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3 minute(s) of a 390 minute read
9-3-2013
Turbo Death....
Well, after an awesome weekend and 3 days of driving my car, I pulled into the garage and heard a nice chatter after I shut it down... Pulled the intake pipe and yep, turbo is is hitting...
Some facts...
The turbo is used. I bought it from Logan at Defined and everything looked awesome when I received it. Shaft play was on point and the compressor and turbine were perfect. I did notice smoke during startup from the beginning. I am running a .030 restrictor as per Garrett. I asked my tuner about it during the dyno, and he said it could be 3 things... my premix, turbo, or side seals. He said it looked like turbo and I agree. It has consistently smoked during startup with this turbo. My engine didn't do it with the old turbo. I am in no way saying Logan sold me a bum product. But with any used part, you never really know exactly where it stands, or can predict failure even if you're the seller.
The turbo performed perfectly during the dyno session with no weird noises during shutdown or pulls.
I did notice that it spins freely when everything is cold. You can't tell there is anything wrong apart from some shaft play. The shaft play is there, but nothing hits when spinning it or moving it to each side trying to make it hit. Start it up and let it idle and I can definitely hear it as I put my ear to the compressor. Shut off the engine and it chatters during spin down, and chatters when spinning by hand. Once it cools, nothing....
I haven't taken it apart yet but I have ZERO visible compressor wear from my pre-turbo WI. I'm really not suspicious of the WI affecting it. The wear I would see would be erosion of the blades themselves, not the degradation of the bearings and added shaft play that I am experiencing.
So what killed it???
1. Used turbo - The turbo was on its last leg, and taking it to 24psi for a dyno day, and 2 days of driving it.
2. No BOV - I am not running a BOV, and the surge killed it in 3 days.
3. A combination of both. A used turbo, coupled with the added stress of no BOV sent it to its grave.
The Fix
First order of business is that I am installing a damn BOV...lol. Whether the debate is true or not, it can't hurt. My Tial 50mm worked great in the past and never had a leak. I'll be putting it back on and don't plan to visit the grey area that is "no BOV"
I'm sending my P-trim 35R to Turblown for assessment. From here, we will look at options.
1. Rebuild and continue with what I have.
2. Upgrade to a TDX61, retune, and see how she does
3. Switch to a BW S366
All have their benefits and drawback, so we will see what happens.
I'm still very happy with the car. We live and learn of what works and what doesn't. I'm a little frustrated, but it comes with the territory. My car still did great, and every other system that affects power did awesome. Just a slight setback. 