So that's where the funny noise came from...

[Jon91TSi]

Last Saturday I was going for a drive, got into boost a little and heard a buzz.. Kinda odd... I downshifted and got on it and it really sounded terrible, so I babied the car home knowing something happened to the poor little 14b. Well, last night I pulled the intake tube off, that this is what I found.. RIP. WTF

 

[finesse49ers]

Wow. Let's hope that's the only damage.

 

[WES_393]

I'd pull the intercooler/pipes and flush them out with some Purple Power. Hopefully the pieces stopped there or passed through the engine easily.

Good excuse for a Bastard 20g though.

 

[Jon91TSi]

Wow. Let's hope that's the only damage.

Car ran fine otherwise out of boost, oil looks fine as well. Time to put my 3076r on and start making some power. I'm assuming with pieces that large that they are caught in the smic.

 

[JusMX141]

There's a good bit missing from the inducer tips along the entire radius....I'm thinking shaft play caused the wheel damage, not vice-versa.

 

[Jon91TSi]

There's a good bit missing from the inducer tips along the entire radius....I'm thinking shaft play caused the wheel damage, not vice-versa.

Yep. When I bought the car I had intentions of putting my 30r on it, but wanted to see how long the 14b would last. The car sat in the woods untouched for 7 years. When I got it, the turbo was completely locked up, so I did what anyone would do and stuck a socket on the compressor nut and broke it free. It spun somewhat freely before the first start (Spun great after the first start and a few miles). The car drove and boosted fine for 3,000 miles since I got it running, but during that time 500mi in or so, I noticed some shaft play (axial and radial) developing and knew it would only be a matter of time before it bit the dust.

 

[AngelOfPassion]

Just a question that this post sparked in my mind. Has anyone ever put a "screen" in their intercooler piping to prevent broken pieces of a turbo from getting to their engine/intercooler? Or would the pieces be moving at such speed it would cut straight through it? Also, would there be a strong screen type material that wouln't effect airflow and still be small enough to prevent pieces from passing through?

Just wondering... I see this happen often and I've just wondered...

 

[curt-s]

A screen small enough to prevent particles from reaching the throttle body would cause a restriction, especially down to those small little chunks. The best place would likely be right after the intercooler exit, but finding a material strong enough to catch and not let go would be interesting.

Out of the millions upon millions of turbocharged cars out there, the chances that a buggered turbo would take out your engine is fairly minimal. I don't personally believe it's necessary. If it happens, it happens. We've got bigger things to worry about with these engines