Turbo dilemma

[Mk1mark]

My turbo (think it’s a stock one) is showing some signs of wear as its a bit Smokey on hard acceleration and a little on overrun. It still pulls well and doesn’t have any worrying noises. The problem I have is that I just don’t think I can afford to get it rebuilt or source a replacement.

So has anyone rebuilt their own turbo or is it just best to send it off to a specialist? Obviously if did it I couldn’t check it was balanced so could be risky??

Do you think its safe to drive for a the rest of the summer or not worth risking it? Any advice appreciated.

Cheers

[DanT404]

If its smoking it will just gradually get worse and worse. Personally i'd advise you get it refurbished/replaced asap. Naturally you will be able to extend its life slightly dependant on how you drive your car but still, if its on the way out then its only going to get worse regardless.
I wouldnt recommend refurbishment yourself, one of the many reasons being the one you mention.
Have you contacted any companies for a quote?
Its not an unreasonable figure for a standard gt25 turbo usually i've found.

[BartFRS]

+1, I wouldn’t continue to drive either.

[Mk1mark]

Not got any quotes yet. Any recommendations welcome.

Would go hybrid but that’s probably a bit of a dream as would have to get the car re mapped.

[AlexRS2782]

Might be worth mentioning whereabouts in the UK you are as i've seen a few smaller comapnies in certain areas mentioned in the past on previous forums that do repair / rebuild work, and there are also a number of bigger names around the UK that can do the work either by mail order / in person.

As for the big companies (a couple in no particular order):

https://www.turbodynamics.co.uk/
https://www.universal-turbos.com/
https://www.turboperformanceltd.com/
https://www.aet-turbos.co.uk/

[Mk1mark]

Cheers. I’m North Mids / S Yorkshire.

I can see from the history file the car has had some work done before with AET and it’s not that far for me! So that’s maybe the best for just a standard rebuild.

[Mk1mark]

Well AET won’t even look at it. 🤷♂️