My turbo is broken. PLEASE help.

[TurboSevenThree]

I got turbo troubles. This is my Daily Driver and I have to be able to get to school and work, so I need to know what's wrong and how to fix it, if it's cheaply fixable.
Symptom: massive turbo lag, max 12psi of boost. (Pre-cooler), barely any freespin and 7mpg city. NO surging (has not surged).
I thought maybe it was the exhaust leak where the y-pipe meets the turbo that I hadn't fixed yet.
I got the intake stuff off and checked the intake turbine and it's goin "clank clank" fore and aft. So I removed the whole turbo to inspect it and will probably be putting it all back together tomorrow in the rain, if I can or can't fix it.
It has about 1/16" of endplay, the fins are in pretty good shape on both sides. No oil in the exhaust housing. And the exhaust wheel has the same endplay, they're moving together so I don't think the shaft is broken.
Also it doesn't spin very well. I hear a funny noise in the middle when I spin it, dunno what it is, but if I flick the wheel with my finger it only spins for barely a second on its own.




So turbo wizards what does this mean. Do I need an $80 WW or a $2-3k turbo... in which case I will be parking or selling the truck.

[Dirk]

thrust bearing is shot (most likely). Call River City Turbo or Beans Diesel for a rebuild kit. Should be under 200?

[Ryan Rønning]

Thats a lot better then buying a whole new turbo!

[TurboSevenThree]

Thought so. I was just reading HVACSupertech's write up on that.

[66Bronco]

Yep, you have too much end-play which subsequently has destroyed the thrust bearing. Time for a rebuild, and they're not too bad. Just look for Maintain's write-up on the subject and you should be good to go.

[TurboSevenThree]

Anybody gotta phone number or site for Bean's?

[Dirk]

google beans diesel performance.

[TurboSevenThree]

Don't bash me but how's this look? It's got everything I could possibly need, even if I break stuff.

eBay Motors: FORD 7.3 POWERSTROKE TURBO TURBOCHARGER REBUILD KIT (item 310127203500 end time Mar-13-09 09:52:17 PDT)

I should have mentioned I'm about broke.

[Ryan Rønning]

Looks like a good deal!

[benderado]

I used that kit to rebuild my trubo 3-5K ago and have had no problems since the rebuild. The rebuild itself is fairly easy, you just have to pay great attention to detail when doing the rebuild or you can get mixed up pretty easy.