Checking my turbo

I took the the intake plumbing off of my 91 turbo so that i could spin the impeller wheel on the ct26. The wheel spins fine with no drag at all, but, every couple of turns I can hear what sounds like metal scratching on metal. According to my boost gauge, the turbo boosts fine. So is this noise normal, or could something be wrong with the turbo.

Very gentle, without much pressure, wiggle the shaft ... it should not wiggle much. If it has some healthy wiggle to it, your turbo might be on it's way out.

aobut 5 yrs ago, i took the intake off and spun the impeller and it was smooth, but every now and then, you could hear a slight scrape...

it drove and boosted to 14 psi for 5 yrs and was doing well until i swapped in a 3rd gen.

but, it also didn't have much of a wiggle if you push and pull it gently. like 1 mm or so, just enough to hear and feel. It also didn't burn oil or anything like that.

at first, i worried about it, but seriously, 40K miles later and it was still putting a smile on my face...