td05 oil piston ring sealing surface question
 

Hi, first post... :noob: here

I have a well used TD05 16g from a Subaru that I would like to put in my 99 ae. When I was clocking the hot side I saw burnt oil residue in the heat shield and decided to look further.

The attached image shows that there is a groove in the collar in the vicinity of where the oil side piston ring sits. Is this groove supposed to be there or is this wear?

The width of the groove seems to measure less than the with of the piston ring which confuses me as to how it was made? Other wise the turbo is in fair condition with little play, good impellers and no cracks.

I was planning to fit a new oil piston seal but is it worth the effort?


UPDATE... After searching some more I came across some other images on the web showing the same type of groove. http://maxzillian.com/kdm/showthread...files/kdm8.jpg
So it looks like the groove is by design and not caused by wear.