turbos grind nuts

BMFB

BMFB

Not to scale
So, I had a small issue with my 20G, I decided to pull it off and put on my stock, never touched 17c, and drive it around a bit. Everything seems great.

I got in this race with a friend of mine in a cobalt ss on the freeway...and I was all you know, whoopin his ass until about 110 when the truck bucked a bit and I let off. When I did that the truck backfired once really, really loud, something its never done before. I looked behind me and I could sort of see the guys HID's through the new smoke screen the truck was emitting. I pulled over and kinda let it idle for a second to listiong to it, and the motor sounded fine, no new ticks or bangs or anything, oil pressure was still good. I had it towed home and pulled the turbo off.

The nut off of the turbo is missing...like, completely. When it left the turbo it kinda ground a bit on the front of the compressor wheel, and then the compressor wheel kinda came off of the shaft and the exhaust wheel ejaculated back into the side of the exhaust housing and ground itself into...less of an exhaust wheel. I looked in the intercooler, and it still looks brand new, no pieces of anything in it, no gouges, nothing. Theres a light coating of ground metal on the inside of the hot pipe, but thats about the only trace I am seeing. I was really expecting to see a but somewhere, only thing I can figure is maybe it never made it farther into the motor and it was in the elbow when I took the air filter off. I am contemplating just rebuilding the 20 g and seeing how it goes. From what I can see nothing but dust made it into the motor, what do you guys suggest, you think its worth tearing the top of the motor off to look at it? or do you think the short burst of dust has done whatever damage its going to do and is probably ok? I am at least going to clean out the intercooler...

just looking for ideas
 
randy merritt

randy merritt

Donating Member
Re: turbos grind nuts

smoke = no good. try a compression test before pulling heads. Hopefully it won't end up like mine did:lol:
 
randy merritt

randy merritt

Donating Member
Re: turbos grind nuts

after my "incident" mine would idle fine, even run under boost, but the smoke was there. mine was a melted piston. check for blow by also, that is easy to verify. if it blows smoke out of oil fill = problems.
 
BMFB

BMFB

Not to scale
Re: turbos grind nuts

I checked for blow by and that seems fine, I think the zone rents those scopes to look into the motor, that wouldn't be a bad idea. I know at least one source of smoke would have been the turbo. the exhaust wheel popped out of the center housing, which means the oil seal 'snap ring' was no longer there at all, and it was just dumping oil out of the back (prolly out of the front too)
 
Aeroking

Aeroking

e.i.
Re: turbos grind nuts

blew the turbo up. i believe you can buy a new/rebuilt center section (cartridge) assembled. I had a turbo blowup, both the wheels were hitting both housings, i ruined the oil seals and rings on the turbo. Engine ran fine, but it would pour out white smoke from the exhaust.

Have it redone asap, cause the material ground off the wheels causes them to be out of balance, and it will just destroy more stuff in the turbo.
 
BMFB

BMFB

Not to scale
Re: turbos grind nuts

oh I pulled it off after about 15 seconds of it running like that. I am taking it to get rebalanced today, Ill buy a rebuild kit and rebuild the 20G tonight, and check out the cylinder walls. if all is good, ill give it hell, might even make it to the meeting this weekend
 
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