The turboz...it be dead and stuff. Let's play "what happened?".
12-09-2010, 11:51 AM
#1
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The turboz...it be dead and stuff. Let's play "what happened?".
So I've been in cars with turbos going bad, I've heard the 'death shrill' and whatnot, but mine wasn't the case at all. I was pulling out of a gas station and goosed it to merge with traffic. Was in 3rd gear at WOT when I heard a "PPPFFFFFFFSSSSSHHHH!". My initial thought was that I popped an intercooler hose (not that I've had a problem..but it happens). So I baby the car home a whole mile and pull into the garage. My initial thought was the turbo downloaded esplode.exe and executed the command....but I also thought it could just be a charge pipe. The answer came when I turned off the car and could hear the turbo spinning down...and the sound of marbles being spun in a can......yup, the bearings were shot. So I pull everything apart, feel some radial play as well as some axial play....and it still spins by hand.
So lastnight I pulled everything off the car and removed the CHRA and compressor housing from the exhaust housing. I'm so glad I was able to leave the turbine housing bolted to the manifold as I've had good luck with the turbo-to-manifold- studs and nuts staying tight since their initial installation. It would be my luck that I would take it apart and start running into problems. Well anyway, I found that the turbine wheel barely made contact with the exhaust housing in one small spot about 1/2" long...not even enough to shine up the contact surface and no damage to the blades. The compressor housing is unknown right now because I can't get the snap-ring off...but that will come soon. I don't see any contact though so I'm assuming it'll be OK as well. I did turn the car over wit hthe oil feed line disconnected and there was oil pressure going to the turbo and I couldn't see any blockage on the feed port of the turbo. The other thing is the plate behind the turbine wheel is loose and spins by hand as well.
Will try to get pics up in a minute.
I'm just a bit surprised by such a sudden failure that doesn't involve frozen bearings or a broken shaft.
So what might cause such a sudden failure?
Has anyone had this happen or seen this happen?
So lastnight I pulled everything off the car and removed the CHRA and compressor housing from the exhaust housing. I'm so glad I was able to leave the turbine housing bolted to the manifold as I've had good luck with the turbo-to-manifold- studs and nuts staying tight since their initial installation. It would be my luck that I would take it apart and start running into problems. Well anyway, I found that the turbine wheel barely made contact with the exhaust housing in one small spot about 1/2" long...not even enough to shine up the contact surface and no damage to the blades. The compressor housing is unknown right now because I can't get the snap-ring off...but that will come soon. I don't see any contact though so I'm assuming it'll be OK as well. I did turn the car over wit hthe oil feed line disconnected and there was oil pressure going to the turbo and I couldn't see any blockage on the feed port of the turbo. The other thing is the plate behind the turbine wheel is loose and spins by hand as well.
Will try to get pics up in a minute.
I'm just a bit surprised by such a sudden failure that doesn't involve frozen bearings or a broken shaft.
So what might cause such a sudden failure?
Has anyone had this happen or seen this happen?
Last edited by Doppelgänger; 12-09-2010 at 12:10 PM.
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12-09-2010, 07:14 PM
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Yeah, I got a hold of someone at Diesel Performance and Electric and described it to them. Pretty much "died of old age"...nothing really one thing or another. An oil starvation issue would have resulted in frozen bearings or an esploded shaft. New CHRA will be $480 + tax, it's in stock and I can pick it up because they're local.
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12-10-2010, 07:28 AM
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Yup. I also made sure to not beat on it when cold, to properly let it cool down after driving hard, kept the oil changed regularly and whatnot to be as nice as possible on the turbo.
So I got the compressor housing off yesterday and found that the wheel had touched the inlet, but only barely. It was such a light touch that all it really did was brush the oil/dirt buildup off the finish of the inlet. Once I cleaned the gunk off the inside, I couldn't even see/feel where it touched. The spot was only 3/4" long anyway...not all the way around.
In retrospect, it seems like it wasn't spooling as fast as it used to over the past few weeks. I was used to seeing a decent amount of boost at 3500-3900 rpms...but I was barely getting 10psi at 4000 lately. That was giving me a clue something wasn't right. So hopefully with the new guts, I'll have everything back to normal. Couple the new turob with the new engine and I really need to get my *** to the dyno for a retune and see how close to 300rwhp I can get
So I got the compressor housing off yesterday and found that the wheel had touched the inlet, but only barely. It was such a light touch that all it really did was brush the oil/dirt buildup off the finish of the inlet. Once I cleaned the gunk off the inside, I couldn't even see/feel where it touched. The spot was only 3/4" long anyway...not all the way around.
In retrospect, it seems like it wasn't spooling as fast as it used to over the past few weeks. I was used to seeing a decent amount of boost at 3500-3900 rpms...but I was barely getting 10psi at 4000 lately. That was giving me a clue something wasn't right. So hopefully with the new guts, I'll have everything back to normal. Couple the new turob with the new engine and I really need to get my *** to the dyno for a retune and see how close to 300rwhp I can get
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12-10-2010, 11:22 AM
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In retrospect, it seems like it wasn't spooling as fast as it used to over the past few weeks. I was used to seeing a decent amount of boost at 3500-3900 rpms...but I was barely getting 10psi at 4000 lately. That was giving me a clue something wasn't right. So hopefully with the new guts, I'll have everything back to normal. Couple the new turob with the new engine and I really need to get my *** to the dyno for a retune and see how close to 300rwhp I can get
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12-10-2010, 11:44 AM
#14
All of it, FM fmic.
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So that's where my boost went. You stole it!!
12-10-2010, 12:19 PM
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I ran from 10psi at first up to 13psi. Next setup will be 14-15psi.
I don't think my turbo failure should have anyone worried about their setups...unless you're running a chinacharger. In that case, just know that it will fail much sooner
I don't think my turbo failure should have anyone worried about their setups...unless you're running a chinacharger. In that case, just know that it will fail much sooner
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12-10-2010, 12:28 PM
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12-10-2010, 01:17 PM
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They haven't said anything yet. lol
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