[Vwdiesel] Grenaded turbo!!!! OH! OH!

[Justin and Chelly Bennett]

Odds are that at sometime something was ingested.  At the speeds used by 
a turbo it doesn't require a very big item.  Something as small as a a 
tag end of wire could do it.  All that is required is that a small nick 
have a sharp bottom at the root of the compressor blade.  This will 
build up stress and then after a bit the blade will give up and the rest 
is history.  Should see what happens to a turbine engine when a blade 
gives up.
Justin
 

>Anyway, this afternoon I pulled the turbo and the intake side  
>compressor vanes look as if something collided with them.  Several  
>are broken and one is sheared in half (luckily these pieces are in  
>the intercooler not in the engine).  I put in the other turbo and now  
>all is well.  I just can't figure out what happened.  My first  
>thought was play in the shaft but the shaft has little if any play.   
>Any ideas?  Obviously nothing could actually make it into the intake  
>because of the air filter and the MAF so that can't really be the  
>cause.  
>