possible turbo bearing problem - what do you think?

[fostytou]

First for a little background, help with this is appreciated.... but I feel this may be related to the last paragraph:
for the last week and a half I have been pulling a quick CEL for engine temp... its always after driving for a long time (about an hour at 55-70mph to st. Charles, few stops) and then as I wait for one of the few lights passing through town the temp will rise to just below the thermometer in the coolant temp Gauge. When I start to go it will then raise up to right where the CEL comes on, sometimes flickers.... this goes on for about a minute and as I keep moving low load at about 2k RPM seems to cool it down, but just barely.... during this period when I shift the temp pops up real quick and the ECU flashes, but as I get in the next gear it goes away (I'm assuming this is related to the water pump moving with load on the engine... but that makes an ass-of-you-and-me). Usually the engine will get cooler and fall back down to level after floating just above it for a bit, but two times it has just stayed higher.

today:
Today on my way home from work i sat in the hot traffic (its usually night when I come home).... a few minutes after I got out of about 15 min of sitting in the heat at slow speed i boosted most of second and the temp went up to just under CEL, but quickly went back down. After about 6 miles of everything being OK and level I went to pass a truck and the temp shot up to CEL proportions on a 3rd gear pull... It felt like the ECU threw off the timing because I lost all of my power (pretty inopportune timing) so there may have been a knock CEL during this as well. Just after the temp cooled quickly again.... so this got me thinking a possible problem with the turbo (Bullseye T04E 57 trim, oil cooled only). after another 10 miles of driving I passed a friend in third and the temp was fine. Now I was a bit confused, but I thought Id give the turbo a spin by hand to see if it was impacting the compressor housing.

Now for the real question:
I let the car cool off, pulled of the intake and spun the turbine.... spun like butter.... then I noticed something. If I was pulling the turbine at all toward the front of the car it was nearly impossible to spin by hand, but when pushed in any other direction (including 45 degrees up or down from the sticky one) it spun fine.

So.... is the center cartridge 'effed in the A or is this normal in a way that I'm not wise enough to see?

Thanks guys

 

[fostytou]

I forgot to mention that I have tried to burp the coolant and checked all of my fluid levels. My driving is spirited but I don't break 3lbs of boost unless I really plan to get on it.

Today on the way to work everything stayed right at the perfect temp.... most of the way there someone cut me off, so I moved to pass and went 4.5k->5.5k in third. Again, my temp rose up slightly (about 5/8 position) but cooled down almost immediatley. 2 or 3 minutes later I had to stop for a light, and as I started moving again at about 1lb of boost the temp went up to just past where it was before. At cruising speed it cooled down immediately. A few minutes later another light and just after it there is a slight incline... not steep but still needs a little more torque. Climbing behind the other cars in 4th at about 1lb of boost the temp just slowly rose to where it was again (its a long incline), but coming off the peak and hitting vaccuum things cooled down. Then another hill and the same thing happens... but now the temp just holds. I come to a long light and at idle at the light things start to cool down a little... almost to normal. As i start cruising 30mph the temp gauge just sits at 5/8 and doesn't start to come down till I park in the shade at work. Things start to cool down, and after a minute of turbo timing the engine is back to normal temp.

if there are any questions I can answer let me know. Thanks again guys.

 

[boostjunkie01]

Have you tried a new thermostat?
And for the turbo problem. I had a turbo that did the same thing. It had alittle shaft play buts spun fine. but if I pulled it, it wouldn't spin. About a month later I was getting on it and somthing didn't feel right. I looked at the turbo and the blades were all chewed up.

 

[fostytou]

Quote from bullseye:
Our tech said it was fine and that your were just binding up the shaft when you do that.

so everything seems fine.... except my heat problem! We'll see what kind of numbers this puts down thursday (the hardware stack went out on the dyno before I got on it)

 

[Arod]

For your turbo shaft play, in and out play is bad, side to side play is OK as long as you can't make the blades touch/scrap the housing.

Try new t-stat, and maybe a new temp sender, they are known to go bad.