How to spot a non-original turbine.

Let’s look at a few of the options that may come in the way of the average person browsing the internet in search of a genuine turbo:

  • A Chinese non-original turbocharger.
  • Remanufactured turbocharger.
  • Remanufactured turbocharger disguised as new or as a non-existent analogue.
  • Used turbocharger.

Now in order.

The Chinese-made non-original turbochargers have a lot of hidden dangers, for a much lower cost, the buyer receives the appropriate quality. If a non-original Chinese turbine is sold under the guise of the original, the layman will not always be able to understand that this turbine is a fake. Therefore, the advice is to research the market before buying a turbine and buy the turbine, preferably from a specialized shop or a company with a positive reputation and a long history in the market, bless the present time there are a lot of services on the Internet that allow you to check it all.

A factory-furbished turbine is in fact a new turbine that is not inferior to a new one in terms of appearance and performance. In this case there are a couple of pitfalls: these turbines on the market very little, because the manufacturer prefers to sell new turbines and the second point – the price of them is not much inferior to the price of a new turbine. Otherwise they are great.

A remanufactured turbocharger disguised as a new one, or as a non-existent analogue.

I will devote a little more time to this section, as it is currently the newest type of scam on the turbo market.

The main points to pay attention to are: 1) On a new turbine, there must not be any dirt that has not been cleaned, there must not be any chips on the bodywork or any sandblasting. 2) The surfaces of the turbine housing on which the gaskets are to be installed must be milled without any signs of sandblasting. 3) All bolts and nuts must be free of any marks of unscrewing.

When buying the turbine, pay attention to the package itself, if you are offered an unknown turbine maker, the big letters on the box said DONE IN GERMANY and similar inscriptions should be alerted. Most likely it’s a load of crap that won’t work. The packaging of European products virtually eliminates the gloss on the box for environmental reasons.

The black arrow marks dirt and chipping of non-factory nature which has not been washed out of the box. It is also worth paying attention to the colour of the enclosure after sandblasting and washing, it is different from the new one (more matt and smooth surface).

And here is an example of an artisanal turbine package, under a brand of unclear origin. But in big letters it says MADE IN GERMANY. Only in Germany, probably do not know the existence of the company ALANKO)).

Out of 10 tested samples not a single one could be fully operational. All of them were “restored” in a garage with all the attributes inherent in this process – dirt on the body, traces of washing and sandblasting, the lack of a normal (smooth) milling on the surfaces for shims, the presence of chips on the bodies, etc.

Examples of appearance of new turbochargers I have not given, thanks to the world wide web plenty of images of this device in all angles and resolutions.

A second-hand turbocharger (turbine).

There is no point in going into detail about this segment of the market, because the thinking person understands everything, and the person who is not used to thinking and wants to save money will not listen to the expert with years of experience and will do their own thing.

It is easy to distinguish a new one from a used one, therefore I won’t describe it. Practically no one washes or masquerades as new. Simply because this venture will not pay off, and you cannot give a guarantee.

In a nutshell! In essence a second-hand turbine, and not just a turbine, is a pig in a poke. You have to understand that almost no one will ever say its exact lifetime, until it gets into the hands of the end consumer, in the best case twist-(like new). I’ll tell you from experience, namely, 10 years in this segment. 80-90% of used turbochargers are junk, which is often comparable to a good repair with warranty.

Therefore, the BEs in my opinion given the price of the turbo itself and the cost of removal and installation are not worthy of any consideration. And the percentage of junk and the complete absence of a real warranty, given that the money and time spent on re-removal and installation will not be refunded, absolutely nullifies the point of this purchase.