I WIN! Rarest Turbo failure EVER!!

[YUPOK]

I only drove the car 50 miles. I finally got it running right on Saturday night and it's been running good since, until my ride home from work today. I was on the highway in mild traffic, wasn't romping on it or anything only doing about 50 coasting and all of a sudden I heard a flopping from the front of the engine, lost power, two engine codes popped and started smoking big time. I pulled the turbo and the dad gum turbo shaft split in half! The compressor wheels are actually fine, no bent fins or anything, the shaft split and the wheels just flopped down inside the housings. Then all the oil and coolant started dumping into the hot side causing the smoke. It's a stock T25 and I had it all apart and installed a rebuild kit prior to fire up. The shaft looked fine when I had it apart, no shaft play no obvious issues.

Any ideas what happened? Crack in the shaft finally gave up? I got the turbo used from a DSM junkyard so I took it all apart to put new bearings and seals etc. Of all the things I thought would fail this surprised me.

 

[Dsmkauai]

I would check and make sure the thrust plate didn't crack up and go into the oil return! Every time my turbo blew I pulled the oil pan and cleaned it out just to be safe, cause you never know bro doesn't take much to distroy a motor!

 

[Archer Fabrications]

No I definitely think I still win. If I sent the impeller wheel into the throttle body then I would lose, but this is a win because it's a simple fix (new 16G on the way)and the car will be back on the road.



Yeah serves me right for trying to save some cash.

You'd win if you kept the t25 doesnt matter if it was completely destroyed or salvageable if your switching turbos completely anyway

 

[YUPOK]

That's a good thought, I should make sure nothing got down into the oil pan. I will check and will change the oil anyway.

Curious while we are on the subject, are there any vendors I should stay away from to buy a 16G? I read that God Speed has a pretty good rep, anyone have a bad rep?

 

[Archer Fabrications]

Lol godspeed is chineese!!!!!! And does NOT have a good rep
Stay away from damn ebay man that mist be your favorite place to shop


Buy a used mitsubisbi 16g unless you want to have to buy two more turbos.

 

[lowboost13]

I had the same thing happen due to the return line getting kinked.

 

[JusMX141]

Lubrication issue, or the Chinese rebuild parts weren't doing their job.

If the shaft breaks behind the compressor wheel, it's balance-related. If the turbine wheel breaks off the shaft at the friction weld, either the weld wasn't done properly (new shaft) or improper lubrication caused the shaft to overheat and the wheel split at the weld.

 

[lasershark]

why don't you check out the classifieds on this site there is a mhi 16g on there and it was posted today

 

[YUPOK]

So here we go again with the ebay turbo's question. I've been searching the forums and it's a mixed bag. Some guys are doing fine on their ebay 16G and some guys have failed right away. Then the argument comes in about warranty which most vendors do offer.

I am really tight on money right now, this is my third car I'm paying for, plus rent, kids, electric, propane just went up to $4 a gallon. I just wanted this car to get me the 15 miles to work and back. I could really care less about HP just like the AWD and the way it drives. Won't an ebay 16 hold up for me?

 

[Archer Fabrications]

So here we go again with the ebay turbo's question. I've been searching the forums and it's a mixed bag. Some guys are doing fine on their ebay 16G and some guys have failed right away. Then the argument comes in about warranty which most vendors do offer.



I am really tight on money right now, this is my third car I'm paying for, plus rent, kids, electric, propane just went up to $4 a gallon. I just wanted this car to get me the 15 miles to work and back. I could really care less about HP just like the AWD and the way it drives. Won't an ebay 16 hold up for me?

Get a daily driver then, having a project car with an upgraded turbo isn't the smartest thing to do, buy another t25 if cash is tight.

Especially if you dont care about hp just put it all back to stock.

 

[Dsmkauai]

Or get at least a 14b from the classifieds and have it rebuilt or do it urself. It doesn't take much to fit the 14b you really just need the feed line for the head and a jpipe, but there are so many ways to do it on the cheap!

 

[Insomniac13]

So here we go again with the ebay turbo's question. I've been searching the forums and it's a mixed bag. Some guys are doing fine on their ebay 16G and some guys have failed right away. Then the argument comes in about warranty which most vendors do offer.

I am really tight on money right now, this is my third car I'm paying for, plus rent, kids, electric, propane just went up to $4 a gallon. I just wanted this car to get me the 15 miles to work and back. I could really care less about HP just like the AWD and the way it drives. Won't an ebay 16 hold up for me?

If you're really worried about spending money I'd go for the real part, check the classified's out and whatnot. This forum is riddled with ebay part failures, and they've failed on me before. It's been taking months longer than I planned to get my car running but at least now I'm close, and I have the peace of mind that my car is built with real parts. 9/10 times when I've bought an ebay part it's broken and I've had to replace it. Times are tough for me too, and I know how it feels, but it really does pay to get the real parts.
EDIT: you could always just buy a used 14B, like DSMkauai said. Very underestimated turbo, a little bit under the 16G but still better than the T25 by far, and they're readily available for a good price. I believe there's a few in the classifieds right now.

 

[bryanwheat]

Get a daily driver then, having a project car with an upgraded turbo isn't the smartest thing to do, buy another t25 if cash is tight.

Especially if you dont care about hp just put it all back to stock.

Best advice on the entire forum today.

 

[YUPOK]

Oh man, now I'm really bummed, 7 months I've been working on this car so I can just have a fun little scooter to get me to and from work. And what do I have to show for it? 50 miles of driving it and a turbo in pieces.

 

[lasershark]

did you try to look on the classifieds on this site? there are a few mhi 16g's on there for not too much more than an ebay turbo

 

[Archer Fabrications]

Oh man, now I'm really bummed, 7 months I've been working on this car so I can just have a fun little scooter to get me to and from work. And what do I have to show for it? 50 miles of driving it and a turbo in pieces.

Yes that is what happens when you buy Chinese rebuild kits, it also happens when you buy Chinese turbos. Has your lesson been learned?

 

[JusMX141]

So how did cheap bearings cause the turbine shaft to snap?

I've seen cases where cheap Chinese bearings which don't fit properly will seize in the housing and the shaft will turn at 100% speed within the bearing. Obviously this isn't how the bearing is designed to work, so the shaft overheats and eventually breaks at the friction weld.

 

[1G Eclipse94928]

Oh man, now I'm really bummed, 7 months I've been working on this car so I can just have a fun little scooter to get me to and from work. And what do I have to show for it? 50 miles of driving it and a turbo in pieces.

DONT BUY CHINESE EBAY TURBO KITS THEN! You come back asking if you can buy a chinese 16G well good luck cya in 3000miles.

 

[YUPOK]

Okay, I get it. It's kinda odd though, Japan makes some pretty good quality stuff. look at Honda motorcycles for example. You just can't kill those things. Yet a stones throw away you have a country that could basically care less about quality and environment, and the market is flooded with their stuff.

Thanks for your help all, and yes I still win.

 

[Archer Fabrications]

Yes japaneese products are awesome, but last time i checked japan and china werent the same country. The ebay shit is from china with literally no quality control like you said.

If you have ever done any research on japanese culture they are EXTREMELY dedicated to their work and very miticulas ablut quality and precision...

Samurai's for example. Samurai swords... Etc.. The real Japanese shit is gold.