What happened to my compressor wheel

[DoubleD]

Pulled apart my Holset HE341 and found this. Whatever impacted the wheel never made it through. Found nothing pre or post turbo. I am not sure what happened here. Anyone got an idea??

[Chris W]

Pulled apart my Holset HE341 and found this. Whatever impacted the wheel never made it through. Found nothing pre or post turbo. I am not sure what happened here. Anyone got an idea??

Was the nut missing?

Chris-TU

[DoubleD]

No, The nut was still fully torqued. Nothing was missing and nothing was found in the piping.

[tryingbe]

[Ondonti]

Keep running just a screen and see if it happens again.

[DoubleD]

I have a complete 3" Cold Air Intake that places an AEM Dryflow filter between the radiator and intercooler. I do not run a screen.

[acannell]

random ideas:

-ice?
-any chance it was like that when you installed it?
-if it wasnt ice then it had to pass through the engine..does the engine run right still? why did you take the turbo apart?
-if it really did pass through the engine then theres likely more damage to be found..

[ShelGame]

A flat washer could have done that. It would then (possibly) be able to pass between the fins of the compressor.

[DoubleD]

How about oil, this wheel is designed for gas to be compressed and oil is not compressable? I was having issues with excessive crankcase pressure and the vents for my valve covers were right over the turbo inlet. I had a lot of oil residue on the silicone elbow entering the turbo. Im building a fresh short block concurrently as this one was shot with low compression.

I did an autocross school this summer and would have to add half a quart of oil after a 45 min session that included 4-6 runs on the track. This thing was just pumping oil out, I know the oil was dripping right on my intake piping.

[Pat]

If you know that the wheel was good when you put the turbo on the car, then a rock, a nut, washer, or some other hard piece of foreign debris was in your intake at some point and beat the hell out of that wheel. It's possible that whatever it was it was ground up enough to pass through the wheel and run through the motor.

[DoubleD]

The turbo was rebuilt and balanced with a new compressor wheel before I installed it on the car 2 years ago. This was all done when it was modified to be used on my car.

[Chris W]

Oil would not do that.

There is no denying the current condition of the compressor wheel and that it was caused by FOD. I highly doubt that it looked like that when it was originally installed.

What made you inspect the turbo in the first place? Did you hear any strange noises or did you just notice a depreciation of performance? As Pat mentioned whatever the foreign object was it may have been chewed up or bounced back towards the air filter. Check the whole CAI system to see if it's still in there.

We have had customers that replaced their turbochargers and the previous turbo's compressor nut was stuck in the ribbing of the air inlet hose. After a couple of weeks of driving it became dislodged and took out the new turbo.

Chris-TU

[DoubleD]

The reason I pulled the turbo off is I am building a new short block and it had to come out. I noticed the compressor wheel when I pulled it off the car. There was nothing in any of the piping pre or post turbo, so I have no idea what caused this, but I will inspect all of my piping. Nothing in the IC either as that is pulled out. Top half of the motor is on the bench, no damage found anywhere.

I heard no strange noises and the car was not acting up in any way before. This motor was tired and had tons of blow by, it was wastegate limited to 18 psi, but still pushed oil like crazy.

[shackwrrr]

What about the plastic cage inside air filter?

[5DIGITS]

Oil would not do that.

There is no denying the current condition of the compressor wheel and that it was caused by FOD. I highly doubt that it looked like that when it was originally installed.

What made you inspect the turbo in the first place? Did you hear any strange noises or did you just notice a depreciation of performance?
As Pat mentioned whatever the foreign object was it may have been chewed up or bounced back towards the air filter.
Check the whole CAI system to see if it's still in there.

We have had customers that replaced their turbochargers and the previous turbo's compressor nut was stuck in the ribbing of the air inlet hose. After a couple of weeks of driving it became dislodged and took out the new turbo.

Chris-TU

I agree and this "Check the whole CAI system to see if it's still in there" is key.

[turismolover22]

I have to ask, is this a "dual cone" cone filter? One with a traditional cone on the perimeter, and an inverted cone on the inside? Typical design of a "Spectre" and eBay filter, they usually have a metal button glued in the inner cone, to seal the cone ribs, instead of plastic. Over time the glue wears away, and the metal falls into your intake tract. Its worth a look, if it applies to you. Good luck!

[Ondonti]

Why do you think it is still there? You were probably at maximum boost when it actually went through. That means you need to inspect the valves/seats.
What do the pistons look like? Chambers? What does the turbine wheel look like?