Son of a bi***! I'm starting to hate this ####ing car, shit always breaks. Just when I'm arranging to buy MSnS, something has to go wrong...

A couple weeks ago I lost all boost while driving. Turned out my IC pipe blew off. Back when I first turbo'd the car I used what I had to piece together my IC pipes. Many short sections of 2.25" pipe and lots of couplers, worm clamps. Some places barely held together, it was a hack job and I knew I'd replace it eventually but as long as it worked I wasn't concerned with it.

Anyway like I said it failed, so I decided to get all new 2.5" aluminum pipes, good couplers, t-bolt clamps, yadda yadda and do it right. A couple days later, no boost again. ! But this time, no loud ass turbo hiss as it shoots boost right out of the compressor. Hmmm... (happened on the drive home form work just now)

Get home, check all the pipes and couplers, all perfect, tight, etc. Take my filter off the turbo, and I see grind marks all around the inside and the fins look slightly burnt up. Try to gently turn the wheel with the tip of a screw driver (way to hot to touch) and it won't budge. Seized. Pics speak for themselves...

I checked the oil and it's fine. My turbo oil feed comes from the same source as my oil pressure gauge and I've been reading plenty of oil pressure... I had hardly any shaft play before so it wasn't just bouncing around in there. I don't know what happened. Once it cools off I'll take the oil lines off to see if there's fresh oil on the inlet and outlet ports, or see if it's blocked up...

I assume the shaft snapped in half because the compressor wheel won't budge, but it drove fine (aside from no boost) on the way home (wastegate closed) so the turbine wheel had to have been spinning... I assume. I haven't taken the downpipe off though, too hot right now.

####! Some days I just want to sell this damn car...

I wouldn't doubt you that the turbo shaft snap. Turbonetics is a piece of sl-lit. I know the 60-1 has the worst CHRA rating mine went out at 22 psi.

Damn that sucks. I know how you feel about shit always seems to be broken. It will eventually come together. Doesn't look like to much damage inside the housing so hopefully not to much metal went into the intercooler. May want to take it off and blow it out just to be sure nothing is stuck in there.

Looks like a nice turbo, cant believe it went out already.

Dang Chris!!!!
Man, I feel so horrible for you. That really sucks, nothing can seem to go right for you and that car. Please dont sell it though! Unless its to me for really cheap. . But really dont sell it.
Crap keeps happening to me, and pushing my finish date back and back and back, its been a month now since I havent driven my car, really sucks, and stuff keeps getting worse. So I know how you feel to a minor extent. (The stuff that happens to you is a little more dramatic though).
Once you check it out, let us know what happened, dont know why the shaft would just snap. (But that is what it sounds/looks like happened) You havent had it for that long.
Dang, sorry man...

thats why they are called TURBLOWNETICS.......should have went garrett

Well, I did a little test today and unhooked my oil supply line and held it over a cup. Turned on the car and oil was flowing out just fine... didn't seem like 60psi, but it flowed consistently. Maybe I'll take a video of that to post for you all to analyze. I was going to try hooking it back up, then taking the oil return off and seeing if it flowed through the turbo at the same rate, but I didn't have time.

I was wondering if maybe over-boosting could have caused this problem. Like I said, it blew an IC coupler connection apart... and by the time I got all my new pipes and everything and installed them it was probably several days later. During that time I made a conscious effort to drive gently, but I'm sure it still spooled way up from time to time (no boost signal to open the wastegate and stop it from spinning faster). Could this potentially have heated it up or loosened up the shaft to the point that it just tore itself apart?

Anyway, since I do have oil flow, and a solid IC pipe setup, I decided to go ahead and get a replacement turbo . It's only a temporary fix (mainly because I'm moving in 9 days and need to drive my car) and I got it super cheap from a friend who just had it sitting around. It's a cute little T3, .48 A/R this thing should spool pretty damn quick with the stroker. After the move I plan to get MSnS and I guess I'll start looking for a nicer, bigger turbo (bigger than the original T3/T04e 50-trim, not just the T3).

T3/T04e 50-trim=

chris712vt said:

I was wondering if maybe over-boosting could have caused this problem. Like I said, it blew an IC coupler connection apart... and by the time I got all my new pipes and everything and installed them it was probably several days later. During that time I made a conscious effort to drive gently, but I'm sure it still spooled way up from time to time (no boost signal to open the wastegate and stop it from spinning faster). Could this potentially have heated it up or loosened up the shaft to the point that it just tore itself apart?

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Say it ain't so Chris.

I was going to mention that I have seen good Garretts and Borg Warners go on just a blown out IC (race conditions and dyno). But you can't run around with an IC pipe open

I did read that right, yes?

MB

That sucks

bullettdsm said:

I did read that right, yes?

MB

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Yeah you read it right... I had to still drive the car to and from work for a few days without the turbo plumbed to the throttle body. I had no idea it would ruin the turbo... lesson definitely learned.

I'm going to hope that was in fact the cause of my turbo dying... but on a more positive note, not only do I have the T3 on the way as a temporary replacement, but a friend of mine with a beast of a GSX has his old GT3076R he offered to sell me. It may be time to upgrade along with my planned MSnS investment.

chris712vt said:

Yeah you read it right... I had to still drive the car to and from work for a few days without the turbo plumbed to the throttle body. I had no idea it would ruin the turbo... lesson definitely learned.

I'm going to hope that was in fact the cause of my turbo dying... but on a more positive note, not only do I have the T3 on the way as a temporary replacement, but a friend of mine with a beast of a GSX has his old GT3076R he offered to sell me. It may be time to upgrade along with my planned MSnS investment.

Click to expand...

Dang, thats my turbo!! Lol, well if you dont get that turbo hook me up with your friend, I will buy it in a heartbeat.

Well, I got my T3 in today. Took the old one off, reclocked the T3, swapped the oil fittings, got ready to put it back together and what do you know - the turbine flange doesn't match up. I believe someone else had a thread on here recently about one 5-bolt flange not matching another 5-both turbine outlet. Same problem for me.

But anyway I took apart the old turbo, and once the turbine and compressor housings were off, the shaft rotated again, a little rough at first but then out of nowhere it got smooth again.... weird. I put it all back together and it feels normal. I may put it right back on the car again and see how it works since the T3 won't bolt to my downpipe right now.

So... maybe overboosting when the IC pipes weren't connected created so much heat inside the compressor that the blades expanded until they ground into the housing. That's by theory now haha. Otherwise I don't understand why it would have seized up, and now suddenly is back to normal again after simply taking it apart and reassembling it.

Anyway, regardless of re-using the 50-trim or the T3 for the next week or two, I still plan to probably get the 3076, sorry Ryan I'll let you know if I don't.

Hmm, that sounds like a theroy to me. Bout the only thing that would make sense.
I it was Tegster1 that had that problem, he just got a flange made from a exhaust shop for $40.
I would just try the t3/t40e and see how it goes, unless you want to fab up another downpipe.
Well Chris let me know how the 3076r treats you, cause Im still planning to go with it down the road.

Yep I had that problem. No one has figured it out yet from everyone I have asked. ha. But it wasnt an exhaust shop that did it. The guy said they didnt have the right tools to cut it out so he sent me to a local fabricator that does mostly custom work. He was the one that did it for $40. I think it is just him and one other guy that work there so thats probably why it wasnt that expensive.

Well after giving it some thought, I decided to make a hybrid of the two turbo's as a temporary solution. I have to move for a job relocation this week and I needed the car running.

I took the turbine housing from the 50-trim so it would bolt to my manifold and downpipe, and the rest from the T3. Not an optimal setup with a .48 wheel in a .63 housing, but it will work and it's a combination of a functional turbine side and a safe compressor side. Re-using the 50-trim would risk running into the same problem again, and the T3 just wouldn't work without fabrication, and I don't have any more time.

even with the smaller turbine wheel in the larger housing it still spools up like a champ.

chris712vt said:

Well after giving it some thought, I decided to make a hybrid of the two turbo's as a temporary solution. I have to move for a job relocation this week and I needed the car running.

I took the turbine housing from the 50-trim so it would bolt to my manifold and downpipe, and the rest from the T3. Not an optimal setup with a .48 wheel in a .63 housing, but it will work and it's a combination of a functional turbine side and a safe compressor side. Re-using the 50-trim would risk running into the same problem again, and the T3 just wouldn't work without fabrication, and I don't have any more time.

even with the smaller turbine wheel in the larger housing it still spools up like a champ.

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Awesome Chris, glad to see you got a "temporary" setup working for you. So how long till you get the beast? And by beast I mean the GT3076R not PnP MSns... which is also a beast, hehe...

Haha well where I'm moving by the end of this week is where my friend with the 3076 lives. So I'll be getting together will him pretty soon.

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/newbie-forum/260189-blown-14b-turbo-wheel-rips-through-exhaust-housing-pics.html

Thats what your gonna see when you take off your turbo

Damn that's pretty crazy. But nah I've taken mine apart already... There's some slight damage to the blades on the compressor wheel, and the scraped up compressor housing that you can see in the pics, but that's pretty much it.

I'm not sure how long you've had your car for, but if you call up turbonetics and explain what happend, there is a good chance they will replace or refirbish your turbo for free or at least the cost of shipping.

My friends turbo broke on his 420a a couple of years back, and it would have really set him back since he was already in the middle of rebuilding a second 420a head. He called up turboetics and they fixed it for free "under warranty I think" but He had that turbo for a while.

Least you could do is call and see what they say, before you give up on everything else.

Hey Randy, good idea. I've been running that turbo for... about 7 months, but I bought it used from another member on 2GNT. No telling if Turbonetics would offer to rebuild or replace it if I'm not even the original owner, but you're right it's worth a shot. Only takes a minute to call to save me from buying another turbo.

chris712vt said:

Hey Randy, good idea. I've been running that turbo for... about 7 months, but I bought it used from another member on 2GNT. No telling if Turbonetics would offer to rebuild or replace it if I'm not even the original owner, but you're right it's worth a shot. Only takes a minute to call to save me from buying another turbo.

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Ya, hopefully they'll rebuild it for you...
Get me in touch with your GT3076r buddy while your at it, ...