What could be the cause of 3 failed turbos?
Discussion
I have an impreza STi twin scroll with a roller bearing vf36 turbo.
When the previous owner bought the car it had to have a replacement turbo as it was becoming whiney and sounded like a police siren.
He drove the car with a knackered radiator and overheated it cooking the head gaskets. I bought the car had the head gaskets replaced heads skimmed etc and the whining started to become noticeable again. I sent the turbo off to be replaced and after 1k miles it has started becoming noisy again..grrrrr. The turbo has not lost any power and holds boost at 1.4bar no problem but is getting noisier and noisier.
The turbo refurbisher has suggested to check that it has the correct restrictor in the oil feed. I have had the turbo removed and will send it back to him along with the banjo bolt with the restrictor attached. The turbo is getting lots of oil so I am not confident this is the problem.
Anyone come across this before? Any ideas what might be the problem if the restrictor is correct? It is becoming an expensive issue and I dont want to just get it refurbed again and try my luck with no actual resolution.
Any suggestions or help appreciated. Thanks
When the previous owner bought the car it had to have a replacement turbo as it was becoming whiney and sounded like a police siren.
He drove the car with a knackered radiator and overheated it cooking the head gaskets. I bought the car had the head gaskets replaced heads skimmed etc and the whining started to become noticeable again. I sent the turbo off to be replaced and after 1k miles it has started becoming noisy again..grrrrr. The turbo has not lost any power and holds boost at 1.4bar no problem but is getting noisier and noisier.
The turbo refurbisher has suggested to check that it has the correct restrictor in the oil feed. I have had the turbo removed and will send it back to him along with the banjo bolt with the restrictor attached. The turbo is getting lots of oil so I am not confident this is the problem.
Anyone come across this before? Any ideas what might be the problem if the restrictor is correct? It is becoming an expensive issue and I dont want to just get it refurbed again and try my luck with no actual resolution.
Any suggestions or help appreciated. Thanks
enginebuilder said:
If it is getting oil as you stated, making sure the little banjo bolt filter in the avc's oil feed supply to the turbo is clean & fitted the correct way round, the other common thing I find is the turbo when all bolted down is distorted, caused by ill fitted or distorted up pipe & support brackets, or the casing actually in contact with the gearbox / engine mating faces.
Will be getting the banjo checked when the turbo goes back for another rebuild. Thanks for the suggestions will look out for these.320d is all you need said:
Is there any damage to the compressor wheel, or is it just the bearing assembly? I presume oil feed is replaced as well as full oil change on installation of new turbo?
Also, who is doing the turbo rebuilds, is it a quality shop using quality bearings or a cheap shop using cheap bearings?
Fastline turbos is doing the rebuilds. I haven't found anyone else that rebuilds these turbos. At £750 I don't think it was a particularly cheap repair. Was silent when i got it back.Also, who is doing the turbo rebuilds, is it a quality shop using quality bearings or a cheap shop using cheap bearings?
chrisch77 said:
Disclaimer - I know nothing about a typical Subaru turbo setup!
But if you are confident that the oil supply is 'correct' then I would be wanting to check how the oil returns from the turbo. No good feeding oil in if it can't get out as this will not allow the heat to be dissipated.
Another question is what happens when you turn the engine off, is there any provision for an electric pump on the oil system to continue circulating oil to mitigate heat soak in the turbo? Do you let the engine idle for a while after a run or switch it off straight after a thrash?
No turbo timer but I always leave it idling for a minute or 2 at least after a decent drive.But if you are confident that the oil supply is 'correct' then I would be wanting to check how the oil returns from the turbo. No good feeding oil in if it can't get out as this will not allow the heat to be dissipated.
Another question is what happens when you turn the engine off, is there any provision for an electric pump on the oil system to continue circulating oil to mitigate heat soak in the turbo? Do you let the engine idle for a while after a run or switch it off straight after a thrash?
Will also be checking the return. Thanks
320d is all you need said:
I've owned 4 turbo charged cars and never had a turbo fail.
While I don't rag it to my parking spot and switch it off, I don't sit there for 5 minutes idling after driving either. Never had an issue so far.
Good for you. I also own 2 other turbo cars and have had 15 others previously. This is the only one I have had any issue with a turbo. While I don't rag it to my parking spot and switch it off, I don't sit there for 5 minutes idling after driving either. Never had an issue so far.
Nobody mentioned sitting idling for 5 mins.
TEKNOPUG said:
Idling is no good as there is no airflow through the car. You are actually increasing the heat soak. You need to back off the boost and drive gently for the last few miles of your journey.
However, I doubt that this is the reason your turbo is failing. It will be an oil supply/flow issue providing everything had been rebuit and fitted correctly.
Of course idling is good practice, it keeps oil circulating and stops the turbo drying out at high temps. It is why there is a a sticker on the door saying "after highway driving leave to idle for 2minutes" on Subarus. However, I doubt that this is the reason your turbo is failing. It will be an oil supply/flow issue providing everything had been rebuit and fitted correctly.
Of course a slow cool down whilst moving is ideal but not always possible, such as traffic or track days
MDMA . said:
Who is re-fitting it after it comes back? 100% sure that new oil feed pipes are fitted with new banjo bolts and copper washers?
You also started it up just for a few seconds at first, no revs. Then after checking all is ok let it idle until oil is up to temp?
The same guy that does most of my mechanical work. New oil feed and return pipes are not fitted as these are rigid metal pipes and are clear. New washers are fitted but the banjo is original, it is just a bolt with a hole so can't really fail.You also started it up just for a few seconds at first, no revs. Then after checking all is ok let it idle until oil is up to temp?
Yea is it idled to check for leaks before any revs. Everything seems to be pointing towards the turbo being at fault.
HSV_V8 said:
The VF36 can be quite a noisy turbo, it is specific to the Spec C cars with titanium shaft/turbine and roller bearing, the STI twinscroll runs the VF37. If it's running more boost than stock this could make it more noticeable maybe? I know I've asked the same question to TDR and they said it was completely normal to have this extra noise on boost.
Unfortunately it got louder and louder and was making a noise at idle and off boost. It was very quiet at first.
The wheel looks mint, zero play in the shaft but the bearings are noisy whe you spin it. It is being dropped off with the refurbisher today.
Edited by anonymous-user on Saturday 10th October 09:13
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