What caused my turbo to blow?

[white90gsx]

Ok I was running open turbo for about 2 weeks(roads are nice with no debris)...Also I had some compressor surge from the bov(nothing bad its a slight flutter then the whooosh..)..With one was most likely the culprit?

 

[Backinajiffy12]

debris even though it may not have look like there was any debris obn the road my guess is a few small peices got in the turbo and welded them selves to it or just F'ed up everything from turbine to bearings.

 

[white90gsx]

That's what i was thinking because i don't think compressor surge would do it that fast.

 

[JusMX141]

Surge will kill it faster than you think.


A while back, we were doing a late-night install of some Prothane motor mounts in my buddy's 2G the night before a test n' tune at the local strip. We finished the job around 2am, and he buttoned up the intake and intercooler piping while I cleaned up tools.

The test n' tune on the following day ended up getting rained out. I didn't ride in the car for an entire week, so I never knew of any problems.

The next week on the way to the track, I noticed that his 1G BOV was fluttering A LOT more than normal. We get to the track and he throws the hood up for tech, and I noticed immediately that he forgot to hook up the vacuum line from the intake manifold to the top of the BOV. He ran the car a week with nothing to draw open the valve. What I was hearing wasn't the blow off valve at all....it was compressor surge.

I hook up the line and he hits the track. The very first pass, the turbo started to howl. We remove the intake to find an unacceptable amount of up / down shaft play.


A week is all it takes, apparently. The sheer force of the airflow loading the compressor wheel and causing the shaft to contact the journal bearings rather than float on the oil will kill the turbo in no time.

 

[white90gsx]

Wow..I knew it was bad but damn..I better losing the spring before I spend another $600.

 

[JusMX141]

First of all, isolate the problem. Turbos die for a reason....lack of lubrication, poor balance, and misuse are all reasons a turbo would die without warning.

What happened to the turbo? Did the turbo suck something in and damage the compressor wheel, causing it to be extremely out of balance? Did you tear the turbo down and find it to be full of metal which would show some type of engine problem?

 

[white90gsx]

Doesn't really have much shaft play..I haven't even got it out of the car yet..Theirs a crap load of oil going into the motor along with all in the ic pipes.Like i said I was running open turbo.

 

[N1te]

Always put a cover on dude! For your turbo and your willy.

 

[white90gsx]

Always put a cover on dude! For your turbo and your willy.

 

[JusMX141]

You can't say running an open intake will blow a turbo....it won't.


Anything could be causing you to burn oil at the turbo- a kinked or damaged oil drain, bad turbine or compressor seal, hell even an engine with too much blowby can cause the oil to not drain from the center housing properly because of excess crankcase pressure.

 

[white90gsx]

Say for instance that the return is a little kinked and caused improper draining..would that trash the turbo?

 

[JusMX141]

Absolutely. That'll kill it faster than anything.

The inability to drain will cause the oil to dam up in the center housing, and the incoming oil has no place to go. It will then begin to blow past the turbine and compressor seal as the path of least resistance, and if left alone the incoming pressure will even load the turbine shaft and cause it to contact the journal bearings. This type of damage will almost appear to be done by a LACK of oil instead of too much.

The ideal oil drain consists of two 45* bends rather than one 90* bend at the bottom.

 

[desolateboosted]

Bad BOV, I went through a few turbos because I didn't think the bov was the culprit.

 

[white90gsx]

I have an ss return line and i think its a little kinked at the bend but its been like that for about 2 years now.

 

[JFatch1890]

also i learned the hard way that oil contamination will def. kill a turbo in no time. 900.00 screwup
brand new pte used for 500 miles during break -in. was told this is a no no

 

[jerseydiver84]

surge plus the chance of picking up debris you dont see could cause it no problem.

 

[white90gsx]

Yea the sleeper 16g is on its way...Hopefully its the only problem.