Month: July 2018

Compressor Wheel – Major Impact Damage Here, you can see three compressor wheels with varying degrees of damage to the blades. This kind of damage is fairly common, and caused when a foreign object (like a stone or piece of metal) enters the compressor on the air inlet side. In cases where you find major …

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Compressor Wheel – Corrosion Damage This is a common problem with turbos that are attached to pieces of equipment that are stored outside, like marine turbos and those attached to outdoor generators. The problem is that prolonged exposure to the elements and water causes a build up of corrosive materials (and rust). Apart from causing …

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Compressor Wheel – Minor Impact Damage This example illustrates the damage that can be caused by inadequate or faulty air filtration. It’s a common problem and in these examples, small pieces of dust, dirt and grit have been able to enter the turbos on the air inlet side. Over time, these particles have begun to …

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Seal Plate Damage – Corrosion In this image, you can see a seal plate with the tell-tale signs of corrosion damage. On a new, undamaged back plate, the surface would be smooth, but here, corrosion has caused the face of the seal to become pitted, worn and roughened. This kind of problem is fairly common …

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Seal Plate Damage – Excessive Play in Bearings Here, the seal plate has been damaged by excessive play in the journal bearings (also known as thrust bearings). On the face of the plate, you can clearly see that the bore has been chewed and worn down by the bearings. On the rear of the plate, …

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Seal Plate Damage – Excessive Wear of Bearings If the thrust or journal bearings become excessively worn, then they can cause damage to the seal plates like in the example pictured here. When bearings become worn, this allows the rotor assembly to float on its axis. In turn, this allows the back face of the …

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Compressor Wheel – ‘Mouse & Nut’ Damage You couldn’t make this one up. One of our customers had parked their car up for winter and during this time, some mice had taken refuge in the airbox. When the customer came to use the car again in the spring and started up the engine, some nuts …

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Compressor Cover Damage – Scoring This image illustrates scoring out of the compressor cover profile, and occurs when excessive wear and movement in either the thrust bearing or journal bearing (or both) causes excessive movement in the rotor. In turn, this causes the compressor wheel to rub against the compressor cover, scoring out the profile. …

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Compressor Cover damage – Corrosion In the image, you can see corrosion damage to the seal area and inlet of the compressor cover. This type of damage is extremely common with Porsche units as, with the turbos sited so low down on the vehicle, they catch all the road debris that gets flung up from …

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Wastegate Actuator damage Faulty or damaged actuators are the cause of many of the turbo problems we see at AET, but they can be easy to overlook. The wastegate actuator acts as a pressure relief valve, which ultimately controls the boost output of a turbocharger. It works by holding the wastegate shut until the required …

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