Turbo questions

I have a 2003 jetta sedan alh 5 speed with 192k miles on it i was driving and lost all power still made it the rest if my 45-40 mile commute to work. i got it towed to my shop and put it on the lift i noticed the turbo actuator is very hard to move and have read and been told its suppose to move freely by hand and have lots of travel. The actuator moves maybe 1/8th in with 20-23 lbs of vacuum on it. I havent made any final decisions yet until i take off the intake manifold clean that and the turbo and see the condition its in and see if i can clean it. but looking into new turbos if i cant clean and save my stocker looking into the vnt17 off id parts for 840 or found a couple vnt20’s on ebay for under 300 bucks with a new exhaust manifold and be in a new used turbo for around 400. Also what is the differnece between a vnt20 and a gt20 and a 1749 and a 1752 and the v and vb i understand some turbo stuff coming from cummins and know the s300-400 series turbo and holeset turbos. Also since i dont have a exhaust brake and theres no need for a vgt would consider a fixed van turbo for simplisity. My goals with the car are just dead relible work commuter with alil more getty up and go to get out of the way for when people are rushing and doing 90-100 and flying into my bumper on there way to work. Sorry for the run on post and being all over the place and thanks for all the help in advance.

Maybe r+r the actuator, check vanes move nice.
If the intake has never been cleaned it might need it, I'd look in there first.

^^^ Agreed.

The actuator comes off with 2 nuts, the vacuum hose, and an e-clip.
Check for rust inside it. Turn it over & tap it to see what shakes out.
The rod should move with vacuum.
Then check the arm on the turbo.

I've read people move it full range back & forth 10 minutes to break up the carbon inside. Never tried it myself but my turbo seems to be sticking badly lately.
If you put the actuator back on tie a piece of thread to the e-clip with a washer on the other end.

The clip is easy to get off but I lost a couple trying to get them on.
With the thread and washer it's easier to find.

Was doing alittle research last night and found that a s246 and a new manifold would be cheaper then a new vnt15. if went vnt17 i know the vnt 17 will be a upgrade and be plug and play but dont mind doing alil fab work as long as its not to difficult and the car will be much more reliable the only thing would be the oil feed line drain line and turbo plumbing to the intercooler and the down pipe. Been busy with work and trying to fix my truck.

Yes, cheaper is always available.

Do a search on the s246 turbo and you will likely decide to stay with a Garrett or Mahle turbo, not that specific Borg Warner turbo as they are known to have problems.

Something else to think about - if you pull the actuator and get rust out of the port where the vac line hooks up, some of that rust may have made its way into the N75 solenoid and contaminated it (which could cause erratic boost control). Think that's what caused my N75 to start "singing" at engine shutdown, some rust from a failed actuator got into it and eventually migrated into a spot where it messed with operation. (come to think of it, maybe there ought to be a filter on that vac line to catch that sort of thing instead of letting it into the N75...)

The VNT15 is very reliable - mine lasted 330K miles, though the actuator only went about 220K (but is replaceable on its own), and there are much easier/cheaper ways to add power (tune, nozzles) than frankensteining a random turbo onto the car.

I was able to get the turbo apart but was a nightmare the cartridge welded its self to the housing. I used my press and was able to get it out. The cartridge was leaking oil pretty bad so while im in it this far i might as well rebuild the entire thing. The vnt ring inside the turbo had rust built up that was making it become very sticky or siezed to a point. Got the housing all cleaned up and ordered up a new cartirdge and vane ring along with a new actuator. Should be like a new turbo. Also soaked the intake manifold 2 times in oven cleaner power washed it out and still was build up soaked it in parts cleaner and got everything out no more build up. Next job is removing the front end and doing the timing belt just waiting on parts now. Cant wait to get the car back on the road.

Where did you source the new VNT15 CHAR?

Does the ring and vanes move freely now? Sometimes rust will deform the back plate causing the Vanes to bind.