Yikes! Blew Turbos

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MiamiR32
Posts: 46
Joined: Mon May 04, 2015 5:05 pm
Car: 1989 R32 GTR + 2014 Jetta

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Strong highway pull, 3rd gear, when I felt a sudden loss of power and trailing smoke. Immediately on my mind was a pair of motorcycles that were tailing me pretty close and thought that whatever happened, didn't want them sliding on oil and receiving a shotgun full of engine bits and pieces. Pulled over and found bits of ceramic laying on the bottom of the muffler which inevitably pointed to the problem.

Turned out that I blew the turbos. Have a look below. Purchased a set of N1 rebuilds with upgraded internals and polished compressor side. Not a big fan of big HP so these were just what i was looking for.

Anyone here have a similar experience?

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usafdarkhorse
Posts: 148
Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2007 3:48 pm
Car: 1990 Honda NSX #382
1989 Nissan Skyline GT-R #2317
1972 Datsun 240Z
Location: Knoxville, TN / Akishima-shi, Japan

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This is well documented. OE R32 GTR ceramic turbine wheels let go with moderate boost, around a bar. It's one of the car's many sore spots.

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themadscientist
Posts: 29308
Joined: Tue Nov 12, 2002 3:30 pm
Car: R32 GTR, DR30 RS Turbo, BRZ, Lunchbox, NSR50 Sportster 883 Iron
Location: Staring down at you with disdain from the spooky mountaintop castle.

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They pop when you lean on them. It's normal. Clean out your charge side pipes and intercooler in case the compressor wheels dove into the housings when the hot sides tore off and sent bits through the pipes.

MiamiR32
Posts: 46
Joined: Mon May 04, 2015 5:05 pm
Car: 1989 R32 GTR + 2014 Jetta

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Thanks, mad scientist. The shop said the compressor side didn't have any damage to them and there's no way for any of the bits to have gone into the charge/IC??? One of the turbos (closest to firewall) had the exhaust wheel completely explode. Here's a pic:
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usafdarkhorse
Posts: 148
Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2007 3:48 pm
Car: 1990 Honda NSX #382
1989 Nissan Skyline GT-R #2317
1972 Datsun 240Z
Location: Knoxville, TN / Akishima-shi, Japan

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If the compressor side DID have damage, then yes you'd find bits on the charge/IC side.

That looks pretty standard for an R32 turbocharger. Good luck on the rebuild.

equatorial
Posts: 38
Joined: Sat Jan 30, 2016 10:34 pm
Car: 1993 BNR32
Location: Japan

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Ouch. I haven't had my car for very long, but the previous owner said the turbos had metal guts. I knew the ceramic wheels were a weakness, but it seems like a strange thing to do when there weren't many other performance parts on it. I hope nothing like this happened to my car in the past.

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usafdarkhorse
Posts: 148
Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2007 3:48 pm
Car: 1990 Honda NSX #382
1989 Nissan Skyline GT-R #2317
1972 Datsun 240Z
Location: Knoxville, TN / Akishima-shi, Japan

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I'd be very suspect of that being the case and treat them like they're ceramic unless you can visually inspect or have valid (on paper) proof. Few people are going to go that far and leave everything else well enough alone.

MiamiR32
Posts: 46
Joined: Mon May 04, 2015 5:05 pm
Car: 1989 R32 GTR + 2014 Jetta

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I was suspect of what internals/turbos my GTR had. I've had the car at the shop since November 1st 2015 and its due to come out this weekend after a whole lot of upgrades and maintenance updates. I'll write up a review of what went on...but i took the downtime to do a teardown (inspection wise) of the car to see what we needed to focus on and take advantage while it was up on the lift.

Heim joints + tie rods needed to be replaced.
Steering rack boots
Front CV boots and axles regreased
Upgrading dump pipes (dual flow)
Upgrading manifolds
Stainless oil + water lines
N1 Billet turbo upgrades (rebuilds)

AND last but not least...this was KEY in my opinion...Haltech Pro Platinum ECU will be going in.

WIll post pics later this week as they come in.

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usafdarkhorse
Posts: 148
Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2007 3:48 pm
Car: 1990 Honda NSX #382
1989 Nissan Skyline GT-R #2317
1972 Datsun 240Z
Location: Knoxville, TN / Akishima-shi, Japan

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^See like that, most people aren't going to leave well enough alone if the turbos go with that opportunity to do a few other things, so I'd worry about the claim that they'd been replaced without anything else being done, equatorial.

With that Haltech, and rebuilt turbos, I'd suggest a few other things to go along if you can spare it since you won't be able to fully utilize them to their full potential.

-MAFs. The OE units come apart internally, and can be repaired, but they max out in the 400-450hp range and can give you some fits when they start to die like many things on this car. Z32TT MAFs with retrofitted pigtails have worked for a long time. The R35 MAFs in adapter pipes are getting more popular as well (what I have on my car) and they're upgradeable. Or just go MAP if you so desire and the Haltech has an associated sensor.
-Injectors. The 444cc units are prone to leaking, tired, and won't do for much above 400hp with max duty cycle even when new. Along with, the fuel pump can be prone to failure and should prob get swapped here at the 25 year point if you're aiming to push it harder.
-Clutch. You start getting above 400whp and the OE unit will start giving up the ghost if still installed.

How's the condition of the ignition peripherals? coilpacks, plugs, igniter, and harness? These can give you some serious fits too, and higher boost can blow out the spark of tired coils or mis-gapped plugs at higher RPM.

Just food for thought. Even if you're not after big power like you suggest, these will help it run much more reliably.

MiamiR32
Posts: 46
Joined: Mon May 04, 2015 5:05 pm
Car: 1989 R32 GTR + 2014 Jetta

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You're absolutely right on all of these but what caught me off guard is the MAFs. I'll have to dig deep into this to really understand the problem and the replacement options i have on these. If you've can take a deep dive into these and let me know some more in depth info that would be huge. :dblthumb:

Clutch was the first thing we did on the car 4 months ago. I have an Ogura Twin Plate un-sprung that we took out and put in a OS Giken twin plate sprung. The ORC is for sale but I can't seem to move it. Its like unobtanium here in the States so I'm going to replace the clutch packs and keep it as my backup.

The fuel pump and injectors are coming in next. Can't rely on a 25 year old pump and injectors anymore. Will be putting in a 400 or 450 Walbro and sourcing injectors as we speak. We're thinking of going E85 as well, really on depends on the package we put together.

I told the guys (to their lack of joy) that I'm not looking for 500hp+. I'm going for 350-400hp and that's about it for now. There's no race to the finish at this point ;)


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