VF46 stock turbo?

[mcperry]

Long story short: my friend bought a 2007 Legacy GT with ~91k and after 1000 miles his turbo grenaded (shaft broke). We pulled the turbo and it's a VF46. However there's conflicting information as to whether or not this is the stock turbo (some people have said that it came stock with a VF40). Essentially we're trying to figure out if his car has been tampered with/replaced previously.

 

He's also concerned that the turbo may have been oil starved which caused it to blow and I was wondering if there's any way to really determine that or whether or not there might be any other reason why his turbo blew other than bad timing on the purchase? I'm a duramax diesel guy and haven't ever really worked on the boxer engines before so I'm a little lost when it comes to them and am trying to learn as well.

 

I've seen the thread on turbo replacement options but that doesn't really help in his situation since he's really just looking for a good drop in replacement (whether that's just a VF46) or something just over stock that doesn't require any further modification; so I was wondering what brands/models might be the best for his situation? There's a lot of conflicting information on this as well so I'd appreciate if someone might be able to push him in the right direction.

 

Hotside pic for attention lol

 

http://i.imgur.com/o7fyzBi.jpg

[Gex]

The VF46 was the stock turbo for 07-09 Legacy GTs, OBXTs, and Spec Bs. Something catastrophic definitely happened. I would drop the oil pan check for glitter, compression and leak down test the engine, and if motor is healthy replace/clean oil cooler, oil line, turbo.

[MilesA]

Check the turbo failure sticky, lots of useful info about what to look for, what to do, etc. Oil starvation is a likely cause. Be careful and avoid the common pitfalls described in that thread.

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/turbo-failure-wiki-173358.html

[ktm200]

Get in touch with JmP6889928 if your looking to keep the factory turbo. He just rebuilt mine and it was a pretty quick turn around and reasonable price. The thing came back looking better than new with some upgraded internals. Send him a private message and some pictures so he can see if that housing is salvageable.

 

Like others said definitely check the oil and do a compression and leak down test. Also check the turbo side banjo bolt screens. If those are clogged that could have starved the turbo and you'll want to clear that up before dropping a new turbo in.