causes of turbo axial play

[3.0 GT]

hey i currently have a Holset He351cw on my built 7m. it boosts fine no problems but whenever i do a WOT pull then let off the gas, when i give it throttle again it blows a cloud of sometimes blue and sometimes white/gray smoke. I know it is not the engine, done a few tests on it. There is NO oil in the intake of the turbo ever and i have a free flowing intake. However the turbo has axial play, way more than it ever needs to be. It was not like this when I put it on and i am wondering what would cause it? I am running -4an feed line with a restrictor right at the turbo(i cant remember the restrictor size right now but ill figure it out) and a -10 drian going straight down. The turbo was rebuilt by me ~4,000 miles ago and i have rebuilt 2 ct26's that held up no problems. i did not get it balanced but i marked the compressor and shaft and put it back on in the same spot. Thanks.

PS: radial play is in the normal range.

 

[roystunna]

i did not get it balanced

Might be the answer you are looking for right there.

 

[3.0 GT]

haha maybe but i thought it would be alright if it goes back the exact same. is there anything else that would cause problems?

 

[Poodles]

Obviously didn't go back the exact same...

 

[Suprapowaz!(2)]

Or maybe it was already out of balance before you rebuild it. Then put it back exactly in the same spot which was already unbalanced.

 

[3.0 GT]

ok well i guess everyone thinks it was the balancing that was the problem. i called a turbo shop and they said it would be ~$250 to rebuild it. but i can get a rebuild kit for ~$90 and rebuild it myself then take it to them to get balanced for $35-40. would that work ok?