I purchased this turbo several months ago, new from Partsexpressonline.com. I was going to use it on my 2004 GTO. I decided to list it on ebay since I had no plans to use it now. While I was taking a break from cleaning out my garage today, I was looking at it and noticed a small chip on the center of the compressor turbine. So now I'm currious if this is a big deal or not, seeing as how it spins like it should and there is no shaft play or any signs if damage from shipping. The box it came in wasn't damaged at all, so that makes me think it passed inspection from Master Power, but I don't know for sure. I don't want to sell it if this is a problem and the auction ends in a couple of days. So please let me know what you guys think.

 

Rotating parts are interesting. If the weight balance is off by a just little bit, it may seem to spin as it should at low speeds, but if you start spinning the turbine at 50,000 RPM you may notice that the tiny flaw can cause serious vibrations.

To accurately assess the part, you need to get it spinning at normal operating conditions, not just spinning it with your hand or something.

 

really hard to tell by your pic, but is it a piece broken off or possibly where it was ground down to balance it?

 

What i was thinking.

 

I took another close look at it, and it does appear to have been ground down. Is this something that is done often?

 

What you see is normal



It's a process done by turbo manufacturers in order to balance the wheels.

 

yup. Its balacing the wheel.