We believe in the old adage "A
Picture is Worth a Thousand Words". The following photos of failed
turbocharger components may help you to determine why your turbo charger failed.
They are presented without any particular order. Our experience tell us
that these are all common failures, and in most part they are all preventable!
This
is an example of a compressor wheel (intake side of the turbocharger)
that has been damaged due to the ingestion of a foreign object.
Even a very small object such as a small piece of the air filter can
cause extensive damage in only a few seconds. If this happens
immediately after the installation of a new turbocharger, it could be
that the installer left something in the air intake system.
Like
the compressor wheel on the left, this photo shows a turbine wheel
(exhaust side of the turbocharger) that has been damaged due to the
ingestion of a foreign object. In the case of the turbine side,
this object probably came out of the engine. Some common failures
that we see are damage caused by:
Broken piston rings.
Broken off glow plug
tip.
Broken injector
nozzle.
Damaged engine
valve.
Do
not use any gasket sealant on turbocharger oil inlet and outlet gaskets.
This can cause a restriction of incoming oil, which in turn will cause
premature failure of the other turbocharger components. An
restriction on the oil out gasket can cause drain problems which will
result in both external and internal oil leaks.
This
photo is an example of a turbine shaft which has failed due to lack of
lubrication. This could have been caused by any of the following:
Installing the
turbocharger without adequate priming.
Long periods on
non-use
Broken or restricted
oil feed line.
Low engine oil
pressure
Insufficient oil in
the engine oil pan.
Failure
from excessive exhaust temperatures, or from shutting the engine down
without allowing for the turbocharger to cool down results in the
failures shown in these photos. The result is excessive carbon
build up on the internal turbocharger parts. It is recommended
that you idle the engine for 2-3 minuets before shutdown to allow the
turbocharger bearings time to cool down. Turbine end heat soak
into the bearing housing results in oil carbonization as seen in the
photo on the left, and to the corrosion of the bearings as shown in the
photo on the right. The main damage occurs to the shaft seal ring
and grooves, turbine end bearing and bearing housing oil drain cavity
blockage. This type of failure can be caused by:
Blocked air cleaner
and/or excessive intake restriction.
Hot shutdown of
engine
Degraded oil quality
carbonizing in service.
Infrequent oil
change intervals causing oil breakdown in service.
Air and gas leaks.
Faulty fuel
injection pump and/or injectors.
A
contaminated oil supply can cause damage as shown in this photo.
To avoid this type of failure it is important that you use the proper
oil and filters and that they are changed at the recommended intervals.
It is always a good idea to do an oil/filter change when installing a
new turbocharger. This type of failure could result from:
Going, going, gone ... our extra
test benches have all been sold! We still have some
special tools and adaptors available at final reduced prices. See the details
here.
Product/Service Spotlight
Looking for Sprinter common rail parts? We have high
pressure pumps and injectors in stock for most models!
Part numbers include:
0-445-110-106
0-445-110-163
We can also test your units to verify that this is what you
need.
We have Dodge, Cummins 5.9/6.7 and Duramax high pressure pumps, and
common rail injectors in
stock! All years, all models!
Complete Duramax application information is located
here!
Dodge / Cummins 5.9 application information is located
here!
We have the parts and
equipment to service dual spring injectors such as used by VW TDI
and Landrover. Most TDI injectors are available from
stock!
High performance TDI injectors available. Click
here for details!
Click
here to see why setting both springs on these injectors is
important.
Whats New @
chathamfuel.on.ca
We have added a
CAPTCHA to
all our input forms due to the amount of spam we are receiving.
This helps to insure that only real people and not automated web
bots are requesting information! Many pages on this site now have a
printer icon that can be used to display a 'printer friendly'
page. This icon is normally located at the end of the page
News
We have available from stock most VP44 electronic pumps for Dodge & Cummins
mid-range
applications.
See our online catalog for
further details.
New Products
Available Now!
Custom designed add on filter kits for both Dodge and Duramax applications. The factory filters on these
applications are lacking at best, and this is both the best and
easiest way to avoid costly injection system repairs.
See our online catalog for
further details.
When it comes to fuel additives, we stock only a single
brand!
Save 10% on case lots when purchasing Stanadyne Additives!
This
is an example of a compressor wheel (intake side of the turbocharger)
that has been damaged due to the ingestion of a foreign object.
Even a very small object such as a small piece of the air filter can
cause extensive damage in only a few seconds. If this happens
immediately after the installation of a new turbocharger, it could be
that the installer left something in the air intake system. 
Like
the compressor wheel on the left, this photo shows a turbine wheel
(exhaust side of the turbocharger) that has been damaged due to the
ingestion of a foreign object. In the case of the turbine side,
this object probably came out of the engine. Some common failures
that we see are damage caused by:
Do
not use any gasket sealant on turbocharger oil inlet and outlet gaskets.
This can cause a restriction of incoming oil, which in turn will cause
premature failure of the other turbocharger components. An
restriction on the oil out gasket can cause drain problems which will
result in both external and internal oil leaks. 
This
photo is an example of a turbine shaft which has failed due to lack of
lubrication. This could have been caused by any of the following:
Failure
from excessive exhaust temperatures, or from shutting the engine down
without allowing for the turbocharger to cool down results in the
failures shown in these photos. The result is excessive carbon
build up on the internal turbocharger parts. It is recommended
that you idle the engine for 2-3 minuets before shutdown to allow the
turbocharger bearings time to cool down. Turbine end heat soak
into the bearing housing results in oil carbonization as seen in the
photo on the left, and to the corrosion of the bearings as shown in the
photo on the right. The main damage occurs to the shaft seal ring
and grooves, turbine end bearing and bearing housing oil drain cavity
blockage. This type of failure can be caused by:
A
contaminated oil supply can cause damage as shown in this photo.
To avoid this type of failure it is important that you use the proper
oil and filters and that they are changed at the recommended intervals.
It is always a good idea to do an oil/filter change when installing a
new turbocharger. This type of failure could result from:
