Turbo not boosting anymore :(, I hope i didnt blow anything Options

[eggman40]

I was jumping on the freeway in 2nd gear with stock boost, suddenly the car sputtered and would no longer boost. still not fuel cut because there was no engine light. The car now blows a lot of smoke from the tail pipe. Blown turbo?, blown turbo seal? Rings? dunno someone help me thank you

[DomGT]

A blown turbo would be blown seals. What color is the smoke? Are you sure that you didn't pop an intake pipe?

[x_itchy_b_x]

the wastegate may be held open on the DP. could be the problem.

[eggman40]

smoke is white, checked and looks like intake pipes are good. the car runs normally and idles well, but it makes a sound like an exhaust leak. Maybe thats the wastegate being held open? how would i fix that itchy, any suggestions? Also, if anyone could answer this, how would i know that the turbo is in fact blown? what should i look for? any help appriciated, thanks!

This post has been edited by eggman40: Jul 2, 2006 - 4:48 AM

[DomGT]

White smoke is coolant. Is your turbo water-cooled?

[eggman40]

White smoke is coolant. Is your turbo water-cooled?

it has water lines so i would guess, yes it is water cooled
do you know what could have caused this? i was boosting at stock psi, i was on a long on ramp in second gear, then at around 5000rpm the car made weird sound and sputtered a little, it kept running but no boost, my boost gauge stops in the middle at 0

This post has been edited by eggman40: Jul 2, 2006 - 4:44 AM

[CheesyLobster]

Can you hear it spool still?

[eggman40]

Can you hear it spool still?

nope no spool

[DomGT]

Got your PM... I know it sucks man, but you gotta be safe and stop driving your car, take off the turbo or have a mechanic do the work. If you turbo failed, it can also contaminate your oil and lead to engine problems.

This may give you a chance to go with a smaller or bigger turbo to better suit your car. Were you getting any abnormal gauge readings before the problem?

[Silver94CelicaOw...]

To see if the wastegate is sticking you'll have to remove the DP from the turbo to see what the cause is, i.e. the actuator suddenly letting loose from the 'gate, or perhaps its simply stuck open, or if you use the aftermarket downpipe and you haven't taken a grinder to the flange then that could also be in the way.

If it were me i'd start simple and check and eye everything over closely for leaks and/or visible mechanical issues, but the problem sounds wastegate related to me like John said.

[Bitter]

white smoke can also be from ALOT of raw fuel being dumped into the engine and passed through. its possible that since theres no air being crammed in, when you peg the throttle the fuel is just dumping in like crazy running sooo insanely rich is blowing white out! ive seen cars with stuck injectors blow white smoke, but in your case its probably water from the turbo if it is water. try to capture some white smoke in a bag, let it cool, then see whats at the bottom, coolant smelling water or gasoline smelling water?

[lagos]

white smoke can also be from ALOT of raw fuel being dumped into the engine and passed through. its possible that since theres no air being crammed in, when you peg the throttle the fuel is just dumping in like crazy running sooo insanely rich is blowing white out! ive seen cars with stuck injectors blow white smoke, but in your case its probably water from the turbo if it is water. try to capture some white smoke in a bag, let it cool, then see whats at the bottom, coolant smelling water or gasoline smelling water?

white smoke = coolant or water
black smoke = too much fuel
blue smoke = burning oil

This post has been edited by lagos: Jul 2, 2006 - 1:34 PM

[playr158]

if your wategate was stuck open you would still get some boost....in his case he was white smoke and 0 boost...its a turbo issue

[Bitter]

white smoke can also be from ALOT of raw fuel being dumped into the engine and passed through. its possible that since theres no air being crammed in, when you peg the throttle the fuel is just dumping in like crazy running sooo insanely rich is blowing white out! ive seen cars with stuck injectors blow white smoke, but in your case its probably water from the turbo if it is water. try to capture some white smoke in a bag, let it cool, then see whats at the bottom, coolant smelling water or gasoline smelling water?

white smoke = coolant or water
black smoke = too much fuel
blue smoke = burning oil

cat converter will change unburnt fuel into water that smells like gasoline a cat converter in good working order can injest alot of fuel and blow white smoke for quite some time before it completely fouls.

its hard to universally say what color means what, generally those desciptions are accurate. hell trans fluid burning through the engine is gray, if you didnt know that you'd think you were burning too much fuel and some oil!

[eggman40]

Got your PM... I know it sucks man, but you gotta be safe and stop driving your car, take off the turbo or have a mechanic do the work. If you turbo failed, it can also contaminate your oil and lead to engine problems.

This may give you a chance to go with a smaller or bigger turbo to better suit your car. Were you getting any abnormal gauge readings before the problem?

No, there was not abnormal reading on the boost guage before hand, it was at 8psi when it happend.

As for the DP issue, is there any way to open or close the gate by hand from the outside, like pulling on the actuators?

Im gonna check color of smoke today, this happened last night.

Im not running any cats on the car so i dont think smoke would be changed before leaving the muffler.

If my problem is coolant, what should i be looking for? a cracked hose? or is it a seal thats letting it seep past.

Or if its oil, what should i be looking for?

Also in the worst case senario, how hard is it change for a different turbo, to like a ct20? or an aftermarket one,will the coolant and oil lines still be in the same place? Or should i just have this thing rebuilt with a bigger trim? but before go there i want to see if i could fix the problem i have now though

[Bitter]

pop off the inlet and see if you can spin the compressor wheel with your finger.

[eggman40]

pop off the inlet and see if you can spin the compressor wheel with your finger.

Just checked it and the inlet wheel is Jammed. It will not move at all, not even a jiggle

[Bitter]

well thats why it wont make any boost.


you could have the turbo rebuilt or toss in a new one, and thats about all i know about this. you could rebuild it yourself, but the tolerances (thousandths of an inch) are soo tiny that you'd really only want to do that if you had all the tools and knew what you were doing. its possible that the turbo lost its water or oil feed and seized as a result of heat or no lubrication.

[eggman40]

well thats why it wont make any boost.


you could have the turbo rebuilt or toss in a new one, and thats about all i know about this. you could rebuild it yourself, but the tolerances (thousandths of an inch) are soo tiny that you'd really only want to do that if you had all the tools and knew what you were doing. its possible that the turbo lost its water or oil feed and seized as a result of heat or no lubrication.

Yup i figured sooooo.... does this mean that my turbo is done for and i should start looking into a replacement? or is there one last thing i could do to help the situation?

if the turbo is in fact done for, should i have this one rebuilt and upgraded? or should i just look for a different turbo? thank you guys very much for the help

[Bitter]

well the bearings are seized, the shaft may be shot as well. i doubt there'd be any housing damage. so you still have a good housing and good compressor/turbine. where you go from here depends what you want to do with the car.