why do turbos blow.

[KEMP]

i had mass amounts of oil in my piping, my last turbo failed, and i put a friends on that he had laying around, barely any shaft play, but ebay turbo, i put it on and now it has shaft play and spraying oil into the combustion chamber, causing mass smoke and alomst fouling plugs with oil.

was the turbo he had laying around already leaking seals do you think? or is there a reason my car toasted it? what could be the problem?

i am buying a turbonetics 50 trim tomorrow, any suggestions on how to keep this turbo good?

[superJoy]

Not saying this is what's causing your problems, but I had an eBay manifold on my car for a while. Then my turbo blew after a long drive on the highway. Sent it out to be rebuilt, rebuilder said something went through the exhaust side and demolished the wheel. Only thing I could think of: weld that fell off the inside of the mani. Lesson learned. Back to OEM manifold now.

Now Ive read on these boards before, people saying just knock that stuff out of there. The weld junk. But there's a LOT of it, and the typical CA18 china mani has a lot of tight bends and pretty long runners. So getting all the loose weld material out = harder than you might think.

I checked mine pretty well before installing it, didn't find anything "loose". Just didn't realize the heat of a long drive would cause it to fall off inside and ruin a perfectly good turbo. Live and learn I guess

That's my experience with blowing turbos. I'm sure there's like 10,000,000 more reasons for them to fail but that's what happened to me

And that's why every time I see a nice GT28R on an eBay manifold I cringe, and part of me dies inside.

[KEMP]

well mine was re-welded and polished by myself, trust me the welds are very good, but the second turbo was literally still smoking after 15mins.

[superJoy]

You may have probs with your oil feed, maybe need a restrictor? Or how's your oil drain? Does it have any weirdo bends in it? Oil could be pooling in the turbo if your drain is too restrictive

Could also just be iffy used parts.

[KEMP]

feed line is a full stainless line with a not restricted feed plate on the turbo, the oil drain is damn near straight and has no kinks, its hard rubber hose with an puck fittings, there is no bends in it, the weird thig i, it just started smoking last night really bad, so i swapped the turbo and it kept happening, but my turbo was toast, shaftply and oil leaking out of both ends. the "new" turbo had like no play and now it does have a little with still smoke, the amount of oil in my intecooler lines was quite a bit, i would definetly say enough to feed the intake plenum and burn oil with the gas mixture, the oil coming out is burnt smelling, and there is literally oil in my exhaust tip, i can wipe my finger in it after driving and it has oil in it.

any other suggestions? and should i use a restictor on my turbonetics that im getting?

the compressor side of the turbo went on with a clean inside, and came out with oil on the inlet and outlet of the compressor, with oil, the inside looked like it caught on fire it was so black from the oil, lol

and its not crankcase vent, since its going to a catch can.

[zero_gripS13]

if u didnt primthe turbo thats why it blew..

when installing anew turbo u have to disconnecto fuel or ignition so it wont start and disconnect the drain line and crank it till oil comes out the drain.. if u dont and just start the engine u cran k that turbo to 100k rpm and no oil and it toast the seals...

[themadscientist]

why do turbos blow?

They need the money?

[bentvalves]

how are the valve cover breathers routed on your engine?

[r34 gtr]

how are the valve cover breathers routed on your engine?

My engine lasted way too long for that to have caused any major damage. Doubt it would on his car either. My turbo is tight as hell after all that, and no smoke.

[Buddyworm]

I've heard of turbo oil seals going just from sitting too long with no oil to keep them from drying out. If you're continually using old stuff then it's possible it's been sitting for a bit doing nothing.

[KEMP]

i did prime.

do i need an oil restrictor for my turbonetics?

[boost_boy]

i did prime.

do i need an oil restrictor for my turbonetics?

You should put one on it, but it is not necessary. Manifolds don't cause turbo to blow. The condition of the turbo or the rebuilding and balancing of a turbo has a lot to do with it. Lastly, if you have a boost leak in your system, you could very well be running that turbo out of its efficiency range. So for instance, if you're running 10psi of boost per your gauge, but you have a boost leak; you could very well be actually running anywhere from 15-20psi of boost, but only can maintain 10psi of pressure in your leaking system. Not saying that's the problem, but it can and has happened.

Dee

[KEMP]

its been boost leak tested with my patented leakdown tester method, lol

not a single percent of pressure was lost, the new turbo's efficency is good for 500hp and 30+ psi

stage 3 wheel 50trim turbonetics with a 360* thrust bearing.

[Logan76]

I would love to see you hit 500whp on a 50 trim, I had that exact same turbo on my KA. Buy an oil restrictor, .60 is a good size.

[KEMP]

you had the exact turbo? so you called turbonetis and said hey, i need a 360 thrust, stage 3 wheel and carbon seals? because thats what this guy had to do to get it, yo cant just buy a brand new turbonetics with those options.

the turbo is 200miles old and the efficency range is well ahead of its size, the turbo with bigger injectors, meth and a good tune, i would not be surprised to see close to 5, but im going for around 400, so i could care less about 500

[Logan76]

I did'nt have the carbon seals, but I did specifically order the 360 thrust and stg 3 wheel. The 50 trim should make your 400hp goal quite nicely, but I don't see it making 500hp easily, Im going to go look up some compressor maps for it right now, just out of curiosity. I'm not trying to bash you either, just I dont think you would be able to easily hit 500whp with it, that is all.

[dash]

do you still have the stock elbow coming out of the CA block at the turbo feed ?Mine already had a "tiny" hole in it ~1/16 th of an inch.Gotta figure out if oil starvation led to premature wear, then sloopy clearence allowed oil past the seals...or....was it too much oil pressure in the feed to begin with, forcing its way past 'em.Wouldn't hurt to consult a reputable turbo builder either.

Don't rule out crankcase pressure. It will cause your turbo to run dry. Didn't you mention spurts of 25psi boost.... on a fresh motor ?I'd rig up a gauge to a crankcase vent and test it on the run, just to eliminate that possibility.

Maybe try starting new thread to summon exactly what oil feed sucessful CA owners have been using on their long-lasting T3/T4s. Those little details can bite

on the 50 trim...I've posted links to a monster street miata 1.8L using the same 50trim.He discussed pushing his to the limit with his turbo supplier (ATP I believe). Possibly setting a record.... I believe he has it. Preferred the 50 over his GT30.Dyno 493hp ~30psi on stock miata cams.Last I checked, with u.s. ground camshafts, he was ~585, with an incredible 500+ ft-lbs tq at the tires with cams!! Runs "pump gas" + meth injection.He told me, he couldn't reveal the camshaft brand/specs as he was testing them for a miata vendor under obligation.Car ET'd 11.1sec way back with ~380whp. No questioning this rapist

I'd like to try the exact same recipee with my CA18mazda BP 1.8L may have the step on a CA18 as far as design and efficiency tho.They are incredible little suckers. I've owned a few mid 90s escort GTs, same 1.8

[badintentions]

this one is an easy one #1 your old turbo was well old it hapens number two and a freaking ebay turbo he prolly got for 30 bucks it prolly has rubber oil seals and rubber dry rotts and falls apart get the oem one rebuilt or get a good turbo and you are done stay away from ebay turbosyou should run from ebay turbos like herpies