So a friend of mine pulled a holset HX40 turbo from a junk yard and offered to sell it to me for $30. Problem is that it has alot of carbon buildup in it. Worth the cost of buying or should I skip it? I would probably have to send it somewhere to be cleaned up and rebuilt. What kind of costs are associated with rebuilding a holset turbo?

 

I'd check the turbo for bearing wear and free-play in the shaft. If it looked decent, I'd spend $30 on it. attempt to clean it yourself with PB-Blaster, and various solvents. If you can't get it clean that way, consider rebuilding it yourself. There are 1001 online guides to help you.

For example http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2CwBwrdnvA