Serious question, is it ever worth trying to salvage a turbo that's been starved of oil, or is a full replacement always the smarter move?

I had a customer in Phoenix bring in a 6.7 Powerstroke with a seized turbo, and after finding metal in the oil pan from the bearings, I told him a new unit was the only safe fix, but he argued we could just rebuild it for half the cost.

2 comments

2 Comments

clairebaker1mo ago

Seriously? A rebuild after metal's in the pan is just asking for round two. Those tiny fragments get everywhere, in the oil cooler, the lines. You clean the turbo but miss a speck in a feed line, it grenades the new bearings in a week. Half the cost now means paying full price plus another tow later. Some things you just don't cheap out on.

quinn_carr1mo ago

Clairebaker is right about the metal bits getting everywhere. Saw a guy try to save money on a similar fix, ended up with a whole new engine block a month later. The tow truck driver knew him by name. Cutting corners just moves the problem down the road, and it always comes back more expensive.