Help: Looks like i've blown a turbo!

[Dr_Doom]

Or at least i'm 95% sure

 

Having just got my car back from its V161 conversion and being over the moon with finally having it running well, it appears that one of the turbos has let go. I was driving on boost when i heard a 'pop' noise and the car instantly lost power. There was no smoke coming from the exhaust. I assumed (hoped) it would be an intercooler hose or a vacuum pipe but i've double checked and can't see any that are split or disconnected. The car now won't boost above 0 bar. I can hear a faint spooling sound but nowhere near as loud as it was before. I've also checked the exhaust for any signs of ceramic blades but found nothing (the car is fully decated)

 

This afternoon i tried the temp TTC mod. I popped the bonnet after a quick drive and both actuators were still held open and they both closed when i pulled a vac hose off (which should rule out the pressure tank and vac hose leak). The car still wouldn't make positive boost though which i guess is almost conformation that one or both of the turbos are wrecked. Unless i'm missing something? Am i right in thinking when an intercooler hose pops off you can still hear the turbos spool but get no boost?

 

The car seems to drive ok despite the complete lack of boost (reminds me of the NA). The question is, will it be safe to drive providing i take it easy? The supra is my daily driver which i need to get to work etc. Is there risk of further damage driving with a blown turbo?

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Rob

[Matt H]

Am i right in thinking when an intercooler hose pops off you can still hear the turbos spool but get no boost?

 

That's what happened to me some moons ago. Defo still hear the whistle as long as the exhaust gasses are getting round.

 

Ah well bud, time to Single her up

[Dr_Doom]

Ah well bud, time to Single her up

 

I'd love to mate, but i've not got the funds at the moment to do a decent job as i'm in the process of moving into a house with the gf. If i was going single, it'd have to be the real deal, all or nothing! I also plan on having a second car for daily driving before the supra goes single

 

So it seems my options now are;

 

1. Second hand turbos (hard to find at the moment & risk that they will break)

2. Remove my blown ones and Hybrid them (costly & also a fair chance they will break, although from what i've read CR Turbos seem to have a good rep with members on here)

3. Go single (always been on the cards but as explained before not really feasible at the moment)

4. Brand new turbos from Toyota (Looking at the price & availability doesn't look like this is going to happen)

 

 

Any opinions on what I should do?

[Gaz6002]

Your best budget option is to fit some second-hand turbos and run them at acceptable (1.0 bar IMO) boost until you can afford to upgrade further.

[Matt H]

I'd love to mate, but i've not got the funds at the moment to do a decent job as i'm in the process of moving into a house with the gf. If i was going single, it'd have to be the real deal, all or nothing! I also plan on having a second car for daily driving before the supra goes single

 

So it seems my options now are;

 

1. Second hand turbos (hard to find at the moment & risk that they will break)

2. Remove my blown ones and Hybrid them (costly & also a fair chance they will break, although from what i've read CR Turbos seem to have a good rep with members on here)

3. Go single (always been on the cards but as explained before not really feasible at the moment)

4. Brand new turbos from Toyota (Looking at the price & availability doesn't look like this is going to happen)

 

 

Any opinions on what I should do?

 

Moving in with the GF! What happened to bro's before ho's?

 

Well there's probably no point in going for the hybrids if you're not going to do the other mods to get the most of them. Brand new turbos from Toyota sounds very, very pricey. It's a gamble, but I'd be looking at a set of second hand ones from as lower milage TT as pos. Might be worth having a look around at breakers or contact keron perhaps. I quess buying second hand turbos is no more of a risk that buying a second hand car (as long as you know where they came from).

 

(Another idea: buy a breaker; if you do, I'll return the favour and come round to help you strip the b0llocks out of it!)

[Dr_Doom]

Your best budget option is to fit some second-hand turbos and run them at acceptable (1.0 bar IMO) boost until you can afford to upgrade further.

 

I was thinking that, and possibly having a go at swapping them myself with the help of a mechanic mate.

 

Anyone know of any good second hand turbos going spare?

[Havard]

I was thinking that, and possibly having a go at swapping them myself with the help of a mechanic mate.

 

Anyone know of any good second hand turbos going spare?

 

How much are turbos these days, twins I mean?

 

H.

[Nic]

4. Brand new turbos from Toyota (Looking at the price & availability doesn't look like this is going to happen)

 

Availability of the J-spec turbos shouldn't be a problem, they are expensive though at £1K+ each.

[Dr_Doom]

Moving in with the GF! What happened to bro's before ho's?

 

I've held it off for over a year but looks like moving in together is inevitable lol! Should be in by Christmas all being well!

 

Availability of the J-spec turbos shouldn't be a problem, they are expensive though at £1K+ each.

 

I doubt brand new turbos is going to happen. I wish they weren't so bloody expensive It'd make more sense to put the 2-3k towards a single build.

 

 

 

Well there's probably no point in going for the hybrids if you're not going to do the other mods to get the most of them. Brand new turbos from Toyota sounds very, very pricey. It's a gamble, but I'd be looking at a set of second hand ones from as lower mileage TT as pos. Might be worth having a look around at breakers or contact keron perhaps. I quess buying second hand turbos is no more of a risk that buying a second hand car (as long as you know where they came from).

 

 

Hopefully i can drop on a set of decent-ish second hand turbos which should make it a cheapish fix for now. They seem to be getting harder to find though. If i can't find any i'll have to go for the hybrid route and run them at a sensible boost to make sure they last. There's lots of bad press with Hybrids but like a said, CR Turbos seem to have a good rep, tried and tested with a few members.

 

I'd considered a breaker, or even getting Jurgen to ship me over a complete low mileage engine with turbos but again it's just time and money. I don't want the car to be off the road for months if i can help it. You'll be first in line to help dismantle it if i did!

Edited November 1, 2010 by Dr_Doom (see edit history)

[Matt H]

You'll be first in line to help dismantle it if i did!

 

I'll bring the ratchet and some Halloween Cup Cakes! No bolt was spared on my old shell hey!

[Matt H]

I doubt brand new turbos is going to happen. I wish they weren't so bloody expensive It'd make more sense to put the 2-3k towards a single build.

 

That's what pushed my route towards a single after my second engine bang.

[Dr_Doom]

How much are turbos these days, twins I mean?

 

H.

 

For a pair;

 

New 2-3K

 

2nd Hand - £200 - £300 depending on condition and mileage (looking at past 'for sale' threads)

[Havard]

For a pair;

 

New 2-3K

 

2nd Hand - £200 - £300 depending on condition and mileage (looking at past 'for sale' threads)

 

What a bummer, surely you won't have damaged both at the same time though?

 

H.

[Dr_Doom]

What a bummer, surely you won't have damaged both at the same time though?

 

H.

 

I'm not ruling it out tbh. I think it's my first turbo that's gone as i'm getting no boost at all. The blades could have gone through the 2nd turbo and also damaged that.

 

I think it'd be madness to just replace with 1 new one. Imagine spending 1K+ on a new turbo only for the other one to break a month or two later and in the process take out the new one!

[Scott]

It's very strange that you aren't getting any boost at all. Normally only 1 of the turbo's goes but it sounds like either both have gone, or one of the actuators is stuck open.

 

Have you checked the large main actuator in between the 2 turbos at the drivers side? When my 2nd turbo went pop that was stuck open. I gave it a gentle push and it sprang back into place. From there I had boost from the first turbo but as soon as the change should have happened all the boost was lost (as my 2nd turbo had no turbine the pressure tubby 1 was producing just flew out past tubby 2 lol).

 

Best case scenario this actuator is stuck open and tubby 1's pressure is just flying past tubby 2's turbine. Worst case scenario you have cooked both tubbys.

 

Oh, one last thing. Be very careful when checking the intercooler pipes. Don't miss any of the joins under the battery/headlight as they are the most common places for them to pop.

[bondango]

If stock intercooler, make sure it has'nt Split, also, check the BOV is ok (you can temporaily block of the feed and return ports and run with out one.

 

Defo check all the IC pipes/joiners/Clips etc etc too,

[Swampy442]

As above mate, dont start panicing just yet, check all your hoses from turbos to inlet first.

[Dr_Doom]

Thanks for the advice guys

 

The actuator between the turbos seems to be working fine as it was opening & closing when i did the TTC mod earlier. There is a quiet spooling sound and the car is making boost up to 0bar maybe a tiny bit over but that's as high as it goes. I'd say 0.2bar max going off the boost gauge reading.

 

The car has a FMIC fitted with hard pipes and Mikalor clamps. I've had a good look at the joins but doesn't look like any have popped off. I'm wondered whether one of the silicon couplers had split but it seems doubtful. The car also has a HKS SSQV BOV and that looks fine.

 

With the bonnet open and the engine running, i can't hear any hissing and i have to rev the car quite hard to get a tiny woosh out of the BOV.

 

It's not looking promising at the moment!

[SaqTRD]

It doesnt sound like a dodgey turbo to me. I've heard both a turbo with fudged bearings and one with the exhaust side shot through the exhaust system

 

If it were the bearing, you would be able to tell by the sound of it straight away. Is VERY different and very loud. So loud that you would hear it whilst reving it at idle.

 

And if the exhaust side had shot off the turbo, it would be smoking like hell as all the oil from the turbo would be pissing into the exhaust.

 

In my opinion its a split in a hose as this causes the turbos to sound a little different and cause no boost.

[Scott]

I never heard a thing when mine went. No noticeable difference in note or volume.

[Swampy442]

Thanks for the advice guys

 

There is a quiet spooling sound and the car is making boost up to 0bar maybe a tiny bit over but that's as high as it goes. I'd say 0.2bar max going off the boost gauge reading.

 

With the bonnet open and the engine running, i can't hear any hissing and i have to rev the car quite hard to get a tiny woosh out of the BOV.

 

It's not looking promising at the moment!

 

If youre making boost then at least 1 turbo is working fine, and you wont be able to get much boost at all while revving it, youll need to get it under load

The best person to talk to about this is Wallis, Matts car fired a turbine down the exhaust so he can tell you exactly what to expect

[Dr_Doom]

I'll try and pressure test the intercooler & hard pipes just to make sure there are no leaks anywhere. I remember reading somewhere that you can use a baked bean can to block up one end of the intercooler piping and then the same on the other end with a tyre valve attached to it. Anyone tried this or got any better methods?

 

When driving and under load, that's when it just creeps over 0bar on the boost gauge.

 

The cars exhaust is now a lot louder at idle. Exactly the same as when you run your car in TTC mode, i'm not sure if this means anything?

 

Also, does anyone know what the symptoms of a faulty wastegate actuator are? Would this cause the same problems if it was stuck, or broken?

 

thanks.

[TLicense]

I recon it's a hose popped or split somewhere.

You may have already done so, but have you checked the hoses that go to the intercooler? You'll need to remove the drivers side inner arch liner to do so properly.

 

The baked bean can trick is a Griffith special that was perfected on my car with the Blitz Twin Kit on. It won't work exactly the same on yours as you have the stock turbo's, but if you pull the inlet filter box off you may be able to blank off the inlet hose with a suitably sized bung with a tyre valve fitted to it to pressurise the system. Don't go mad at it though as you'll be spinning the turbo's up a good 'un with no oil running through them.

[Dr_Doom]

I've got a baked bean can and a tyre valve so i'll have a go at making something tomorrow at work. Then i'll try and test it when i get home.

 

Thanks for everyones help so far, i won't go dismantling the turbos just yet (although i have read through your guide about 20 times already Tony, in preperation! )

[Matt H]

I've got a baked bean can and a tyre valve so i'll have a go at making something tomorrow at work. Then i'll try and test it when i get home.

 

Looks like the kids have another build challenge on today then!