The AET Blog – Turbo Fails

Here’s a more serious example of overspeeding damage – in this image, the compressor wheel has actually exploded into pieces due to extreme overspeeding!

In these images, you can see that the back of the compressor wheel has become rippled and pitted, which are early signs of damage caused by overspeeding.

Faulty or damaged actuators are the cause of many of the turbo problems we see at AET, but they can be easy to overlook.

In the first two images, 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 the back wheels. Over time, this causes the surfaces of the compressor cover to corrode.

When it comes to turbo damage, oil has a lot to answer for, with oil pressure, delay and contamination all common culprits.

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…

If the thrust or journal bearings become excessively worn, then they can cause damage to the seal plates like in the example pictured here.

Here, the seal plate has been damaged by excessive play in the journal bearings (also known as thrust bearings).

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 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.