THM

It's definitely a different part#. I just ordered the OEM for the 05 obxt - which obviously isn't right for my application (with wrx engine swap by PO). Is the one you have for the wrx - which should be what I need?

Got a new OEM turbo inlet. All looks good except the hose connection on the very top (nearest turbo). The old one had a bent hose that curved down and slipped on. The new inlet tube has a 90 connection there, with no nipple, but a recess like the hose is supposed to slip inside that 90? Did they send me the incorrect part or has there been a change to this one connection? '05 obxt Pics should be here: https://imgur.com/a/Kn7sCJI

So I've been thinking while waiting on the turbo rebuild. If I replace the oil cooler, shouldn't I replace the oil pan as well? Or does the latest logic say you can now get those clean? I don't want to go overboard thinking I'm seeing ghosts under the bed, but I don't wanna shortcut it either. The more I read on here, the more it drives home Vsquirrel's point about rabbit holes. BTW - there was no filter in the banjo feeding the turbo. Am I to interpret your advice to add one if it isn't there?

I've gotta at least replace the top portion of the hard line that goes into the turbo. That elbow right before the banjo was compromised at some point and silver soldered by the PO. I think I should operate under the assumption it was a crimp of some size that caused that leak. I guess now is the time to 'upgrade' the turbo oil lines. I recall thinking the IAG kit looked like a decent option. Is there something else I should consider? Is oil cooler replacement really worthwhile at this point? I just saw last night that the soft rubber lip around the turbo air inlet is torn, so I'm gonna replace that tube while I've got the intake off to clean it out.

Apparently, so. I had a BMW K bike that I tore into one winter. Just like you've warned with these, a 'simple' fix here leads to a "well, while I'm in here I may as well improve it". There were a couple of times I questioned whether or not I was gonna get that thing back together. BUT it's just like anything technical - patience and research are key.

So I've been researching IM removal. That looks like heaps of fun..............

Rightyo. I'm good with that. Just wanted verification from those that've been there done that. I don't wanna price mods stupid beyond what the car is worth, considering what I believe to be a pretty good deal I got on the purchase price. I hope my expectations of a reliable DD with some decent pep are realistic. I'm figuring I'll wind up with around $1500 or so in a turbo rebuild, catless up, AP/tune, & misc hoses and gaskets I'll need to button it up. I'd consider the tactrix route to save some $ but I don't yet feel confident in my abilities to not really screw something up having never dabbled in tuning.

Update to the findings - there are flakes in the oil film in the intake. Does that change anyone’s assessment of rebuilding the turbo & carrying on?

Thank you Max Capacity. I believe from reading other’s experience he is best, but read where he’s on sabbatical & not on the forum much. I found his email someone posted in the same thread & reached out that way-with no response as of yet. I’ll try a pm tho.

Thanks ViscousSquirrel and others for the guidance! I feel a bit better about moving forward now. Hopefully IF any of those pieces made it through, they were small / soft enough to pass & get filtered out. As I initially reported - no idea how long it's been this way, but IF the results were catastrophic I'd think it would've manifested by now in other ways.

Yeah, I thought it looked pretty bad when I pulled it. Is it worth replacing the intercooler - or just trying to clean it out? I was intending on sending the 52 to Hill Country for a rebuild. Just didn't want to sink unnecessary $ into if if the consensus is I'm screwed already. I guess if any is in the oil a magnet isn't going to find it anyway.

I cannot get it to upload with any resizing. Linked: https://imgur.com/a/2vxOyZH

It's on the intake side. No joke about the rabbit hole(s). I don't wanna do that. I'm not looking to crazy mod it, just drive. It's giving me an error trying to upload a photo. I'll try it later.

Another new dumb subaru owner here, but I've searched and cannot find a direct answer. Pulled the turbo and saw that the tips of the compressor blades are broken - don't know what did it. Is it likely any particulates made it past the TMIC and into the engine? I do not see evidence of any metal after straining a qt of drained oil through a coffee filter - no obvious sheen or glitter on the coffee filter or in the un-coffee filtered portion of drained oil. Nothing noticeable on a magnet I placed in the drained oil. There did, however, appear to be some silver 'glitter' on the coolant tubes to the turbo but nothing obvious in the drained coolant. No P0011 code, no smoke observed, no crazy noises, no oil usage in the short time I've owned it (about 2.5k miles). I did have a P0021 and replaced the bank 2 ocs solenoid / sensor (the banjo filter had fallen out and down onto the solenoid - there was a small section of screen missing). Had a P1153 - I replaced 02 sensor. Still has P2004 and P2016 - gonna replace that sensor that is up against the turbo while it's out (tgv butterflies were previously removed but the rod, motors, and sensors are still intact). As for the rest of the turbo there is no shaft play and it spins freely. There were no noises except for a slight 'rattle' / 'tick' from the turbo which I believe was coming from the wastegate flap on the exhaust side. It was not seated fully and was rattling around just a little. That very slight noise is what caused me to inspect the turbo hoping to head off major problems. Car ran fine (other than a bit of rough idle cleared up after ocs solenoid replacement) and seemed to have plenty of get up and go - though I haven't really hammered on it other than the test drive. Further background on the car - '05 obxt that the previous owner swapped an engine out of a '11 wrx (around 80k now) into. I have no idea if he found any blade matter in the IC and shook it out during the swap, but there doesn't appear to be any in there now. I have not dropped the oil pan. The vf52 is going to be replaced or rebuilt. Was planning on adding a catless up pipe and gutting the DP - then tune.The other owner was an older guy who likes to wrench around on cars. Didn't strike me as the drive hard and abuse it type. He had 2 outbacks he'd bought and 'refurbished' and offered to sell me either one - wasn't trying to push this one, in particular, on me as if it were junk he was trying to unload. This is probably posted in the wrong place - maybe even answered and I missed it somewhere in my research - I apologize in advance, if so. I did fahr_side's sticky: "6. Intercooler / intake manifold cleanup. If the compressor wheel has lost any vanes or parts of, take a look into the intercooler to see if they are loose in there. Nothing is likely to make it through the intercooler but better clean out any metal shards in there just in case. Anything that did make it through has either damaged something or not on it’s way into the exhaust. Either it did or it didn’t cause any damage." Should I just stop wasting my efforts now and plan on a new engine - or do planned repair / upgrades and roll the dice?