md321 shaft play
 

hi, I have a md321 turbo I bought recently. the turbo shaft has slight side 2 side play aswell as a bit of in and out play. I was wondering is this safe or shall I have it rebuilt. I haven't contacted lateral yet because of the festive period. would anyone be able 2 give a rough price of rebuild, maybe even billeting it. thank u. and a happy new year 2 every1

a bit of in out play is normal but not side to side. If you're not sure it might be worth sending for inspection/quotation. I sent a MD321H in who's seals had gone, the compressor wheel and housing was replaced as they were in poor shape, the turbo came back as new, it cost around £420, that was about 4 years ago. I understand billeting is considerably more, personally I don't think it's worth the extra.
Once Turbo Dynamics have the turbo I would contact them directly by phone and discuss the options with them, they are helpful and fair, everything is still done through Lateral but I found talking to them directly helped.
Trev

I run an old Garrett MD321T non-billet 4 years ago making 442.9bhp when I had it rebuilt I had it converted to a billet wheel, although it helped with spool (a little) it actually made less bhp only 430.4bhp. So yes I wouldn't go billet in my opinion in this series turbo. I have heard the old Garrett series MD321's are better than Turbo Dynamics. Although the same maker TD used the Garrett cores and front cases years ago and now use there own. Hope this helps

Ball bearing turbo's can have a scary amount of play, side to side is normal on both journal and ball bearing turbos to a certain degree, but in and out play (end float) is not.

The play is taken up by pressurised oil when the engine is running. As long as the turbine and compressor wheels are clearing the housings its probably fine.

Billet wheels have different variants so knowing which variant youre getting is a bonus but either way, billet technology is definitely the way forward

top advice gents. ill have a call around and get something sorted. thanks