new ct26 with shaft play

jonahs_supra

Active Member
May 17, 2011
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Lancaster, Ohio, United States
ok so i bought a rebuilt and balanced ct26 (turbo was never ran on car after rebuild until i installed)
it has a 46trim wheel and 12 degree exhaust
the person i bought it from seems to be pretty reputable with turbos(he did work himself)
before installed i checked shaft play(very little up/down and no in/out play)
after install i changed oil and filter before 1st start up on turbo
removed efi fuse
cranked engine over a few times til oil pressure was seen(around 30psi with autometer)
all was good
fired it up and ran awesome
boost was set to 15
put 200 miles on it(highway) til i decided to hit boost
i have hit full 15psi a total of 6 times now
reset boost back down to 8psi
noticed my oil return gasket was leaking at the block so i removed turbo and replaced gasket
while turbo was off i checked shaft play and found that i have some in and out play
turbo isnt binding/catching and still builds boost fast and holds til redline
doesnt smoke or burn oil

my question is:
how much in/out play is acceptable or if any at all?
what would cause in/out from such a new turbo?

also car has always idled a few minutes before and after driving

mods:
stock elbow
3in down pipe
3in exhaust(no cat or resonators)
fmic with 2.5" piping
cone filter(new)
 

jonahs_supra

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May 17, 2011
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Lancaster, Ohio, United States
well i bought a new turbo gasket kit off the internet before installing turbo
came with everything except return tube gasket for the block and banjo bolt crush washers

so i installed turbo on a sunday and had to work on monday(it is my dd)
so i had to impravise and used black rtv(not a whole lot and no sealant was to close to the oil return hole)
took it for a test drive...went smooth
after 200 miles i noticed a very small dot of oil(thats right a 7m with 1 oil leak lol)
inspected and found the oil return at the block was leaking a very small amount

parked it til my gasket came in from toyota
then i installed the gasket with no sealant and there is no leaks

i rechecked shaft play today(but i havent driven the car since i posted last night)
in/out is very minimal
if i pull up on the compressor wheel just a little bit then there is no play

turbo is going back to builder so he can check it out
just wondering if there is anything on my car that could of caused it to go out so soon?

also i have a hks ssqv bov
 
Last edited:

jonahs_supra

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May 17, 2011
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Lancaster, Ohio, United States
You think so?
I only used rtv for the return that goes to side of block
No silicone was used on the turbo feed/drain gasket at the turbo

When I removed the new turbo to replace gasket there was a good distance between silicone and the actually tube for the drain

Thanks for the help so far
Will be sending it out this weekend to the builder
 

Devin LeBlanc

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Apr 7, 2010
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I had this happen to me recently, the turbo feed gasket was leaking right into the drain on the turbo causing the turbo to be starved of oil. I hate the design of the oiling on the CT series turbos. I would only use OEM toyota gaskets so you get a good seal and use locking nuts (not nylock they will melt)
 

MDCmotorsports

Offical SM Expert: Turbochargers
SM Expert
Mar 31, 2005
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www.MDCmotorsports.com
jonahs_supra;1749275 said:
You think so?
I only used rtv for the return that goes to side of block
No silicone was used on the turbo feed/drain gasket at the turbo

When I removed the new turbo to replace gasket there was a good distance between silicone and the actually tube for the drain

Thanks for the help so far
Will be sending it out this weekend to the builder

I misread: I thought you had used rtv on the feed side.

Devin LeBlanc;1749280 said:
I had this happen to me recently, the turbo feed gasket was leaking right into the drain on the turbo causing the turbo to be starved of oil. I hate the design of the oiling on the CT series turbos. I would only use OEM toyota gaskets so you get a good seal and use locking nuts (not nylock they will melt)

There is a reason Toyota uses a crushable steel coated gasket.
 

jonahs_supra

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May 17, 2011
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Lancaster, Ohio, United States
yes i forgot i started a thread lol

anyways
last weekend i finally got around to taking the turbo off(due to family and work life)
well i took it up to columbus diesel supply near me(they specialize in turbo chargers and special build chargers for pulling tractors)
a good friend of mine works up there
had his turbo specialist take a look at it
told me the in/out play i was feeling was more up/down play rather then in/out
this makes sense cause everytime i checked turbo it was a little warm so i couldnt really get a could hold onto compressor wheel
hearing that made me happy
so i went ahead and had him tear it down and do a inspection
last tuesday he called with a clean bill of health
said the turbo was built/balanced very good
so 50 bucks later i had it installed
so far turbo has right around 2k miles with atleast 30 12psi pulls in 2nd and 3rd gear
no smoke and play is the same

since it got a thumbs up from a well known turbo shop
i will be using Albert everytime i need a turbo rebuilt or want to buy from him

thanks