Is my turbo gone?

[brandonzero0]

I have a PTe 5031e and the previous owner said it never smoked along with a few other small things he said.. Any way when I start my car it doesn't smoke, but once it gets warm then it smokes , and when its up to operated temperature on the freeway or driving it doesn't smoke one bit. its a freshly built motor and head, with 400 miles on it balance shafts removed. and I'm running my supply line from the oil filter bracket. any clues? should I try running the supply of the head?

 

[e85_4g63]

Could be that the oil pressure with the BS eliminated is forcing oil past the seal at higher RPM's. I'm assuming your PTE is a journal bearing turbo?

 

[brandonzero0]

Yes, its the 5031E not the RE. and the oil relief is ported as well.

 

[JusMX141]

I'm convinced that PTE turbos are the most fragile turbos available for our cars. They absolutely cannot tolerate excessive oil pressure.

Check for shaft play. If there's none noticeable, it's not too late. If there's shaft play, you will need to have the turbo rebuilt.

You can either install a .062" or .075" restrictor into your oil supply line and keep the oil source at the filter housing, or move it to the head with no restrictor.

Don't believe PTE when they insist you supply your oil from the filter housing for proper lubrication- it gets plenty of oil from the head. I'm helping a friend replace the engine in his 1G right now, and it's had a 50 Trim Garrett fed unrestricted from the head the entire time it's been on the car and this turbo has ZERO shaft play- it's as tight as the day it was installed.

 

[The Shodan]

PTE uses a standard journal bearing Garrett Cartridge in their turbochargers for their Mitsubishi as well as their other lines. They are under contract to do so. When it comes to oil utility and oil pressure,Garrett cartridges are very sensitive compared to the mitsubishi cartridge, which is one of the most durable cartridges used. Many DSMers simply get spoiled with the Mitsubishi design, and have a propensity to not take the due care needed regarding this sensitivity when transitioning to a Garrett cartridge. I too, tell my clients to use the oil filter housing location to properly lubricate the system, as the head DOES NOT give the proper oil pressure required for a Garrett cartridge, unlike its Mitsubishi counterpart.

ターボおよびオイルに関しては、1つは心配を取らなければならない. -When it comes to turbo and oil, one must take great care.

 

[JusMX141]

Interesting.

I've known of more than one PTE user destroy their turbo repeatedly when they were fed unrestricted from the filter housing. They'd move the oil supply to the head, and the smoking / damaged journal bearings suddenly stopped. Of course, one or two of these turbos still continued to junk themselves even after the oil source was moved to the head.

Of all the PTE turbos I've rebuilt for customers, none used actual Garrett center housings. They were Garrett-style, but aren't actual Garrett-built housings.

 

[The Shodan]

That IS interesting. I have seen the opposite for the ones I have rebuilt. Especially after they signed their contract agreement back in 2006 regarding only the use of Garrett cartridges. Perhaps that agreement is based upon model size. For example, after a certain size or design, Precision is no longer bound by that agreement and can then use any cartridge housing and parts that they see fit. I've had no problems with unrestricted oil filter housing-fed Garrett turbochargers. Of course, I only use -3AN lines for them as well.

 

[JusMX141]

It could be that none of the PTE turbos I rebuilt were new enough, too. My low rebuild prices somehow seem to attract everyone's junk that isn't worth paying a fortune to rebuild.

I've been curious if PTE has done anything to make their newer turbos more reliable....using Garrett center housings would definitely be a step forward.

 

[keltalon]

I have a PTe 5031e and the previous owner said it never smoked along with a few other small things he said.. Any way when I start my car it doesn't smoke, but once it gets warm then it smokes , and when its up to operated temperature on the freeway or driving it doesn't smoke one bit. its a freshly built motor and head, with 400 miles on it balance shafts removed. and I'm running my supply line from the oil filter bracket. any clues? should I try running the supply of the head?

A smoke problem can be caused by several things. My question is have you taken the turbo off to see if oil is leaking on the hot side?

 

[Wicked95AWD]

My old turbo (PTE SCM61) did the same thing after I bolted it onto my new 2.4 motor (no balance shafts). I put an in-line oil pressure restrictor fitting in place and it quit smoking. The funny part is.. the documentation that came with my turbo said that you would automatically void the turbo's warranty if you fed it from the head and specifically instructed that the turbo's oil supply come from the oil filter housing.

 

[JusMX141]

The funny part is.. the documentation that came with my turbo said that you would automatically void the turbo's warranty if you fed it from the head and specifically instructed that the turbo's oil supply come from the oil filter housing.

That's ridiculous. Perhaps they'll reconsider after they rebuild / replace a few hundred turbos because of their asinine warranty guidelines.

When I rebuild PTE / Turbonetics / Garrett / SBR "G" turbos for customers, I actually recommend they be fed from the head unrestricted or from the filter housing with a restrictor or it will void my parts / labor warranty. I was fed up with rebuilding turbos out of my pocket that were over-oiled.

 

[brandonzero0]

Thanks you EVERY ONE, you've supplied me with great detail, i'm going to try running an inline restrictor and see if that helps. if not then who knows what i'll do.

 

[viprez586]

I smoked my 14b fed off the OFH w/ no balance shafts.

Whoops!

 

[JusMX141]

I smoked my 14b fed off the OFH w/ no balance shafts.

Whoops!

Right, and MHI turbos have an internal restrictor that Garrett's lack!

I've actually seen a few MHI turbos that died from being over-oiled in such a manner....a Frank 3 20G, and an 18G are the most recent. I recommended that the owners switch to a 1G oil line from the head location, and I haven't heard from them since.

 

[viprez586]

Right, and MHI turbos have an internal restrictor that Garrett's lack!

I've actually seen a few MHI turbos that died from being over-oiled in such a manner....a Frank 3 20G, and an 18G are the most recent. I recommended that the owners switch to a 1G oil line from the head location, and I haven't heard from them since.

That's what i switched to before i killed my second rebuilt one, I was wondering why i killed the first one. Did some researching, then logged my oil pressure. Hmm yeah 100psi to the turbo - that's cool. Of course it probably drops some from that little restrictor but nevertheless will do some damage over time.