RE: K24 finally installed in 1986 5000cstq

[Sargent Schutt <Sargent@SymposiaFoundation.org>]

Gary, just a reference on the K24 20v I had:

I was not running at 2.5 bar, cutoff was still at 2.2.

It had the 2.0 pressure transducer swapped for a 2.5 bar unit, as the
software is anticipating readings from a 2.5 bar unit. If you want to run
2.5 bar you'd have to install a 3.0 bar PT.

The motor blew up b/c the car was starting to use lots of oil on startup
(big blue clouds, rough running). I waited a day too long to put a new turbo
in it, and wound up with detonation resultant of hot spots on the pistons
(carbon buildup) and oil blowing in with the pressurized air - turbo seals
were going bad, though the turbo still spun freely (there was play in the
shaft).  Threw the rod in 5th on the freeway at around 3500 RPM, right in
the peak torque zone. Preceded by what felt only like mild stumbling,
followed by a big bang and the sound of metal tinkling under the car, with a
massive trail of oil and coolant to the rear (at around 85 mph).

I was debating a different turbo, etc, and didn't appreciate how fragile the
situation was. Breaking the camels back completely was the 50W oil I
installed to try to reduce oil blow-by. I thought it was warm enough down
here in So Cal to use it a couple of days. No doubt that was the real straw
that broke the camels back.

The car had around 184k on it at the time of rebuild, as I recall, on an
otherwise totally original motor and turbo.

FWIW, on disassembly the engine internals looked GREAT (save the big hole in
the block), and the engine lived on regular oil all its life. Maybe Redline
would have helped maintain the turbo better, but the engine was still very
very nice (no scoring and minimal signs of wear in the head).

Regards,

Sarge

Gary wrote:

Date: Fri, 19 Nov 1999 11:56:16 -0800
From: "Lewis, Gary M" <Gary.Lewis@West.Boeing.com>
Subject: RE: K24 finally installed in 1986 5000cstq

You know Michael, if you are running less than 2.2 bar, a K24 in _your_ MC
Ur-Q may spool full bar below 2,500.  That sounds fun.  What a screamer your
car would be...

Running anything more than 2.2 bar seems to kill the turbo (quickly on MC's,
slower on 20vt's, ref Sarge's old 2.5 bar car) on K24 equipped cars.  This
is my opinion only, based on traffic from the 20vt and S-cars lists.

Ciao,
Gary