Shaft play/compressor scratches..

[EclipticalGS]

So, I suspected my big 16g to sort of be blown when I took my oil pan off and found a nice flake of gold...about the size of a pea. No shimmery or other stuff in the oil, there was some particles in the oil filter though. This was after like 400 miles of break-in.

So i checked my rods, bearings, wiggle test..nothing.

I tried to wiggle the shaft on my big 16g while it was still on the car after it was just ran...I couldnt wigle side to side OR in and out...

So I am tearing stuff down to do some other mods, While I was at it I polished and completely shaved my compressor cover. No more labels, ridges, nothing.

So its been sitting for a couple days in my room, and I glanced over and noticed that there were some scuffs on the inside of the compressor cover..So I rechecked for shaft play and it audibly wiggles side to side..and it also wigles in and out...BOTH are enough for me to hear it while im wiggling it.

So is this turbo bad and needs rebuilt? Why didnt it wiggle the first time I tested it...

It doesnt smoke at idle, romping, no blue smoke ever, etc. 15psi is where its been ran for all its life and I just dropped it back to 10-12 for breakin on this motor, and theres no wheel damage on either side

Also, I pulled the coolant return off the turbo too and it seemed like it was gunked up inside, brownish crap.

Anyway, thanks for any help..

 

[Derock2gspyder]

ya id say the turbo is shot but without seeing its movement cant be sure but you will have some shavings off of a freshly built motor thats why you do so many oil changes within the first 1000 miles but you shouldnt have any big pieces! not exactly sure why it didnt wiggle the first time but if it is now it should be replaced!

 

[tsi1991awd]

If the coolant has brown mucky shit in it, it's because the oil and coolant are mixing. Probably bad seals. How old is the turbo?

 

[EclipticalGS]

yeah, but with the fins scraping the housing a tad bit, I would have thought by now some sort of smoke or noises would be audible when driving. Maybe just the journals are worn and seals are good..Time for a rebuild then I presume

its 2 years old..I thought it was like physically impossible for a coolant cooled turbo to mix with oil..Like 1 in a million.

 

[tsi1991awd]

You have to have coolant and oil mixing SOMEWHERE though...if it looks like sludgy chocolate milk, it's coolant and oil mixing.

On my old DSM there was no shaft play whatsoever but I saw 4 dings in the compressor cover where the fins had hit it. No damage to the fins and when I spun it, it spun freely and didn't hit at all. I never worried about it, never found metal in the pan, no shiny metallic oil or anything....

 

[EclipticalGS]

yeah the turbo never has acted funny or anything but still, I found a gold flake of bearing and I would consider it to be part of the reason why this turbo has so much shaft play. I almost want to bet money that

A. I broke in a brand new motor without using a filter on my oil feed line from the ofh.
B. Particles entered my turbo unnanounced and grenaded the bearings while breaking in the motor.

After my first oil change @ 100 miles, My oil filter had some particles in it, so some could have gone into the turbo im sure..

 

[tsi1991awd]

Probably so....I need to find an oil restictor for my turbo, just don't know where.

 

[EclipticalGS]

no, im talking about breaking in a motor, and not having a In-line Filter on your oil feed.

I cant believe I forgot that valuable filter when I started my new motor and ran it. I paid like $50 for it and never used it, because it came shipped so late, I had already drove 50-60 miles without it. FML

I guess thats what happens when you buy like 100 parts and just forget to install one.

 

[tsi1991awd]

What filter did you get? The one from FP? Getting the FP one would be good for me because it has a restrictor in it from what they told me...just can't justify spending that much on it.

 

[JusMX141]

If the coolant has brown mucky shit in it, it's because the oil and coolant are mixing. Probably bad seals. How old is the turbo?

Unless the center housing is cracked within somehow, there is literally nothing that can fail on any turbo that would allow the coolant and oil to mix.

 

[EclipticalGS]

Unless the center housing is cracked within somehow, there is literally nothing that can fail on any turbo that would allow the coolant and oil to mix.

alright, but are you game with the idea of an ofh fed turbo grenading from new motor breakin particles?

 

[tsi1991awd]

Unless the center housing is cracked within somehow, there is literally nothing that can fail on any turbo that would allow the coolant and oil to mix.

It doesn't necessarily mean that it is coming from the turbo, but somewhere in the engine and it's collecting in the pipe. OR the coolant ports on the turbo have becoming corroded and it is rust muck....or somewhere in the motor / radiator it has become mucked up with rust. That's the only reason I would see as to why the coolant is a brown muddy consistency?

 

[JusMX141]

alright, but are you game with the idea of an ofh fed turbo grenading from new motor breakin particles?

Engine break-in particles should not be large enough hurt anything within the engine or the turbo. I'm not game with these guys who think you need to install an old turbo for break-in. Does Mitsubishi break in the engine of every Evo X that rolls off the line with an old turbo?

If your turbo failed from metal particles in the oil, you have a bigger problem than just a blown turbo.

 

[EclipticalGS]

Well, I had it looked at yesterday, just needs a rebuild. Only thing I can go by is the fact that there were shavings in the OFH possibly from the engine builders not cleaning out the oil galley after they modded my 7-bolt oil pump..but anyway, there were no shavings what so ever in my oil pan, even with my mother earth magnet deal, there were just some pieces in the oil filter. It has to be from break-in or the oil pump. Thanks though guys!!