No scrapes but shaft play is evident

[MilitaryTalon]

I just bought this car and have recently been going through it doing all the services and checking the car over. I pulled the intake off today and wiggled the shaft in the turbo (50 trim). It had side-to-side play and no in/out which I know is acceptable. However I pulled the shaft to one side and tried to spin it and it was touching the housing. I inspected the housing and there are no visible markings in the compressor housing and the wheel spins freely. The turbo pulls good and no smoke. I have an appointment next week to get it dyno-tuned but I don't want to waste my time and money on that if I need a new turbo. Any help would be great

 

[JusMX141]

If there's enough shaft movement that you can force the compressor wheel to touch the housing, it needs rebuilt. Any more wear on those bearings and the wheel will touch the housing without you forcing it to do so.

Something has caused excessive wear on the journal bearings, and you need to figure out why....too much oil, too little oil, and compressor surge caused by a blow off valve that is too stiff will all cause excessive journal bearing wear.

You don't necessarily need a new turbo- a rebuild will replace the worn bearings and tighten up the seals as well.

Where is your oil supply source for the turbo?