TIL a $300 junkyard turbo blew up my $1200 beater in 40 miles

Found a Volvo 240 with a Garrett T3 still bolted on at Pull-A-Part in Phoenix. Spent 3 hours getting it out, looked fine but I skipped checking the shaft play. Put it on my 740 wagon Saturday, by Sunday afternoon it was smoking like a freight train and the oil line was clogged with metal chunks. Anyone else learn the hard way that junkyard turbos are a gamble even when they look clean?

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1 Comment

mila_sullivan10d ago

Wait, you pulled the turbo but never spun the compressor wheel by hand before bolting it up? That's like the first thing anyone checks after getting a junkyard snail, since scoring or weird resistance tells you everything. I get the rush to get it running, but 40 miles is brutal, especially since Volvo oil lines are usually the first thing to clog when a turbo lets go.