Cheap turbos

madabouttheboat said:
I think I know the answer to this question, but does anyone think it worth the risk to procure something like this: 463.6￡ 28% OFF|TURBO K26 53269886497 53269706497 861260 3802070 860916 83869 For Marine Ship AD31L A AD31P A TAMD31 AQAD41A AD41P TAMD41B 36.0L|Air Intakes| - AliExpress

Or, to put it another way: whats the worst that could happen?
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Or buy a genuine Borg Warner who make them for Volvo penta for £750 inc vat. Shipped from Borg Warner directly most times

New Original BorgWarner / Volvo Penta Turbocharger 5326-988-6497 / 3802070 - Turbo Diesel UK
 
MartynG said:
Can the turbo you have not be refurbished ?
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Volvopaul has said many times…not worth rebuilding without replacing the exhaust housing. I bought a new turbo for one engine and had the other rebuilt (using the existing exhaust housing). There was about 1/2 bar difference between the 2 so lesson learned for me
 
julians said:
Turbine blades could disintegrate at high speed sending bits of blade into your cylinder wrecking the engine?
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Its really unlikely.

The only way of making that turbo at that price is to use pre-existing tooling.

Its not a fake, its a rip off from the factory making real ones and selling them through a different channel.

I'm about 95% sure. I also project manage turbo charger design.
 
burgundyben said:
Its really unlikely.

The only way of making that turbo at that price is to use pre-existing tooling.

Its not a fake, its a rip off from the factory making real ones and selling them through a different channel.

I'm about 95% sure. I also project manage turbo charger design.
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Could the materials used be cheaper/ inferior….less exact manufacturing tolerances? Why would Borg Warner let stuff go out the back door?
 
petem said:
Surely Borg Warnwr wouldn't allow that?
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Do Borg Warner actually make the turbo listed on their website? Or possibly do they build it from components bought in and assemble it.
They make 25 million cars and trucks a year in China. Most of which will have a turbocharger.
 
Mr Googler said:
Could the materials used be cheaper/ inferior….less exact manufacturing tolerances? Why would Borg Warner let stuff go out the back door?
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Possible with some materials, like the turbine housing (ni-resist, or maybe grey iron) and the impeller housing (aluminium) , but the turbine wheel itself is not so easy. Stainless steels can be used in applications up to around 500/600 degrees C turbine inlet temp, higher temp applications need inconel, an alloy of 90% ish nickel, much more expensive, the tooling and processes needed for those two groups of metals are quite different, the inco is vacuum cast, you cant use stainless in that process cos it boils off.

There are some low volume rapid proto additive manufacturing options like Voxeljet, but in my experience the outcome is variable at best and on a unit basis shockingly expensive, but does not need production tooling.

You could maybe save some pence on relaxing tolerances, but more likely to have your factory set up for production of OEM stuff and that's not an easy thing to start messing about with.

How long since this turbo in question was in OEM production? 20 years? Do Borg Warner care anymore? What would it cost to defend the action?

petem said:
Surely Borg Warnwr wouldn't allow that?
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See above!

kashurst said:
Do Borg Warner actually make the turbo listed on their website? Or possibly do they build it from components bought in and assemble it.
They make 25 million cars and trucks a year in China. Most of which will have a turbocharger.
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They probably have a mixed strategy for outsourcing, some high volume stuff will be split between several lower tier assemblers, so if one plant goes down production carries on. There will be approved supplier foundries casting the centre casting, volutes and wheels. Likely some specialist welders putting wheels of shafts. Assembly companies are not foundries, nor are machine shops. Probably a long complex supply chain with resilience built in.

Lower volume more bespoke stuff might be done in house. For calrity, I know nothing specifically about BW business model, just guessing.
 
Some of this discussion reminds me of the Dharavi (Mumbai) handbag sellers who will tell you that the "Louis Vuitton" knock off stuff that they're selling "comes from the same factory" as the real stuff.

Despite that, I think it's wrong to assume that anything that comes out of China is junk. These turbos may very well be perfectly good and fit for purpose. So to me, it's a case of assessing the options. If a genuine item is £1500 and a China Turbo is £400 then that seems like it's worth a punt. Particularly if you're not planning to keep the boat for ever.
 
petem said:
Despite that, I think it's wrong to assume that anything that comes out of China is junk. These turbos may very well be perfectly good and fit for purpose. So to me, it's a case of assessing the options. If a genuine item is £1500 and a China Turbo is £400 then that seems like it's worth a punt. Particularly if you're not planning to keep the boat for ever.
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Agreed - A lot of people are raving about the diesel heaters from china - However there is the Import Tax and shipping to consider and what problems may arise if the unit is damaged in transit - yes there are a solid unit but if not package correctly anything could happen.

Jon

I got mine rebuilt Last year for a really good price with stainless insert welded in - However this year it would appear that the prices of a new unit have come down to what options I had at the time
 
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