[s-cars] IS my garret 3071 dying? - update on this adventure!

[chris chambers]

Dave,

My mechanic has confirmed my belief that the turbo is failing.
It's providing boost but not as much as it should, and the compressor
wheel has been hitting the inlet.

Javad has shipped me a replacement turbo, but he seems concerned 
that Garret is going to say because this is his first warranty claim
for a Garret turbo (so he states). For the moment I have promised to 
not report the turbo failure to the general public (but I never
promised to not share it with a trusted knowledgable person like
yourself). So for now please don't mention the fact that the turbo
did fail to anyone else.

My mechanic has inspected the installation, oil feed lines, etc. and
assures me there is no evidence of any installation error. But I must
keep in mind that this mechanic (who I trust) does own the shop that
did the turbo swap 2 months ago. As such it's always possible he might
not "see" instalattion error evidence.

To protect myself I want to inspect the bad turbo and photograph as
many details as possible to document the damage. I'm wondering what
specific areas I should inspect that could indicate whether there was
some form of installation error. 

Because I paid a professional to do the swap I am in the middle here.
I'll be damned if I'm paying for a replacement turbo if it was damaged
due to an installation problem. As it is even if the turbo is replaced
under warranty it'll cost me several hundred dollars (that I wasn't
planning on) to get my car fixed and on the road again.


Thanks again for your help
Chris


--- djdawson2 at aol.com wrote:

> Chris,
> I would suggest that you remove the cold side housing of the turbo,
> and inspect the edges were the compressor wheel may have made contact
> with the inlet.  If the bearing is failing, you will see evidence of
> metal to metal contact.  If you discover any signs of contact, you
> should quit using it, as the bearing will eventually unload, dumping
> ball bearings down into the oil return line and into your oil pan.
>  
> That is the very first thing I would look into.
> Good luck,
> Dave
>  
> -----Original Message-----
> From: chris chambers <fastscirocco_2000 at yahoo.com>
> To: Scar <s-car-list at audifans.com>
> Sent: Sat, 27 May 2006 14:31:19 -0700 (PDT)
> Subject: [s-cars] IS my garret 3071 dying?
> 
> 
> Gentz,
> 
> Boost is low, I'd say it's about stock levels.
> Wife's 93 S4 with MTM chipset (stock bar sensor) has more
> power and pulls better than mine now.
> 
> Yes I have checked my boost hoses and conducted a boost test
> with my custom boost tester.
> 
> With no fitting on the turbo for boost to feed the WGFVI have
> tapped off the boost line that feeds the ECU.
> 
> Background, after installing the 3071 I discovered the boost/vacuum
> lines at the back of the enging that feed the ECU were restricting
> boost. These lines were replaced and everything was good.
> 
> Thinking that potentially there is an obstruction in the IM that
> feeds the lines on teh back of the engine I looked for boost
> elsewhere.
> I have Samco hoses so the turbo outlet hose was made in two pieces, I
> removed the 3/4" Copper coupler and replaced it with a copper T
> fitting
> and attached a barb fitting to this T fitting. Then I fed the WGFV
> and
> ECU boost from this point, it made no difference.
> 
> After countless frustrating hours trying to figure out what stupid
> thing
> I was overlooking I pulled the MAF/Turbo hose off, the inside is
> covered
> with oil and if I grask the impeller shaft I can wiggle it.
> 
> So gentz, until I can get a professional to look at this, is there
> anything I am overlooking or is this turbo failing?
> 
> 
> Chris
> not happy or in evah boost
> 
> Make April 15th just another day http://www.fairtax.org
> 
> 
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Make April 15th just another day http://www.fairtax.org


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