Turbo blown? bandsaw sound?

[jagwired]

Ok i was driving home from work yesterday and i accelerated to merge onto the highway, nothing above normal, 10psi max when i hear a pop close to what an IC pipe blowing off sounds like. So when i hear this i look at my rpms because they usually drop immediately when my pipe blows off. So i keep driving and everything seems normal, oil pressure fine,boost and rpms where they normally are when i'm cruising on the highway. I accelerate on the highway to pass a car again to maybe 10psi or less and when the boost gets built i hear a horrible sound like a bandsaw cutting metal. So i immediately get off the boost and have been ever since. I have not gotten a chance to pull off my pipes yet and check for play on the turbo but i'm thinking maybe i blew a seal or the wheel came unbalanced somehow.

Turbo is only 6 months old rebuilt professionally by majestic turbos in waco, stock t-25 turbo. I use it for daily driving, i dont street race or take it to the strip, i cant think of any reason for it to go out so soon. If anyone can help me with what they think has happened here i would appreciate it.

Also there is no smoke or oil leaking as of yet.

 

[ddavisaf]

The only way for you to check and see if the bearing went bad would be to pull off the intake hose and check for shaft play. Usually the sound you're describing indicates a bad turbo thrust bearing. 6 month old rebuild, take it back.
Most places have a warranty of some sort. When you've got it apart (if the turbo is in fact your problem...) clean the oil return and feed lines. Make sure they're not clogged or restrictive. This could be why it went.

 

[jagwired]

ok i'm going to take my pipes off today and check for play, i just have to wait for everything to cool down for awhile. If in fact the thrust bearing is bad, is it safe to drive on the turbo right now assuming i'm staying off the boost to go to work and such? The car is my DD so it would be bad if the cars going to be down because of this

 

[jagwired]

now if it was the thrust bearing that went out, wouldnt there be oil leaking and and my car be smoking? The car has no smoke what-so-ever so far.

 

[ddavisaf]

Not all the time.
I've lost three turbos to bad bearings and havn't smoked once.
Is it safe to drive..?
I wouldn't recommend it, however you could probably get away with it. Once your start shearing off the blades you might start having some problems. If they pass through the intercooler they could possibly travel all the way through your turbo track causing valve damage.

 

[dsm42788]

sounds like your turbo is blown to hell. same thing happened with my t25. does it fell like you lose power when it happens? I would definitely check for shaft play.

 

[jagwired]

thats the thing, i dont lose any power. it boosts just like normal only with that sound. I'm about to check for play on it, but i'm thinking it would also be a belt that jumped and the high speed rubbing is making that sound

 

[jagwired]

**UPDATE**

OK, i just checked the turbo for any play. Turbo is in solid shape. No play front to back or side to side. Blades spins freely and there are no chips/cracks in the fins at all. I believe i can rule out the turbo being blown now, however i did find a boost leak near my bov. The only thing i can think of now is that maybe a belt jumped somewhere and is grinding. I wont be able to check that for a couple of days thought since i do not have access to a jack right now.