Turbocharger bearing sizes for 2000 Beetle

[amykate]

Hi, all! I'm not sure if this is a basic question, but I wasn't sure where else to post it.


I've got a 2000 Beetle 1.9L TDI. This girl's had a lot of work done and I thought I had her lined out, but the mechanic who did some other repairs said that the source of my problem was the turbo. I'd had it replaced several years ago, but the mechanic told me that the replacement (which was an aftermarket) wasn't correct. He said that I'd need a new one, but that she's picky. I was told that the turbos for this model have two different bearing sizes and the one that was in it was the "smaller" size and I would need the "larger bearing size" for it to be right.



I've consulted my service manual and been all over Google, but I can't find any options that provide the specifications of the bearings. Does anyone here happen to know how I could find that info or what I should be looking for? Any help is greatly appreciated. I'm dying to get this girl back on the road!

 

[03Wagn]

What type of turbo did you replace the original with?

 

[Powder Hound]

There's one and only one turbocharger available for this car*. So you're looking for a standard replacement. Get it from idparts, or some of the other vendors you can find on this site. A cheap chinesium replacement will buy you more of the headaches you already have.

Since turbochargers come as an assembled unit, there is no worry about bearing sizes. You may need to change mechanics, as the explanation does not have place in reality. Or rather, your mechanic is either a fool or thinks that you are, to give you such a story.

Cheers,

PH

* - Actually, I believe there may be a replacement from another well known manufacturer, Borg-Warner. Back in 2000, there was only the Garrett unit. I believe the Garretts are still the best, but everyone will agree that a chinesium replacement is very bad news. Don't throw good money after bad. - PH

 

[AndyBees]

What Powder Hound said ..... up there..^^^^

 

[jettawreck]

Yes, and in addition to what the previous couple posters said, the OEM turbo manufacturer doesn't sell individual replacement parts for the turbo, only complete units. There really is no shaft "bearing" as it runs in its housing suspended on pressurized film of oil.
Andy has some great pics of the turbo at various stages of disassembly in his gallery.

 

[fatmobile]

There is a cylinder shaped brass bearing around the shaft.
I've bought them and made my own.

It doesn't just run in it's housing on a film of oil.

I've never seen one with a smaller OD.
and the shaft diameter doesn't change.
Weird that your mechanic would say it is smaller somehow.
Or that a smaller bearing would matter since the shaft size would be the same.

 

[Tdijarhead]

Here you go the original. As others have said don’t by the cheap chinese eBay/amazon crap.

https://www.idparts.com/garrett-turbocharger-038253019c-1700250437-p-388.html

You’ll also need a new oil feed line, I would suggest a flexible one from cascadegerman.com but either listed on idparts website as an add on will work.

 

[BobnOH]

If you can't do the $800, you can take a chance on a used one, it's a gamble.
Any chance you still have the original? It may require minor repair (actuator, vanes) or it may be shot. There is a place over in the Netherlands that may be able to sell you a decent rebuild, don't know who in the US would have decent rebuilt.
https://forums.tdiclub.com/showpost.php?p=4740616&postcount=1

 

[nicklockard]

And there is no bearing, per se. The turbos run on a convolute 'pseudo-bearing' which is only a housing--it just supports a hydrodynamic 'wedge' of pressurized oil (under flow). No balls, no needles, no physical bearing parts present. Your mechanic sounds like they don't know turbos, or they're trying to dumb it down. Either way, they're not giving you high quality information.

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

And there is no bearing, per se. The turbos run on a convolute 'pseudo-bearing' which is only a housing--it just supports a hydrodynamic 'wedge' of pressurized oil (under flow). No balls, no needles, no physical bearing parts present. Your mechanic sounds like they don't know turbos, or they're trying to dumb it down. Either way, they're not giving you high quality information.

Can't tell you how many times I've told customers this. Most shops think they have bearings.

 

[fatmobile]

So you don't think there is a brass cylinder-shaped bearing/bushing
around the shaft?
Or are you calling it a housing?

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

So you don't think there is a brass cylinder-shaped bearing/bushing
around the shaft?
Or are you calling it a housing?

Read Nick's description again. It's very clear, I think.

 

[Beaker80]

There are 2 brass journal bearings as well as a thrust plate also made of brass. Google "turbo journal bearings". All the basic OEM turbo's are built this way. More expensive turbos have ceramic or ball bearings. The CHRA (center housing rotating assembly) carries the journal and thrust bearings. The turbine shaft runs on a film of oil through the journal bearings.

 

[fatmobile]

Read Nick's again.
Here it is:
And there is no bearing, per se. The turbos run on a convolute 'pseudo-bearing' which is only a housing--it just supports a hydrodynamic 'wedge' of pressurized oil (under flow). No balls, no needles, no physical bearing parts present. Your mechanic sounds like they don't know turbos, or they're trying to dumb it down. Either way, they're not giving you high quality information.

Brass is never mentioned so I still don't know if you don't think there is a brass cylinder-shaped bearing/bushing
around the shaft?
Or are you calling it a housing?

 

[Beaker80]

Here is an article from BorgWarner;

http://www.turbos.bwauto.com/en/products/turbochargerBearingSystem.aspx

As you (and Nick) can see there are bearings. Axial and radial bearings.

 

[IndigoBlueWagon]

That page shows and describes (I think) a traditional wastegate turbo. Not variable vane, which have a different design and components, I believe.

 

[Beaker80]

Whether it's a waste-gated turbo or a VNT doesn't matter. The shaft runs on axial and radial bearings. Here's a VNT rebuild video from YouTube for a VNT that has one large radial bearing and an axial bearing;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwpS-0MRltM

 

[fatmobile]

I've been putting VNT-15s in Rabbits for a few years.
I get my turbos balanced by gpop shop.
Sometimes they sell me a compressor wheel too.
Then they send the spinning parts back and I put them back together.
They sell the rebuild kits with the bearings too but
I didn't like the "cylinder" bearings because there wasn't much surface area in contact with the shaft.
So I started making my own.


The one on the left is a factory bearing.
Notice how the area the shaft rides on (inside)
is larger than the area of the one on the right?
They removed a bunch of contact area from the new bearing.

I didn't see any reason to remove metal so I make a bearing that doesn't step down and away from the shaft at all.
Runs the same diameter the whole way.
The shaft steps down and away from the bearing.
It has two 5/16" wide sections that touch the bearing,
or technically the film of oil that runs over the bearing.

The new bearings also felt loose in the housing.
Slide the shaft in and much of the the side-to-side movement was the bearing moving inside the housing.
So I added a couple thous to the outside of the bearing.

The center bearing in the picture is one I practiced on.
Got the outside dimension wrong so I used it to practice hole drilling and stuff.
Notice the holes aren't lined up right?