TNathe

Here's the short guys, Im in need of some desperate diagnostic help. I have a KA24DET running a Turbonetics T3/T04e. I have just burned up my 2nd brand new turbo and did this within one week of installing it. Turbonetics runs a filter at the oil inlet of the housing, i have a -3AN SS oil feed line feeding the housing which get oil from a t-fitting off of a t-fitting <--- could THAT be starving the turbo (oil pressure off the first t-fitting reads around 25 at idle to 80+). BTW, my drain tube is ~ 1 inch (plenty big) and its not kinked in ANY way. Please help, they are warranting the turbo AGAIN but im tired of this and cant keep having my car down for long periods of time, something is wrong with my setup. If needed I can post pics.

PS: Does anyone know the MAXIMUM degree of angle you can have a turbo 'clocked' before you run into oil issues? I though in Maximum Boost it was like 15* or 30*

manifoldmike

you could be starving the turbo with your fittings. i usually use one of these instead of brass t's:



1' oil drain should be totally fine. -10an line is only .625 and that is the largest i usually go with.

i wouldn't go over 20 degrees with the return line, but that doesn't sound like your problem.

are you running a restrictor too?
what is happening exactly?
is it blowing smoke?
does it lock up after a while? how long did it take to lock up?
is it ball bearing?

TNathe

thanks for the reply man. The turbo is getting shaft play then the compressor wheel begins rubbing the housing. Didnt smoke. This happens in about a week or so...

Is there a good way to test the flow of oil coming to the turbo? Like pull the drain line from the oil pan and run the car for a about 10 seconds and measure the amount it dumped???

Thanks, ill have to look into those GReddy adapter dealios.

manifoldmike

a couple things cause shaft play.

if your running on the surge line (which sounds like your turbo isn't that big, so thats probably not a problem. unless your running a t3/t67 or somthing)

no bov or non working bov which would cause compressor surge. this shouldn't wear a turbo that fast, however coupled with low oil pressure, it could be your problem. if your not sure what compressor surge sounds like, rev your engine up and on the decel it will sound like a pulsing hiss. a properly working bov sounds like a woosh of air or star wars (god damn hks).

low oil pressure is the most obvious.

reason i don't think its your drain line is because its not smoking like a banshi. usually if a drain line is kinked or too small, the turbo will smoke. thats about it though, it won't cause shaft play.

first step is to check oil pressure. if you don't have a gauge, look in the mirror and slap yourself, they can be had for under $50 and is the most important gauge you can get.

if you already do have a gauge make sure that your running more then 10 psi at idle and over 30psi while cruising. thats all a turbo needs to last. if you are running numbers close or below that, you probably need a new oil pump and probably an engine.

take off your feed line and whatever you have and check for obstructions. easy way to clear things out of the line is with some brake clean followed by some compressed air.

if your oil line is good, check the oil pressure at the feed line. this can be done with an actual oil pressure diagnostic gauge or you can build an apparatis at le home depot. my bet is that this is where your problem is.

if all of the above is good. check back. i'll put my thinking cap on in the mean time.

FLNeonRT

Some good trouble shooting there. Nice job.

TNathe

yes, great troublshooting info, HOWEVER, in my post you will see that I posted my oil pressure readings and no, I'm not compressor surging nor am I running an improperly sized turbo.

Much thought and effort went into the design of this system and thats why its bugging sooo bad! "Try to do something right and it still doesn't work out" haha.

Im gonna take pics of the t-fitting rigging i have and see what ya'lls opinions are. But essentially, I tried to make the oil pressure guage read as close to the feed line as possible without it being "in line" with it so i could see actual pressure reading the turbo was getting. I am thinking maybe i should move the pressure guage to read AT the turbo housing with a fitting there but im scared to introduce a flow problem into the housing. Has anyone seen an oil pressure guage rigged AT THE HOUSING?

GradeA_TireFryer

i have seen to much oil pressure will cause the seals to blow out - did you use the oil restrictor that came with the turbo? - tiny amount of oil goes thru there!

manifoldmike

sorry, i skipped over your oil pressure readings.

i would definatly check pressure at the turbo. i wouldn't worry so much about starving the turbo due to the gauge port being present. there should be more then enough oil there. if there isn't, thats an obvious problem.

i would have run -3an for your setup as well, so i wouldn't think thats the problem.

did you take the feed line off an make sure there is no obstructions?
is there metal flake in the oil?
are your egt's really high?

TrboANTsi

this wouldnt be a BB turbo would it?

SpottedMango

Normally a turbo don't come with oil restrictors, at least not from my experience. The turbo only lasted about a week or so, even without a restrictor, it still don't make sense to have fail that prematurally.

Whether ball bearing or not, an oil restrictor will help with the life of the turbo, but shouldn't cause a turbo to fail in that short amount of time.