The most common turbo failures
Use of liquid gasket
REASON: Excess of liquid seal in the oil inlet. Makes the seal fluid enters in the oil conduct, plugging the lubrication hole of the thrust bearing.
CHECK OUT: Remove the liquid seal. Never use it again.
SYMPTOMS: The turbo breaks down as there is a lack of grease and oil lost.
OBSERVATIONS: The use of liquid gaskets is absolutely discouraged (banned) because it causes breakdowns. At the oil inlet, when tighten the flange, the seal liquid goes into the turbo, obstructing and plugging the oil holes. The same can happen in the exhaust port of the oil.
Overheat. I
REASON: High temperatures in the shaft make the oil boils, carbonizing it. The overheating is usually due to excessive speed in the turbo rotor.
CHECK OUT: Verify that the viscosity and type of oil are suitable for the working conditions of our turbo. Also check that there is no contamination with water or fuel and additives that decompose the oil have not been added.
OBSERVATIONS: The overheating can be due to different reasons:
- The turbo is not adequate for our application.
- In case the pass over the turbine housing has been changed, to a smaller size, for example from 0.86 to 0.64.
- The turbo valve don’t work and don't cut the breath on time, producing excess of breath and over revolutions (increasing the temperature).
- When the turbo is liquid-cooled this cooling doesn't work.
Overheat. II
REASON: Excessive speed causes the turbine head is heated above the temperature at which it was designed. It could even lose the tip of the blades.
CHECK OUT:
- Verify the turbo is right for our application.
- Verify the pass over the turbine housing has not been changed.
- Verify the turbo valve works properly. If the turbo valve don’t work and don't cut the breath on time, there will be an excess of breath and over revolutions.
OBSERVATIONS: In this situations the turbine wheel shows an orange color and sometimes can even lose the tip of the blades. To distinguish this type of breakage from those produced by the swallowing of a strange body, be aware that in this situations the breakage is symetric and the broken areas seem to be melted, meanwhile in the case of breakages by swallowing a strange body the breakage is asymetric and there are points of breakage bent and with cutting edges.
Overheat in the exhaust
REASON: The injection is not ready, obstruction on the air filter or the intercooler.
CHECK OUT: Injection, air filter, intercooler or the conducts.
OBSERVATIONS: The overheat in the exhaust causes the cracking and deformation in the turbine housing. This can cause that some particles are released and hit the shaft breaking it, or when the interior of the turbine housing is deformed the turbine hits the housing and it is destroyed (don’t forget that the turbo rotor can reach 200.000 rpm.)
Lack of grease (deficient lubrification)
REASON: Several reasons are probable:
- Lack of oil in the engine a cause of a break down (carter breakage, lack of maintenance, etc.)
- Breakage or obstruction of the hose that delivers the oil to the turbo.
- Displacement of the gaskets that obstruct the oil inlet.
- Use of liquid gaskets that obstruct the oil inlet when solid (the use of liquid gaskets is forbidden and invalidates the guaranty of any manufacturer).
- Chemical contamination, which is not visible, can also produce those break downs. The most common break down is caused by the mix of water or petrol with oil.
CHECK OUT:
- The level and viscosity of the oil is accurate.
- The turbo inlet and oil hoses.
- The situation and placement of the gaskets.
- The oil pump works and provides a proper oil pressure.
- That there are no leakages in the water conductions that communicate water with oil.
SYMPTOMS: The engine loses power and delivers black smoke. The turbo can do a lot of noise and the turbine can get red due to overheat when touches the exhaust.
OBSERVATIONS: When the oil pump fails, there is a lack of lubrification or the oil viscosity descends, the turbo is the first to fail as it is the most delicate component of the engine. Nowadays the turbos of the passenger cars reach up to 200.000 r.p.m., which means the turbo without oil would be destroyed.
Impurities in the oil
REASON: Solid remains in the oil (cinders, metal chips, residues of solidified liquid seals, etc.)
CHECK OUT:
- Oil
- Oil filter
- Oil pipes
- Carter
- Verify the oil hoses are not obstructed. Both intake and return.
OBSERVATIONS:
- This brakedown can be originated for the contamination of the oil. Both for not having changed the oil on time as for being deteriorated because it is a bad quality oil or having work under temperature conditions for which as not been designed.
- It can also take place if we have had an engine brakedown and we haven’t clean properly the carter from shavings or metal chips from the broken parts.
- In some engines the turbo grease hose goes very close from the exhaust manifold and any slight movement of the hose makes it touch or being very close to the manifold. The oil temperature is very high at that point and the oil can be also carbonized. When that happens, first of all the current of oil gets slightly blocked and in some cases gets totally blocked
Swallowing a foreign object by the exhaust. I
REASON: Swallowing a foreign object by the turbine housing (valve, piston debris, valve stem, exhaust manifold debris, etc.)
CHECK OUT:
- Valves
- Valve seats
- Pistons
- Exhaust manifold
- Etc.
OBSERVATIONS: This brakedown takes place when a valve or piston breaks. Also when there is a debris break off from the interior walls of the manifold, or the manifold has been welded and the remainings of the welded have not been removed and with engine vibration breaks off and hits the turbine.
Swallowing a foreign object by the exhaust. II
REASON: Engine piston break.
CHECK OUT: Pistons and exhaust manifold.
SYMPTOMS:
- Lack of power
- Engine failure and lost of oil
- The exhaust manifold and the turbine housing get upholstered on melted aluminium.
OBSERVATIONS: While fixing the engine and the turbo, clean or replace the exhaust manifold to prevent them from aluminium debris. If we don’t erase the aluminium from the exhaust manifold when we start the engine again this debris will melt with the engine heat and will hit the exhaust turbine.
Swallowing a foreign object by the exhaust. III
REASON: Swallowing by the entrance of the turbine housing the stem of a valve.
CHECK OUT: Valves and the valve seats.
SYMPTOMS: Lack of power and engine failures.
OBSERVATIONS: When the turbo and the valves have been fixed, check out that there is no debris in the exhaust manifold or in any place, because it could come off when we start the engine and brake down the turbo again.
Swallowing a foreign object by the exhaust. IV
REASON: Engine piston break.
CHECK OUT: Pistons and exhaust manifold.
SYMPTOMS:
- Lack of power.
- Engine failure.
- Lost of oil.
- The exhaust manifold and the turbine housing get upholstered on melted aluminium.
OBSERVATIONS: While fixing the engine and the turbo, clean or replace the exhaust manifold to prevent them from aluminium debris. If we don’t erase the aluminium from the exhaust manifold when we start the engine again this debris will melt with the engine heat and will hit the exhaust turbine.
Swallowing a foreign object by the intake
REASON: Swallowing a big foreign object by the intake (metal washer, nut, etc.)
CHECK OUT: Air filter, intake conducts, hoses y clamps.
OBSERVATIONS: This failure takes place usually when we change the air filter, any tube or the turbo and during that operation we forget or lose a washer or a nut in the intake conducts. This failure can happen also when a clamp of the hoses is loose and there is a swallowing of gravel or similar from the road.
Swallowing dust, sand or salt by the intake
REASON: Swallowing dust, sand or salt by the intake (spread in Winter to melt the snow and ice) due to:
- Broken filter, its absence or bad operation.
- Clamp loose.
- Rolled hose.
CHECK OUT: Filters, hoses and their clamps.
SYMPTOMS: The engine loses power and overheats.
OBSERVATIONS: Following strictly the reviews recommended by the manufacturer.
The valve doesn’t work (pneumatic/electronic wastegate)
REASON: Breakage of the hose that provides pressure to the valve.
CHECK OUT:
- Verify the hose don’t touch any part of the engine (in case the hose touch it this area will overheat and deform, breaking the hose).
- Verify the hose clamps haven’t cut the hose.
SYMPTOMS: The engine has more power at higher revolutions because the valve doesn’t stop the breath from the turbo and there is danger of engine breakdown.
OBSERVATIONS: This breakage can be produced when we work on the engine without the due diligence. Also when we forget to place the hose after checking out the operation of the valve. When we work on the engine always do all the operations with the maximum diligence to avoid failures a cause of our own action.
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