two rotors

Up and down is OK because of floating bearing.

automaton

I was under the impression that only the slightest bit of "up-down" play is acceptable.

I'd say, 1/8th of an inch means the turbo is toast. That seems like way too much play, but as long as the turbo is spooling... it's got to be fine.

rkostolni

I sent my turbo out to Scott at Mazsport to rebuild. He gave me the diagnosis on it yesteday. The seals and bearings were shot, and the shaft was blue. He thinks when I was using the emanage I had some lean spikes causing very high egt's which killed the turbo. Hopefully now with the Interceptor that won't happen.

rgonza

Check your cat coverter maybe is was melted too.

rkostolni

Actually, no it didn't melt. I would have expected the same thing. Maybe the turbo absorbed most of the excess heat.

MazdaManiac

iTrader: (3)

Nope. Shaft is blue because the turbo stopped spinning when the bearings died and it cooked with no flow.
A spinning turbo can take 2400°F without flinching.
You had oil pressure/flow problems in the turbo itself and/or surge.

rkostolni

I asked Scott if it was looked like oil pressure problems. He said it was unlikely since there was no physical damage to the shaft at the bearings locations. Do you think that is a good indication that oil pressure was okay? Would surge damage have been easily visible in any way?

Do you have any recommendations for anything I should do before reinstalling the rebuilt turbo?

MazdaManiac

iTrader: (3)

Bearings are soft. Shafts are hard (stop giggling).
If there was damage to the shaft, something really catastrophic would have to have happened.

If the oil pressure is too high, the damage is caused by the shaft oscillating inside the bearings and battering them apart and alternately coming in contact during that vibration as the oil seeks a path around the shaft.
Surge does the same thing, but for shorter durations at a higher inertial value.

rkostolni

I talked to reputable shop today. They recommended to test the oil supply by cranking the engine for 10 seconds without the turbo installed and measuring the oil flow from the turbo supply line. It should be about 1/2 cup. Not the most accurate way to determine the condition of the oil supply system, but should give me an idea of whats going on. I think I'll make a special trip to try this out this weekend. Does anyone know of a better way to ensure the turbos getting proper oil supply?

philodox

Well, I know what the problem is with my turbo now. There's about 1/4 inch play in the shaft. So I think the turbo is completely blown. Sending it out to a shop to have a professional look at it today. Will keep you all posted on what happens. Hopefuly bearings is all it needs and I didn't damage the housing... time will tell.

Nicky

FYI when the turbine shaft is blue that comes from a lack of oil. It can happen because of a lack of oil while running or else if the car stalls and the turbo is still spinning at high speeds.

For all those people that are sending off their turbos have the rebuilder look at the thrust bearing if the front side of the bearing is beat up then that is a guarenteed sign that your turbo had been surging.

When checking your turbos they will have some up and down movement. If it has in and out play then it is TOAST!!

rkostolni

Well, I went to do some more investigation today. I refilled the car with oil, pulled the fuel pump fuse and cranked it to see how much oil came out of the turbo oil supply line. After 10 seconds of cranking nothing. Not a drop. There should be sufficient oil pressure during cranking to flow oil through that line, right?

If the turbo had no oil, obviously that explains why it died. But I don't understand how there was tons of oil inside the turbo and intake piping. Where did that oil come from then?

MazdaManiac

iTrader: (3)

You need to run the car at regular RPMs for a few minutes before this measuring method is viable.
There needs to be oil pressure established throughout the entire lubricating system at standard running temperatures. If the car had been sitting for any length of time, all of the oil was in the pan and it would take several hundred RPMs before any pressure was established - especially if it sat completely drained. This is why they recommend pulling the EGI fuse and cranking whenever the oil has been completely drained to avoid causing serious wear during that first start-up.
However, you probably should have seen at least some oil after 10 full seconds of cranking.

two rotors

It helps to pull a plug from each rotor so you geta faster crank speed.

rkostolni

I'm back up and running. Finished reinstalling the turbo last night. Runs great from what I can tell. Haven't hammered it yet as its not fully tuned yet. I had a tuning appointment scheduled for today that I made 2 weeks ago. I took off work and was on my way there. Decided to call and let them know when I'd be there. When I called, they had apparently completely forgotten about this appointment and had to cancel. Very annoying since I had already taken off of work. I might just try to tune it myself, still trying to work up the ***** though.

Intake air temps definitely dropped considerably with the new CAI. I used to see 95+ degrees intake air temps at stops, then it would fall to about 65 degrees while driving. Now I see a constant 30-32 degrees. Although, this is slightly skewed because it is colder now than before my turbo blew. I also had all the exhaust parts ceramic coated, so that may be helping as well.