How to tell if your turbo is going.

[Frankenstien]

My question is,"How do I tell if one or both of my turbos are about to die(preferably without taking them off and checking shaft play)?". I have a JDM TTR with stock twins. I noticed an irregular squeak from the turbo housing the other day. The car still runs fine and the turbos still kick in well. But I get the feeling that maybe they wont last much longer.

I know white smoke from the exhaust under boost = bad, which is what I was getting while giving the car gas standing outside it in my driveway. Could that also be due to 91 octane gas, or slightly lower than normal operating temperature or no load on the engine? I don't notice any white smoke while driving except during cold mornings and when the car is less than 3/4 warm during the first start of the day(usually going to work at 6am) I have a possible boost leak as well, I am getting hardpipes and new vacuum lines soon. Would that have any effect on the wellness of my turbos? Thanks for any advice/info.

 

[Doward]

I'm confused as to what the question is here.

Turbos are bad, when they pour oil out either side (compressor or turbine) or when they have exceeded the limits of axial and radial play.

You can't just look at a turbo from 5 feet away and go "Yep, that's dieing!"

White smoke = coolant burning. (or tranny fluid)
Blue smoke = oil burning.
Black smoke = excessive fuel burning.

 

[Frankenstien]

Sorry for the confusion, I was pretty tired at the time of writing. I was just wondering if there was any indication of imminent turbo failure I could check or watch for. But since I have white smoke, I'll check my coolant system and watch my turbos for oil. Thanks for your help.

 

[supramanocnsd]

wine under boost... lol not a goood wine either why what are you feeling?

 

[MDCmotorsports]

I'm confused as to what the question is here.

Turbos are bad, when they pour oil out either side (compressor or turbine) or when they have exceeded the limits of axial and radial play.

You can't just look at a turbo from 5 feet away and go "Yep, that's dieing!"

White smoke = coolant burning. (or tranny fluid)
Blue smoke = oil burning.
Black smoke = excessive fuel burning.

To add:

White smoke = coolant burning or turbine seal leaking
Blue smoke = oil burning, piston rings or compressor seal leaking

 

[1992supraman]

does it make a sound like this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyO3aJ-OrAc

 

[Frankenstien]

No, it doesn't make a sound like that. It makes a loud hissing sound which I believe is a boost leak, and I can hear a semi-rhythmic squeak coming from the turbo housing. I noticed more white exhaust than usual out the tailpipe, just smells like exhaust though, would it smell any different if something was wrong?

 

[navy770]

hey jon?
i think i needed a rebuild turbo
i got a 60-1 ct 26 from you last oct.
now i see oil from the turbine

 

[uenolove]

how can tranny fluid burn????i have a bad smoke problem on my 1j in my sc.. the turbos boost fine though...how would the tranny fluid be burning??? i see a white smoke, it smells. and i check coolant level and oil level and they are both full..what could this be????

 

[supra1008]

I'm also having a problem with my 1jz supra. It was boosting fine one day. Now that I think about it, I was seeing white smoke. Then I have 3 lb of boost. I was having a really high pitched whine from the turbos but now it's gone and I have blue smoke. Engine idle's fine drives fine but w/o any boost now and no high pitched whine. All fluid levels are full. tightened my intercooler hoses. I'm getting hard pipes soon. Anyone know what's going on. I'm going to try and do a compression test and a smoke test this weekend.
Anyone know what's going on with our babies?

 

[1988ma70supra]

your turbo might have locke up that happened to mine. boosting fine one day then it all goes bad. the car will still run fine but like you said without boost. it is not recommended to drive the car like that though.

 

[Frankenstien]

A locked up turbo eh? Can't say I've ever heard of that. Is there a symptom of this? Or is it "hmm, maybe I'll see if one of my turbos is locked up today." Other than lack of boost? I've got stock twins on my 1JZ so idk if on seizing up would make a huge difference in power delivery.

 

[suprajim]

My question is,"How do I tell if one or both of my turbos are about to die(preferably without taking them off and checking shaft play)?". I have a JDM TTR with stock twins. I noticed an irregular squeak from the turbo housing the other day. The car still runs fine and the turbos still kick in well. But I get the feeling that maybe they wont last much longer.

I know white smoke from the exhaust under boost = bad, which is what I was getting while giving the car gas standing outside it in my driveway. Could that also be due to 91 octane gas, or slightly lower than normal operating temperature or no load on the engine? I don't notice any white smoke while driving except during cold mornings and when the car is less than 3/4 warm during the first start of the day(usually going to work at 6am) I have a possible boost leak as well, I am getting hardpipes and new vacuum lines soon. Would that have any effect on the wellness of my turbos? Thanks for any advice/info.

 

[suprajim]

The seals are going when you get blue smoke at idle or deceleration. I picked this up from another forum and it is exactly what mine is doing and I am getting fixed next week. No signs of coolant leak or engine problems