That’s on the menu for this evening. My mind is blown that the tips melted. I’m running <7psi on a fresh build and generally very good gauge readings. This seems ****y
Bolt on turbo kit (48 Viewers)
- Thread starter scottryana
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I'd be cleaning out the rest of that coating in the exhaust housing myself. Don't want that crap flaking off into full tilt turbine blades IMO.
I plan on it. I'm more concerned about what the hell it is and why it's coming off... I tried to email Borg Warner but only could find a general "contact us" page. TBD on that...
My first thought was ceramic coating. But, you did not have these coated, correct? The turbine housing should be as cast.
Plug melting indicates high combustion temps. Could be from the overheating event.
Also, what is your base timing set at?
Correct, uncoated by me. Installed as received.
High combustion temps is whats throwing me off since that temp spike was all of 3 seconds long if that before I cut it.
Timing is set per FSM.
Do you have a wideband AFR installed? What is that telling you under heavy / WOT throttle? Have you noticed any lean conditions?
Running a wideband since day 1. 14.7 at idle, 11.8-12.5 under boost if I recall. Haven’t noticed any lean conditions under boost.
Going to stick a bore scope down the plug holes and see if there’s anything telling in the cylinders.
The plugs make me think internally it should be okay (color wise, not the melted tips) since a HG would likely show some steam cleaning.
I can’t think of anywhere that moisture would come from but a cracked head or HG
That's a little lean under boost IMO. Mine is pig rich under boost....in the 10's.
Any oil in intake side? If you are running an intercooler pull the lowest hose from the intercooler and see if there's oil in there. If there is , you may have oil pressure thats too high going to the turbo, or the seal may be blown.
Are those turbos coolant cooled as well? If they are, I wonder if your turbo's center housing (chra) has cracked and allowing coolant past the jacket into the turbo. Hard to tell without taking it apart. Rare for that to happen, but I have seen casting flaws cause this in the past.
Those spark plug electrodes look burnt. What brand and model plugs are you running? And most very important, where did you buy them? If you bought them on Amazon or Ebay there's a very good chance they're fakes branded and packaged as what you thought you were buying. I'd suggest a set of NGK BKR7E-6097 copper plugs for your next set. You want to change those at every oil change if you do run them, they're forgiving against detonation and a solid choice for a no brainer plug. For spark plugs make sure to buy them from your local auto parts stores, or their website. Never order spark plugs on Amazon or Ebay.
If I were you, I would 1) check the intercooler for oil, drain if there is any in there and put the turbo back together. 2) get a set of NGK BKR7E 6097 plugs from your local auto parts store to run next. 3) check your base timing with a timing light and adjust distributor if it is off. 4) Are you running OEM ignition coil? If you are check it closely for swelling or cracking and replace if necessary.
If you want to scope the cylinders a good cheap scope I have and use often is this one: https://amzn.to/3uyntg0
Let us know how it goes.
mudgudgeon
Resident galah
Is it just me? Or does the leading edge of all the blades look polished/ eroded
Also, that's a heck of a grind to balance that turbine. Unrelated I'd guess
Also, that's a heck of a grind to balance that turbine. Unrelated I'd guess
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Looks like coolant/oil mix to me and just reflection of light in the photo.
mudgudgeon
Resident galah
Maybe. Any turbo I've had in my hands, the blades have been consistently sooted over.
Water mist sprayed into a system preturbo erodes compressor blades.
If there's droplets of coolant hitting the turbine, they'll act to abrade the blade tips eventually
I did my ME internship at Garrett Turbochargers in Torance CA. They used the interns to collect measurements on prototype turbos, assemble them, balance them, and deliver them to the test lab. After testing we tore them down and collected all the measurements again, putting them into spreadsheets. I was amazed how much material I had to grind off sometimes, on both ends. But, balanced is balanced, never saw a correlation to bearing wear on after test units.
mudgudgeon
Resident galah
I wasb thinking exactly that. Just seems like a lot. And just an observation
alia176
SILVER Star
Is this condensation?
The WE Turbo kit does not have coolant cooled turbos, or an intercooler.
Turbo is oil cooled only. Water cooling would have been a good addition in this kit. There is some oil on the inlet (coming from the crankcase breather tube on the valve cover, plan was to install a better catch can during this maintenance. I'm running the Denso PK20R8 3127 that came with the kit and are the one step colder than stock.
I ran the borescope I have last night. Resolution of a potato but I'm not super stoked with what I found. The still images I took don't seem to show what the videos do. Heres the pics for start, but I'll try and get better ones/videos posted. I'm curious if anyone else will run into this with their boosted setups.
in order 1-6 below. Note the little flakes in the middle are valve cover paint that fell in the tube holes from getting baked off, not metal shavings. Though the black carbon/other areas its hard to tell if its pitted or not. .
Just reflection. There is an oil sludge on the wheel.
Yes, appears to be oil thats been run through the compressor or coolant from a cracked head or HG?? Trying to solve that now... Everything seemed fine so i was very surprised to open up and find this.
Also, I did finally get ahold of Borg Warner today. If you need to call them the best line is 833-250-6306. I sent them the photos of the flaking and they all seemed to scratch their heads. It COULD be rust flaking due to moisture, oil thats been baked on, or a defect. I have to go through a 3rd party to attempt them looking at it. They were super responsive and I explained the *WE* situation and they offered a contact for a local vendor of theirs. I can't go directly though BW for any parts or inspection.
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Glad to hear BW has the customer service still figured out
Before you start pulling the turbo off and sending it in for inspection...
Do you have an oil restrictor installed in the path of the oil feed? If not, you need one.
Get a set of the NGK copper plugs I listed above. Those plugs really aren't ideal for the setup.
Check your base timing with a timing light with the proper procedure.
I would start there before anything else, and see how things are running. I'm willing to guess your timing is advanced leading to higher temps, if that's the case, retard the timing back to stock specs. And you may have oil pressure thats slightly too high causing it to get past the turbo seals. Easy fix with a restrictor. Also, how are your crank case vents routed, do you have any photos of the hose routing?
Do you have an oil restrictor installed in the path of the oil feed? If not, you need one.
Get a set of the NGK copper plugs I listed above. Those plugs really aren't ideal for the setup.
Check your base timing with a timing light with the proper procedure.
I would start there before anything else, and see how things are running. I'm willing to guess your timing is advanced leading to higher temps, if that's the case, retard the timing back to stock specs. And you may have oil pressure thats slightly too high causing it to get past the turbo seals. Easy fix with a restrictor. Also, how are your crank case vents routed, do you have any photos of the hose routing?
