Turbo wont spool up just free revving with stock fuelling setup, but remember to leave it disconnected once the turbo is disconnected. I wouldn't worry about the smoke until after you start driving it again, could be oil from assembly burning off, or just moisture in the exhaust as it's colder...

GL-4 was not superseded by GL-5 they're different ratings, most of the EP80w-90 around nowadays is GL-5 rather than the old monoweight GL-4 EP90, and is fine in your transfer case and diffs. What does get complicated is most transaxle oil is marked both GL-4 and GL-5, meaning it is a 5 with...

You can't spray PU 2k without a proper air fed mask, safely. Might need some looking into what the best iso-cyanate free alternative is

Stick with a gravity gun when using a small compressor, the vac guns need much more air to work properly - hence gravity cup guns can come in high volume low pressure (HVLP) configurations. You can get good results with even the nastiest chinesium gun, but from experience I'd spend a bit more...

Yes it's just an o-ring in there, it goes hard as they all do and leaks. That's also just a random bit of hose bodged in - the proper hose is only 5-8 quid, just google breather hose kit as the other one just down and nearer the pulleys tends to leak when old as well. Doesnt look too bad a buy...

Youtube is a great source of those that do, some impressive mangling can occur

Very, a sock will pull apart quickly and get sucked in - I'd only use a proper filter. No way to bodge up the factory airbox with some pvc from the garden center / shed or something is there? (if you cant get a cone filter cheap)

aye I'd put the sock on the outlet of the inter cooler (if you're leaving it connected to the turbo), and a filter on the inlet manifold, can see how quickly the sock is soaked then.

Looking tidy in there! Fingers crossed it all soon becomes an oil misted mess. I feel your pain on not finding RTV, most of the chain motorfactors near me are useless for carrying basic fuses, jubilees, basic hose sizes etc.

Clamp a cone filter onto the inlet manifold, you can get a cheapo one off the bay the right size after some measuring. i'd also try and route the turbo outlet someplace toward the bottom / outside the engine bay (those cheapo metallic flexi hoses?) - as if it is indeed faulty as suspected it'll...

Head looks good! I'd stick the injectors nozzle down in some thinners for a week or so and not prod them too much if they're just blackened. And lastly, as raywin says ofc without the turbo you'll be even slower, but if you disconnect the boost from the compensator on the FIP you wont get any...

Looking a bit kitchen-tabley that workbench as well. Always the best place to work I find :D were you going to worry about the slightly iffy injector nozzles or did they clean up nicely?

It would very slowly be drawn back into the inlet manifold - the stuff that has got underneath the diaphragm would be trapped, though.

It will evaporate and be slowly consumed every-time the engine is off boost, so it should have dried eventually were it not being re-oiled constantly. Might be worth doing it if you know a good place locally, then you can rest easy on that front. They're not too pricey either really are they...

Probably been made into a whole wedge of beer cans by now then! Looks quite fresh that oil, would expect less if it had had 30k of new turbo to evaporate. Might be a good sign. You going to whack it all back together with new shells and see if any more builds up after cleaning it? Fair old bit...

Did you hold onto good old slightly melted piston No. 4 as a keepsake? Got to have a few trophies in the shed. Even if you didn't clean the top of the pump out originally, it can be checked and cleaned now at least and will show results in only a few hundred miles at the rate you're using oil

light polish on shells is probably o-k after 30k, but the scratches arent great - probs the shrapnel mentioned when they took the first turbo apart from the bearing chewing itself up, as it was tight. Wouldn't worry about carbon on the sides of the crown as long as the skirts themselves are...

Forgot to reply earlier, but were the bits metallic / magnetic in the end? or seal material as suspected? Had another thought earlier in the week as well, did you ever check in the top of FIP boost compensator for oil? Can't remember if it was mentioned before. That'll deffo be full of oil if...

Was there a pic? Would've expected some carbon on the piston sides (above the top compression ring) owing to the buildup on the top, none on the skirts though which is good. What does the turbo look like both sides?

Did you check the guides at all during rebuild? If you weren't using / seeing much oil / smoke before it would stand to reason they were all good, mind. RE It mattering more on petrol engines, it's to do with the fact petrol intakes are under vacuum 99% of the time, which can draw oil past worn...