Turbocharger

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BryanH

Member
Posts
40
Location
Kent
Getting a squeal from the turbocharger on initial acceleration. Not gaskets (checked), mechanic says thinks turbo 'fan' bearing. Anybody any experience of this? Does it mean a new turbocharger?
 
i had this happen on the fourtrak, if u ignore it the "fan" will eventually wobble inside the housing as the bearing holds the shaft it rides on, it can then hit the housing at some insane speed, thus destroying itself.

Easy way to check if the bearing is shot, with a COLD engine and the Battery disconnected (just to make sure no one fires it up while u have your fingers in the turbo) take of the pipe from the intercooler that feeds the turbo, stick your fingers in until u can feel the end of the shaft that the fan sits on and give it a wobble. If it moves alot the bearings had it and the turbo needs reconditioning!

ID make sure it is defo the turbo bearing and then find out WHY its failed if it is.
 
Also make sure it is the turbo bearings, and not the fan belt squealing on the pulleys.

You can find this out by spraying the belt with a little WD40 as you start it up. The belt will neither squeal nor slip. If your noise doesn't happen, it was the belt. If the noise does happen it probably isn't the belt.

I think it is extremely unusual to hear a turbo bearing squealing, and I would worry that if the noise is from the turbo that it is actually the compressor impeller touching the insides of the casing as it speeds up. The exhaust turbine wheel is almost certainly not going to be able to hit the casing.

Check the play on the inlet end of the turbo - you can turn the impeller if you like, and it should have "barely perceptible" movement on the bearing. If it has more than a tiny amount of play, fix it quick!

Turbo repair kit job ... easy.

CharlesY
 
Thanks for that. Turbo repair kit - is this a main dealer part? So far all I've been offered is a new (or recon) turbo-charger.
 
What make turbo?

I have a Garret kit here, for the T2/25 Turbo.
The Garret part number is 709143-001.

It is dead easy to do the job, and the kit even includes new set-screws to hold the turbine casing on to the body.

CharlesY
 
Spoken to garage who are due to service vehicle Tuesday. They will check play in bearing and any indication of scraping on inside of casing. They are also going to check again for any split pipes or leakage from gaskets (we had that last year). They are however very sceptical about repair kit "never tried it - always replace with exchange turbo - if we do it it's down to you if it don't work!" I've identified where I can get the kit locally (Kent) - how easy is it? I'm reasonably mechanical (stripped and rebuilt BMW & Volvo engines in the - distant - past).
 
They are however very sceptical about repair kit "never tried it - always replace with exchange turbo - if we do it it's down to you if it don't work!"

WTF do they think an 'exchange turbo' is? It's an old knackered one with a good spindle that someone else has put the repair kit in :rolleyes:

Doing it yourself is a very distinct option, speshly if you've rebuilt engines in the past. Due to the high rpms the impeller spindle reaches, the utmost cleanliness is paramount unless you want to be doing it all again in short order ;)
 
Adz pointed out .... WTF do they think an 'exchange turbo' is? It's an old knackered one with a good spindle that someone else has put the repair kit in!

They are incredibly simple devices!

The Garret T2/25 for instance has ONE moving part!
That's a skinny little three-inch shaft just bigger than the fatness of a pencil, with a little wheel with blades on each end.

The shaft runs in four little plain bearings.

The repair kit contains
4 ssmall plain bearings,
1 shaft nut
three small screws and some circlips
1 labyrynth oil seal (just a metal thing that slips on the shaft)
5 rubber O-rings and a C-shaped metal plate for holding bits in place
2 steel semi-circular plates for clamping the hot end to the body, and 4 bolts.

That's about it, apart from the instruction sheet.

I think these kits cost about £40 to £50.
What does an excahnge turbo cost?

Doing a turbo is probably one of the least difficult jobs, but after you've done it and it works, everyone thinks you are a genius!

CHarlesY
 
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