Bad Garrett out of the box??? with pics
 

And the adventure continues...

Turns out the original turbo my turn key ebay miata came with was blowing so much oil my mid pipe was leaking it under the car! Rather then rebuilbing it we decided to invest in the lastest and greatest from garrett. I ordered a brand new GT2554 for the '93.

Got it, clocked it and torqued it exactly to Garrett spec. Installed, oil primed.

First run, just a heat cycle for 30 mins then off.
Next day, check the mount bolts and fluids and took it for it's first street ride with the link set to prevent boost. About 30 minutes into low zone tuning the turbo started to scream. Back to the garage. Pulled it and found the turbine had hit the housing and done MAJOR damage!!! Check out the pics.

***!!! no shaft play, all torqued, maybe an hour total run time and never at boost and this crap happens!:facepalm:

Anyone had anything like this before? I guess I have to wait till monday to contact Garrett, Anyone know how their customer service is?

Still no shaft play?

ouch.
Can't imagine how it could possibly score the walls like that with zero shaft play
good luck.

No axial shaft play maybe, but there has to be radial shaft play for it to grind out on the housing.

Few questions:
1) were you using an oil feed restrictor?
2) How did you "prime" the turbo with oil?
3) Where is your wastegate signal source?

Ouch those pics are hard to look at Full Tilt has some good questions.

Google searched bad Garrett, found this:

http://forums.evolutionm.net/engine-...-gtr-site.html

Hope it's B.S.

What do you think?

There is just enough play to barely allow the blade to touch and none in and out. It actually looks like the blades are deposited on the housing rather then digging out the housing. I have no way of messuring but the turbine doesn't look centered in the housing outlet. 2 playing cards distance on the side that didn't hit.

The shaft doesn't bind, I can just hear the turbine sing as the blades hit.

I'll work on some pics.

Sounds like a whiny faggette.

Um...if there is enough shaft play for the turbine to touch the housing, its bad. In for Daddy JKav to sign in and tell us the answers to your mystery.

CHRA exchange is $450 from ATP.

More pictures.

The Garrett site says to contact the distributor.

More info: Believe it or not the distributor here in Florida actually emailed me back at 230 on a sunday morning. That's awesome!

He gave me a heads up about how strict Garrett is and the warranty inspection process. Basically I send it to them, they decide what happened and we go from there.

I'll post the results.

Do the grooves go all the way around the housing?

This unit just came in Thursday! I hope Garrett is going to take care of this, I'll keep that in mind though.

nope, maybe 1/4 to 1/3...

Sounds like you primed it good, and I know you could have overspun it with your signal source on the compressor

BUT
GT series turbos have a built in oil feed restrictor, meaning you dont need one built into the fitting, you just use a normal AN fitting.
Im no expert on fluid dynamics but maybe having 2 restrictors could have caused oil starvation. (This is why I immediately asked if you were using a restrictor)

Even with Garretts quality coming into question recently, you never really see these kind of quick failures even with the no-name ebay turbos unless something was done incorrectly.
Its still possible Garret just fucked up, but unless some of our members with engineering degrees chime in and say that a second restrictor wouldnt cause oil starvation, then I would think that it was likely the cause.

Either way, though break, It sucks to see a brand new expensive part bite the dust.

Are you certain the turbine housing and CHRA are seated properly?

https://www.miataturbo.net/showpost....33&postcount=5
https://www.miataturbo.net/showpost....&postcount=113

I run a .032" restrictor and there is no smoke and its been raced. I've also considered one of those fancy turbo oil feed filters too just in case something floats down the hose.

Why would the install kit have a restrictor in it then? Recommended from the distibutor for gt25-28's?

Never thought about the over spun issue. Where else would you run your signal from? Also, the car was never over 3500 rpm, the link ecu limits it to prevent boost. If I never saw anything above 0 on the boost gauge then how could the turbo be overspeed?

O RLY?
I always thought that was a restrictor in there :noob:

Well anyway, Im full of fail like always.
Looks like Garrett fucked up, start giving them shit until they fix it.

If your signal source is on the intake manifold, you can possibly overspin the turbo while boosting under partial throttle. Basically the wastegate isnt opening because its seeing the pressure in the IM, even though the pressure in front of the throttle could be way higher. With a little turbo its a real concern.

But if its on the compressor housing it couldnt have overspun.

But yah, I was wrong about the restrictor. Most of my experience is with journal bearing turbos, so I always thought that the little aperture inside the feed of GT turbos was an restricor. :facepalm:

Just relax and talk to someone from the retailer you bought it from, then call Garrett.