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.
Once inside the compressor, the object will start to mill away the blades as they turn, grinding, chipping and breaking pieces away. A turbo with damaged compressor blades cannot work at full efficiency, and in extreme cases, like on the compressor wheel on the left of the image, the blades can be sheared off completely – rendering the turbo useless.
Unfortunately, if this happens to your turbo, it just isn’t cost-effective to repair the blades, and the only course of action is to replace the compressor wheel and check the air inlet. Thankfully, at AET, we supply a full range of genuine OE aftermarket upgrade compressor wheels at cost-effective prices suitable for a full range of applications, and our expert teams will have your turbo working again in no time.
