e-bay turbo, or just get the real thing. I know you want to learn but in this case, (and I can say this without bias), you're wasting your time trying to piece this together.

 

I got a turbonetics T04B with a water cooled center housing for $150, and I can get a T3 housing for about $100-120. Some turbine wheels are around $100. So I think I can make this a pretty cheap T3/T4 thats capable of supporting 3-400 easily.

I understand what you're saying though. I definitely noticed it's cheaper to just buy a t4 turbo than a back plate, compressor housing, center housing and compressor wheel.

 

Good luck. I hope it works for you.