Is it worth it to pick up a turbo that has 30k on it? I am needing of a replacement or back up and found a good deal from a friend and was wondering if its a good idea to get it with that many miles. Let me know what you guys think.

Thanks

 

It somewhat depends on which turbo, but at 30K miles, there's really no issue there. It should be just fine. If you're that uncomfortable with it, get a rebuild kit for it, they're farely cheap.

 

if you are unsure, always check for shaft play

 

Also, be sure to find out how much boost was run on it. A turbo with stock boost vs. one with 18 psi on it every day will wear differently.

AJ.

 

Well to put it into perspective, I took my stock turbo off when I upgraded @ 33,000 miles....and it had ZERO shaft play. So take that for what its worth. That was with pretty aggressive driving as well.....

 

Stock wrx turbo's last a long time thanks to a moderate stock boost pressure.

 

that is true, but I was at 17psi since roughly 3000 miles on the car.

 

112k on my 02 and so far, no problems!

*knocks on wood*

 

My turbo started to show issues at about 118K. Started making odd noise. Now it is having trouble holding boost. I really need to get my new turbo on. I missed my window a couple weeks ago. But may have a chance next week.

 

2002 WRX purchased in 2001-

The turbo has about 115,000, mostly non highway, miles. It is set to peak at 18 to 19 psi (4k rpm, 3rd or 4th gears). The counter balancing advantage is that I have a big low pressure drop TMIC, and always use higher than 93 (M+R)/2 octane. The daily routine consists of multiple engine stops and starts with fun runs in between. Since this is severe service (by definition) I have always used 5w-30 synthetic oil and engine oil and filter changes every 3000 miles. That probably counts a bit for the observed engine and turbo durability.

So, a turbo off a stock wrx, with 30,000 miles on it, probably has some more life in it.