Turbo BS Thread

Have you called anywhere to see what a repair cost may be?

Those might be only on the leading edge, but without feeling it in person, you should stay away.

 

What's everyone use for hardware on the hot side of the turbo? I keep pulling threads out of housings with stainless. Starting to think there may be a chemical reaction going on between the cast and bolt.

 

Regular black oxide bolts and hi temp anti seize. If you can spring for copper coated bolts they do really well. Or better yet just put in Black oxide studs and use copper nuts

 

I’ve called a few places including boostlab where I planned to buy new but no one has got back to me. One shop advertised 500 repair cost not including parts which seems reasonable. I’m leaning towards a new unit if this persists.

 

Call Joel at Arizona Tractor and Turbo, guy is a turbo rebuilding savant

Az Turbo Inc https://g.co/kgs/5zkfm3

 

Just got off the phone with Joel and here is what he said

1. ball bearing turbos are not rebuildable.
2. journal bearing turbos are rebuildable and will do pretty much everything a BB turbo can.
3. Buy an eBay turbo instead, they work just as good.
4. Failures from turbos are always caused by the engine.
5. The performance industry is a scam.

dude seems genuine, time to ponder over life choices.

 

Interesting.

 

Interesting about the engine always being the cause of turbos failing.

 

Black Oxide and copper nuts here, so far so good.

 

He elaborated on too much back pressure and oil not having enough zinc (royal purple) killing bearings.

That was an interesting conversation. He’s very talkative, didn’t want to make a dime from me even though he’s a turbo dealer. He said he’s seen ebay turbos balance better than garret units. I even asked him again if there were any cons for ebay units and he said the casting is sometimes less than perfect and parts are hard to get.

 

@Taco47 maybe consider a ebay unit you can directly upgrade later if needed. Down pipe flange may chance or oil fittings, ect. Or consider Pulsar turbos. They are Garrett knock offs. Direct replacement as far as I know. They have a decent track record too.

Really how much boost are you trying to run? Even if you give up 10% in overall performance (spool time, peak power) wouldn't a 50-75% cost savings negate that? If you are not competitively racing, it kinda doesn't matter. I've used a ebay T70 turbo many moons ago and had no problem with it. Maybe a comparable name brand unit would spool quicker and make more power per psi, but there are alot of places to put money in a turbo kit. Overall you will be better off with a name brand wastegate and quality ecu (cough haltech cough). Again maybe go middle of the road on a Pulsar or get a older Garrett journal bearing turbo. T3 60-1, T3to4e 60 trim, ect. What are your realistic goals/usage?

 

I have a bit of a disagreement with that. Poor quality control of cheap turbos will be the failure of cheap turbos. I have seen plenty that have had to be pulled apart straight out of the box to check for shavings. Sure enough, there were and would have ruined the turbo. @RedLantern even dealt with that, if I remember correctly.

"Just as good" is a serious understatement of relativity. Will "just as good" have a tiny failure rate over the hundreds of thousands that are on the road, or have a 1:100 failure rate due to poor machining processes, and inferior metallurgy?

Cheap turbos definitely blow up better, when they fail in the overspeed.

Their modeling for fin design isn't as good either.

Will they work, yes. How long will they work? How well will they work? Those are what are in question.

 

Another cheaper, reliable option would be OEM pull offs. Most are designed with daily abuse in mind.

 

This is true, water cooled journal bearing turbos are nearly indestructible.

 

Watching this series about head work and he brought up that it's never the turbos fault too.

https://youtu.be/2Jrh0Gm9Cgg?si=6Mwn_LnxK4ScKSoB

 

@Jon64l I’m not sure how much boost but my power goal is just below 385 crank which is the limit of lce’s dual comp clutch. I’d like to keep it daily drivable and their half metallic/fiber disc seems like a good place to stay. I’m not opposed to pulsars as the g30-660 seems like a possible fit aside from needing a t3 to vband adapter. I have a t3 manifold from @Torspd already which does not have provisions for a EWG. Thats why the efr 7064 is the top pick unless I can find something else that fits the bill.

@Torspd trust me I was skeptical for the whole conversation. I just don’t understand why a turbo shop owner would say those things.

@Brake Weight @Speedytech7 which ones should I look into?

 

@Torspd is probably better at sizing than I am. If you're looking for a decent budget turbo I'd check out the ones from VS Racing. I'm partial to borgwarner EFR turbos for lower power goals though since they're good all in one units.

 

Will adding the adapter affect cleance elsewhere? Other options are to add Ewg port or change the turbo flange. Not ideal I know. With more cost incurred maybe just buy a new efr unit or a better used one.

 

I am using ARP stainless bolts and nuts. They are far stronger than typical stainless. They have been my best so far.

Some places offer inconel.

 

Turbo loves cold air. I hit a new PSI max while going up a steep grade on I-15 after a Christmas party. I was hardly on the throttle just maintaining speed and hit 5.2psi (still have the 3.6 psi wastegate spring installed).

I really really need to stop procrastinating and get to work on the valve clearances so I can start figuring out what shims It'll need