Cheap turbo warning

Mountainman · **Posted:** Mon May 23, 2016 7:24 pm

I know we've heard of several people having good luck with the cheap turbos out of China, so I figured I'd let everyone know that I got a jeep in with a confirmed bad one. The PO replaced it at 108k, and it's at about 132k. So, it lasted 24,000 miles, and I don't know yet if it damaged the engine, but it's definitely toast. I don't think it's worth the gamble :dead:

diesel_guy86 · **Posted:** Mon May 23, 2016 9:34 pm

A good turbo aint cheap,
And a cheap turbo aint good.

Seriously you can cheap out on pretty much anything, oil/filters/tires/injectors etc, but the sole piece of hardware that is responsible for your engines power and health people cheap out on it.

WWDiesel · **Posted:** Mon May 23, 2016 9:59 pm

IMHO,
A word to the wise; I would not cheap out on anything for the VM motor, it is so rare it is simply just not worth the risk or consequences if a cheap part fails!!!!!
Quality parts cost money and return on investment provides payback with longevity :wink:

Mountainman · **Posted:** Mon May 23, 2016 10:39 pm

Yeah, I agree. In defense of the PO, he got railroaded on a return of a Garrett rebuild from a reputable parts place, and wound up with a cheapo turbo.
The rebuild lasted him like 5k miles! So, I guess even if it's a rebuilt Garrett, it could be risky.

thermorex · **Posted:** Mon May 23, 2016 10:39 pm

WWDiesel wrote:

IMHO,
A word to the wise; I would not cheap out on anything for the VM motor, it is so rare it is simply just not worth the risk or consequences if a cheap part fails!!!!!
Quality parts cost money and return on investment provides payback with longevity :wink:

+1 to this, it's not worth the risk. That's not saying more expensive is better all the time either...

papaindigo · **Posted:** Tue May 24, 2016 8:39 am

"Yeah, I agree. In defense of the PO, he got railroaded on a return of a Garrett rebuild from a reputable parts place, and wound up with a cheapo turbo. The rebuild lasted him like 5k miles! So, I guess even if it's a rebuilt Garrett, it could be risky."

Interesting but 2nd hand. Last time I checked Garrett did not rebuild the CRD turbo although they do rebuild some turbos and provide a warranty but I don't recall the warranty details. If I had to guess the PO was suckered into accepting a "rebuilt" turbo the was a rebuild of a Garrett housing by someone other than Garrett using one of the online rebuild kits. FYI this is based on experience with geordi using one of those kits to rebuild a Garrett.

Mountainman · **Posted:** Tue May 24, 2016 11:02 am

Oh yeah, I remember you guys talking about a failed rebuild. I'm wondering how the guy in the midwest or Canada is fairing (I can't remember exactly), as he said he found a legit place that rebuilt one for about $600, and that it worked well. Hopefully he'll pop up someday and say that he still has it running, or not...

I ate the big charge of a new Garrett when I bought my CRD, as the wheel was touching the housing, but man, I wish I could have waited for a ball bearing one, or Sasquatch one...

Cheap turbo warning

Who is online