These are some of the most Common Causes Of Turbo Failure

1. HARD DRIVING IMMEDIATELY ON STARTUP The engine has not built up enough oil pressure to properly lubricate the turbocharger. 2. SHUTTING OFF THE ENGINE IMMEDIATELY AFTER DRIVING The turbo is extremely hot and still spinning with no oil to lubricate the bushings and dissipate the heat. 3. LACK OF OIL, OR DIRTY OIL Without oil, the entire engine will fail. Dirty oil will carry debris (metal slivers, carbon pieces) into the turbo bushings. 4. SHRAPNEL IN THE MANIFOLDS Pieces of valves, rings, pistons and even coked oil will destroy the turbine and / or compressor wheels when contact is made at high RPM. 5. PRESSURIZING THE TURBOCHARGER A dirty air filter, clogged catalytic convertor or damaged exhaust system can cause a failure. An internally damaged engine will pressurize, preventing the oil from draining out of the turbocharger.

Troubleshooting the Turbocharger

1. LOSS IN ENGINE POWER - LITTLE OR NO BOOST o Damaged WASTEGATE ACTUATOR......................Replace actuator o WASTEGATE lever broken........................................Replace housing o Intake Ducting Loose/Damaged...................................Repair or replace o Exhaust Manifold Leak................................................Repair or replace o TURBO - Exhaust Manifold Leak.....................Replace gasket/machine o TURBO Compressor Seal Damaged................Replace turbo or CHRA* 2. EXCESSIVE EXHAUST SMOKE o Clogged Air Filter.........................................................Replace air filter o Clogged Catalytic Convertor.........................Replace catalytic convertor o TURBO Drain Tube Plugged............................Replace turbo or CHRA* o Compressor Seal Damaged..............................Replace turbo or CHRA* o TURBO Piston Ring Seal Damaged..................Replace turbo or CHRA* 3. TURBOCHARGER NOISE

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Intake System Leak.............................Inspect ducting, tighten fasteners Obstruction in Inlet..................................................Inspect and remove Exhaust System Leak................................Inspect and repair or replace Turbine Wheel Rub.........................................Replace turbo or CHRA*

* CHRA = Center Housing Rotating Assembly (the middle part with a fan on each side and all the guts inside.)

Before You Order A Replacement Unit --HINTS

Due to the make-up of turbocharger exhaust housings and bearing housings, they must not be welded with cast iron rods. Only a high nickel content rod will stick to the turbo or exhaust manifold. A cast iron weld will slip off when exposed to the heat and subsequent expansion and contraction rates of the dissimilar metals. This usually results in a piece of weld entering the turbine wheel which is rotating at 100,000 RPM. In most cases the turbo will be completely destroyed. When a turbo fails, always presume the engine to be responsible. The failure could be caused by a damaged head gasket, damaged valvetrain, cracked head, reciprocating assembly problems or even a plugged catalytic convertor. CYLINDER LEAK DOWN TEST. This test will accurately qualify the integrity of all of the cylinders. If the cylinder will not hold pressure... the escaping air will confirm which component is damaged. Fortunately, regardless of the damage to the turbo, we have the complete factory replacements or the individual parts to make the necessary repair.

Before You Order a New Turbocharger

Turbochargers are quite expensive components. The time to remove and replace a turbo is sometimes quite long. Therefore, prior to refitting a replacement turbo after the original one failed you must first confirm the engine is functionally and mechanically sound in order for the turbo to perform. The vast majority of turbo

failures are directly caused by a damaged engine! Here are the confirmation procedures. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Base ignition timing or injection... is it correct? Air filter condition and associated pipework... is it clean and sound? Spark plug or Injector condition... fuel, oil, carbon residue? Coolant level, oil level... are they at the proper levels and clean? Cylinder leak down test... qualify each cylinder! Exhaust system... Pipes bent or crushed?

7. Qualify the engine. It doesn't make sense to put a replacement or new turbo onto a engine without carrying out an investigation to identify the original cause of failure and subsequently rectify as necessary. The engine will only damage the replacement or new turbo and usually within the first 10 minutes of operation! Expensive! 8. In many instances we have diagnosed engine problems without ever leaving the Plant or actually seeing the turbocharger. If you can provide the answers to our questions, we can normally assist you with the base diagnostics. Unfortunately we do not normally offer a remove and refit service unless absolutely necessary. We only sell replacement Automotive, Industrial and Marine turbos and also the parts to fix them. This diagnostic help is just part of the Service, and we are here to help. 9. 10.

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Correct Installation

BASIC RULES FOR CORRECTLY INSTALLING A NEW OR REPLACEMENT TURBOCHARGER: 1. Make any and all repairs that the engine requires. 2. Replace or thoroughly clean the oil supply line. ( oil inlet pipe ) 3. Replace or thoroughly clean the oil drain line / tube. 4. Change lube oil using only TURBO APPROVED ( SG/CD ) motor oil. 5. Pre-oil and prime the new turbo immediately before first startup. 6. Use a new lube oil filter and air filter. 7. Check all hoses and clips for signs of aging and replace as necessary. 8. Carefully install the new turbo to the correct torques (See OEM Spec.). 9. Do not attach the oil drain to the bottom of the turbo yet. 10. Do not attach the catalytic convertor yet (if fitted).

11. Disable the ignition (petrol) or engine stop in the off position (diesel)
YOU ARE NOW READY TO BEGIN PROPER RUN-IN OF THE TURBO:

12. Turn the engine over until a steady stream of oil exits the turbo. It must be a steady stream; dripping or spitting is not good enough! 13. Reconnect the ignition system or stop lever and the oil drain pipe in preparation for startup. 14. Start the engine and allow it to idle at factory specified RPM. Do not rev the engine. 15. Examine all mating surfaces, gaskets, and any connection point to qualify correct sealing and torque values. Adjust as required. 16. Allow the engine to idle for 10 to 20 minutes. The journal and thrust bushings will seat faster and better without the back-pressure created by the catalytic convertor, especially if the convertor is loaded with oil from the failure of the first turbocharger. 17. After idling for 10 to 20 minutes and getting to normal operating temperature, test drive the vehicle. If you hear a scraping, grinding or whistling noise...Shut The Engine Down Immediately! Find out why the noise is there.

Safety and Considerations

Basic Turbocharger Warnings PERSONAL INJURY MAY RESULT IF THE TURBO INLET DUCTING IS NOT PROPERLY ATTACHED TO THE TURBO AIR INTAKE ORIFICE AND THE AIR FILTER ASSEMBLY. PERSONAL INJURY MAY RESULT IF THE OIL FILTER ASSEMBLY IS NOT SECURELY FASTENED IN PLACE. Foreign objects ( including fingers ) may be sucked into the rotating compressor wheel. Bolts, rags etc. will destroy the aluminum compressor wheel in seconds.

NEVER USE RTV / SILICONE, TEFLON OR ANY OTHER THREAD OR GASKET SEALANT ON A TURBOCHARGER ASSEMBLY OR ASSOCIATED PLUMBING!

This material will always end up inside the turbocharger and will prevent proper oil flow to the bushing assemblies causing almost instant failure.

WHEN THE OIL INLET LINE IS FIRST REMOVED FROM A DAMAGED TURBO, CHECK ( AT THE TURBO END ) FOR AN ORIFICE FITTING. THIS FITTING IS THERE TO REDUCE THE VOLUME OF OIL ENTERING THE TURBO. Too much oil is just as bad as not enough oil. The turbo seals will not be able to handle the overload of oil.

IF YOU DROP A NUT, BOLT OR WASHER... FIND IT! Things like this do not disappear. If you can't quickly locate the dropped part, it is in the turbo. Find it, or you may destroy the turbocharger!