bertram31.com

My Turbo locked up. I took it and the mixing elbow off the engine and took to the local diesel shop. The mechanic informed me he had it freed up. He said the mixing elbow had some pin holes to be the culprit for letting some water corrode the exhaust side. He said it would be good to put back on. Should I get the turbo charger rebuilt? Will I run into problems if it is cleaned up and put back into service? Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Andy

Andy,

I would let Test Calibrations in Mobile check it out before I just put it on and take off again.
251-471-3777

DQ

DQ-

Thanks for the contact

Mixing Elbow

6inch?.. how many hrs?
Wayne

Andy
If you are a do it yourself project kind of guy.......the turbo is not that complicated. A year or 2 ago I was faced with the decision of sending my turbos out for evaluation and repair or doing it myself or just using them as they are.

I asked about them here on our board and the more mechanically inclined guys did not seem to think that there was much more to them than anyother piece of machinery. I asked other mechanics and then figured out that what the heck...I will at least take it apart....the worst that could happen would be that someone else would have to put it back together.....that ain't so bad.

Well after taking it apart I decided to purchase a kit for $125.00 and put the blooming thing back together myself. Shaft endplay is the most important thing that you will have to check and that ain't so bad at all.

With just a little diggin you will find a post put up here recently featuring a good source of major parts if needed. Otherwise the rebuild kit is readily available.

I would certainly follow Dougs advise and check it out further before putting the ole girl back together. There really simple.......

About the elbow....I am convenienced that the corroded elbow will cause unwanted seawater to enter your #6 cylinder and cause major engine failure if you don't get it corrected.





Harry

Harry-

Two new elbows were ordered yesterday. Those things looked brand new on the outside but had very few pin holes on the inside. Anyhow, they will be in the end of the week. I also appreciate the advice and pictures are great. Now I know what is inside the thing.

-ANDY

I free turbos up all the time from housing rust.

No way water will get into the bearing area so its just surface rust outside of the exhaust blade side.

Most turbos if they've had proper oil changes don/t need service at least until 3 to 4k hours.

Look for oil residue on the inlet side and blue exhuast smoke will tetale possible seal issues.

If you don't have any seal issues then its up in the air whether to spend the money or not.

Replace the elbows though.

I just did a turbo a month or so back on a Volvo that was so rusted in the housing that I had to chip away the rust. Freed it up and the engine ran fine.

Ive got a couple 6inch elbows from Cummins,sitting here.. came on my recons.
Wayne

Andy:

About the elbows (which si the root cuase of your issue)...this is pretty dangerous stuff (in terms of potential damage to your engine) Harry is correct that water can enter your cylinders from this issue. ...and as you pointed out, there is no way to tell that this corrosion is happening from the outside. Not sure how long these elbows lasted, but you shoudl plan to check them out (by taking them off an looking inside more often. Generally, the root cause of this kind of corrosion is that water does not "down-hill" enough once it enters the elbow. The point at which water is injected into the elbow must be the absolute highest point in the exhuast system. The elbow must / should drain completely when the engine is not running...that way - you will be far less likely to have water laying in your elbow corroding the inside AND if you do happen to get small pinholes the water is more likely to drip harmlessly down into the exhuast pipes, not buildup in the turbo (or worse, start rolling back into the exhuast manfold and into the cyclinders)

Tony Athens on Boatdiesel has some good articles and illustrations. Of course, redesigning an exhuast system is a major expense and pain in the but...so...more frequent visual inspection may be the best route - but, while you have it all apart, now would be a good time to figure out if you need/should make some changes

Good luck with the repair

J

Run em like that. I had to remove scale on my Volvo165 every time i layed it up for the winter and they worked for many more hrs . You cant hurt anything by doiing it.

How much for the elbows Ironman. I need to pick up a pair! Thanks.

Saw the ad. ignore last post!