Roller bearing turbos...

Right peeps,
I've recently bought off eBay a Garret T04s roller bearing turbo.
I'm new to roller bearing jobbies as i've always used bush bearing turbos but i fancied a change.
Is it true that the center catridge cannot be re-built?.
Is the turbine shaft meant to spin(and stay spinning) as soon as you push a wheel with your finger?.
Will the turbo er, 'whistle' as it comes on song?,like the high powered supras,cosworths ect.
How do i know if i have ceramic or normal ball bearing catridge?.
Chime in with answers.
Thankz.

VEEDUBBED wrote:Is it true that the center catridge cannot be re-built?.

Yep, the CHRAs are "sealed units" apparently. I suspect turbo specialists can probably rebuild them, but it's one of those time/cost things. Is it worth the labour when it's ~ £500 to replace the entire centre housing?

VEEDUBBED wrote:Is the turbine shaft meant to spin(and stay spinning) as soon as you push a wheel with your finger?.

Yes. Has to totally horizontal though, with a little oil in it.

VEEDUBBED wrote:Will the turbo er, 'whistle' as it comes on song?,like the high powered supras,cosworths ect.

Not really. They make a loud sucking noise, depending on air filter type. Ported compressor housings make a whistle/whine noise though.

VEEDUBBED wrote:How do i know if i have ceramic or normal ball bearing catridge?.
Chime in with answers.
.

All the Garretts use normall ball bearings afaik. Didn't know ceramic ball bearings existed?

Just to second some of the above stuff

when a roller bearing turbo goes it basically sh1ts itself into lots of pieces so are total write offs as the ball bearings go through the turbo unlike a journal bearing (bush turbo that wears thin on the bush and needs a new one).

They will improve spool up on average between 200-500rpm over a journal bearing turbo due to less frictional losses.

Ceramic ball bearing ones are real naughty but indeed Garrett don't do them. As a reference point my 6yr old skateboards and he used to be on normal abec7 bearings for his wheels. We upgraded them to ceramics due to his low weight so he could keep speed up. If he comes of his deck after a big jump and the board lands upside down the ceramics just carry on spinning forever and a day (literally 50-60secs+) compared to normal ones that stop after 5-10 secs. Cost difference being £10-20 vs £90 for a set of 8. So for a turbo thats going to have 140,000rpm you can imagine how much more expensive the ceramics are.

Blimey, Ceramic bearings would be worth the extra cost if that's the difference over steel ones!!

See literature [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Guys,do i need to run an oil restrictor when using this turbo?,Vw's oil pressure is crazy high first thing on start-up,especially with the recent cold weather weve been 'avin here in Rome.
This turbo has got a weird oil inlet size aswell,M11-1?,were the christ am i gonna get an adapter that's M12-1.25/M11-1???.
Another concern is the coolant banjo bolts,the T4 Garret ball bearing catride has bigger holes than my T3/4 so i can't bolt up my corrado's lines,what now??

VEEDUBBED wrote:Guys,do i need to run an oil restrictor when using this turbo?

Yep

VEEDUBBED wrote:This turbo has got a weird oil inlet size aswell,M11-1?,were the christ am i gonna get an adapter that's M12-1.25/M11-1???.

Here - [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

VEEDUBBED wrote:Another concern is the coolant banjo bolts,the T4 Garret ball bearing catride has bigger holes than my T3/4 so i can't bolt up my corrado's lines,what now??

Everything you need is on ATP's website

Hey kev,
I'm not using ATP because the postage is a real rip-off, to send two 18mm banjo bolts and a restrictor=120$..,that's taking the piss.
I bought everything off eBay.au for 40Euro all in.
I hope this 'effin turbo doesn't break.

Fair enough! I don't trust Ebay and won't use it

I doubt it will break, they're good turbos!

VEEDUBBED wrote:Hey kev,
I'm not using ATP because the postage is a real rip-off, to send two 18mm banjo bolts and a restrictor=120$..,that's taking the piss.
I bought everything off eBay.au for 40Euro all in.
I hope this 'effin turbo doesn't break.

if you contact atp with your shipping order they will reduce the shipping by allot...

JNLRacing wrote:See literature [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Turbonetics site wrote:Turbonetics utilizes a NASA inspired angular contact ball bearing featuring almost indestructible silicone-nitride ceramic balls. A conventional unit has a capacity of 60-80 lbs. of dynamic thrust load. The patented Turbonetics design can withstand anywhere between 1000 to 2200 lbs. of loading, depending upon the turbocharger model.

• 600% Greater Thrust Capacity
• 25% Faster Spoolup
• Re-Buildable, Unlike Other Ball Bearing Designs
• Patented Ceramic Ball Bearings