I'd say take it apart and make sure no peanuts are left in there. As is they probably wouldn't do much harm; but heated up and melted, they can stick to the turbine wheels which definately will lead to balance problems.
Taking the compressor and turbine housings off is not a big deal-- just a matter removing clamp(s) or bolts and retainers and lifting the housing off. You get into trouble when you start trying to take the cartridge (center section) apart. Do one side at a time so you can set the turbo down on the end with the housing still attached.
The exhaust side may take a little convincing due to heating and rust build-up.
If you don't already have a favorite-- a good solvent is heat riser cleaner, the stuff you squirt on an older car's exhaust manifold heat riser to free it up.
Shouldn't take much more than a lead or brass hammer. Make sure the housing comes off evenly all the way around. Tolerances are tight and you don't want to bend the tip of a compressor of turbine blade. Remember, some of the smaller turbos will spin up to around 100,000 rpm and at that speed it doesn't take much to throw them off balance.
Once you're sure all the foreign stuff is cleaned out; take a look around the inside. You're looking for rub marks where the turbine or compressor wheel has been rubbing against the inside of the housing.
Oily inside means a seal is leaking. Get these replaced as the engine will and sometimes does run on after shut-down 'cause it's sucking up and burning the crank-case oil. If the leak is bad enough the engine can run away and the only way to shut it down is to suffocate it with a board across the inlet (don't bother with a rag-- there's enough inlet air flow to simply take the rag away from you, inhale it and wrap it around the air filter).
And that's after / if you've been successful in wrestling the mushroom off.
A spooky proposition even if you're half expecting it.
If everything looks good then reassemble the turbo and check your shaft play.
To check side play; try to push the shaft tip side to side. .003" to .006" is acceptable. If you don't have a dial indicator, a feeler gauge will work between blade and housing.
Push the shaft away from you and measure the larger gap, pull the shaft towards you and measure the same gap again. Divide the difference by two and that'll be your side play from .000" centered to the maximum.
I've had them with a lot more and as long as they're not scraping against the inside of the housing they seem to work. It's still a good idea to rebuild one this worn far.
Check for end play by pushing the shaft in and out of the turbo. Allowable here is .001" to .003".
This really should be measured with something pretty true and accurate-- instead of relying on the "Well, it-looked-OK-to-me" method. Remember, .003" is the thickness of one sheet of paper.
