North American Turbocoupe Organization



Turbo problem??
matiii1 Offline
Member
#1
Not sure if I blew my turbo or not.I have 142K miles,oil +filter every 3000 mile and clean air filter.Took off from a light today and heard a loud pop and then grayish smoke everywhere behind me.I was about 2 miles from home so I thought to limp it home .Hit the driveway with no oil pressure left,hopefully I did no damage my motor too much.I have oil from the mass airflow unit all the way to my tailpipes,car runs ok but not sure if it has any boost.Filled oil back up,took 5 quarts,probably should have turned it off right away but coolant temp did not go high so I think I am ok with that.How hard is it to get the turbo off and where can you get either a replacement or a cartridge.1987 TC.Might take the motor out to possibly do a head and turbo or maybe a complete rebuild but not sure how hard it is..Any help would be appreciated...
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brunos50 Offline
Member
#2
Does the impeller shaft spin in the turbo? That doesn't sound like the turbo gave up, with no oil pressure it sorta sounds like the motor took a shit. I would compression test it, and then do a leak down test.

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86 Turbocoupe
mods- fully ported head, 470 cam, ported intake & exaust manifold, 65mm throttle body, large vam, 255lph pump, adjustable regulator, motorsport wires, msd coil 6al and two step, Toyota Supra blow off valve and hard pipe, 3" exaust with dynomax bullit, boost controller, and k&n filter
91 Mustang LX 5.0
mods: built AOD, 2800 stall, 3.73's, BBK cold air, 1 3/4 Hooker equal length, BBK off road h, Flowmaster 2 chamber cat back, BFG 255/50/16 drag radial, NX single nozzle(wet)
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matiii1 Offline
Member
#3
I had oil pressure but I think maybe the seal in the turbo gave way causing my oil to come out into my intake and exhaust.Pressure slowly went down and was close to none by the time I got home.Dont know if the impeller turns .where can you see it from.I have the intake hose and the intercooler out but cant see where I can turn it from.Car has been sitting in the garage for 3 hours and still the tailpipes drip oil.Engine starts and runs ok and has oil pressure now,I think it went down because I was runnung out of oil as I drove.If a turbo seal blew would oil get on both intake and exhaust side.What a mess..
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Pete D Offline
Administrator
#4
It might be possible for tht turbo seal to pass enough oil to the intake side and it's not being all burned so it goes out the exhaust side. Take the inlet tube off the front of the compressor housing to access the compressor blades. You can see if it turns freely. Also check the shaft for end play and side play. There should be only the slightest, more than that and it's rebuild time. The other thing to check is your PCV valve. It's probably not the whole problem but check it any how. Take is out of the two hoses and try to blow through the small end. If you can blow ANY air through it at all, it's bad. Replace with ONLY the Ford part. a bad pCV can cause a lot of oil to flow down the breather tube to the compressor inlet tube and go all the way through the intake system.

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NATO Member. it's not a vice, it's an obsession
"The nice thing about each new day is nobody ever used it before" Barnaby Jones
88 TC X 2, 86 SVO, mods list at
http://www.turbotbird.com/showroom/pd_88tc.htm
Pete Dunham


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brunos50 Offline
Member
#5
If you pull the hose coming from the vam to the turbo off, unbolt the inlet bell and you'll be able to spin the impeller, and see if it has slop in the shaft. I have never seen a seal in the turbo blow so much oil that it comes out the tail pipes, it sounds like you lost the oil rings. what do the spark plugs look like?
91 Mustang LX 5.0
mods: built AOD, 2800 stall, 3.73's, BBK cold air, 1 3/4 Hooker equal length, BBK off road h, Flowmaster 2 chamber cat back, BFG 255/50/16 drag radial, NX single nozzle(wet)
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matiii1 Offline
Member
#6
Spark plugs are oily.I would think if I had major engine damage why would I have alot of oil in the turbo inlet tube and the turbo itself.Not sure if the turbo spins cant get a good look into it.
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matiii1 Offline
Member
#7
Did not know you could get the inlet to the turbo off.Got it off and guess what ...Impeller wont turn, nut holding it on is loose and some of the blades are bent over.Is it possible after all these years the nut could have slowly come loose letting the impeller come partway off the shaft and causing this whole mess.Guess I need a complete turbo since it looks like it damaged the housing.Where can I get a whole turbo and what kind will fit??
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Pete D Offline
Administrator
#8
Your stock 87 turbo is an IHI unit. It's kind of small and limited but builds boost quickly. You can probably have it rebuilt or get a good used one. Many of us have "upgraded" to a Garett/Air Research T3 or even bigger, like a T3/T4 hybrid. The T3 was used on pre-87 TC, SVOs and Merkurs. It can support around 275 HP. The IHI is maxed out at around 250 HP.


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NATO Member. it's not a vice, it's an obsession
"The nice thing about each new day is nobody ever used it before" Barnaby Jones
88 TC X 2, 86 SVO, mods list at
http://www.turbotbird.com/showroom/pd_88tc.htm
Pete Dunham


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matiii1 Offline
Member
#9
Thanks for all the help.I would just like to fix the turbo problem but my brother thinks I should pull the motor and rebuild it also.I dont think I want to do this right now.One more question,will a T3 or T3/4 hybrid bolt up or is there major fabrication to do this.Car is basically stock with just hiflow cat and flowmasters.Just thinking I hope all that oil in my exhaust did not clog my converter up.
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Pete D Offline
Administrator
#10
See the article "Upgrade to a T3...." under Turbo in the FAQs. There is some minor fabrication but mostly easily obtainable type parts.

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NATO Member. it's not a vice, it's an obsession
"The nice thing about each new day is nobody ever used it before" Barnaby Jones
88 TC X 2, 86 SVO, mods list at
http://www.turbotbird.com/showroom/pd_88tc.htm
Pete Dunham


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