mdpalmer

It seems to me that everyone builds their motors up with all kinds of stuff... special pistons, connecting rods, head gaskets...decked/sleeved blocks, blah, blah..
The idea is to keep their motor running under high boost, right?

But I am still trying to figure out what the common cause of turbo engine failure is. I have only heard a handful of failure stories, but it's still not quite clear to me what went wrong in the process.

It seems that the biggest problems occur with stuff in the combustion chamber (i.e. pistons and piston rings), under detonation. Some of these guys did have special engine components/precautions which were intended to eliminate problems. Have any of you out there ever experienced problems WITHOUT detonation?

Okay, summary:

1. If you can pinpoint one (or maybe several) of the most common causes of turbo engine failure, what would it be? (like certain components, tuning issues, ?)

2. Consider 1. for a)detonation condition and b)no detonation

3. Have you ever actually experienced major engine problems? If so, explain.

Pardon the generality of this thread, but upon searching, everything still seems cloudy! Thanks.

VTC_CiViC

Engine failure under boost or not, can be any 1 of 100's of things. It's not always a case of bad tuning or engine neglect, although those stories tend to get the most attention.

Before I ever went turbo (in my pro JRSC days), I was detered from turbo's primarily because of the faint horror stories of turbochargers blowing up engines left and right. Once I came here and read up on the mass of TC'd Honda's running around, I realized #1- the VAST majority of those turbo'd who tend to their cars, actually wind up living a VERY long time.. and #2- When they do go bad, it's typically a driver error (mis-shifting, over-revving etc..) vs. the motor just quitting. I've also seen alot of freak incidences, like vaccum lines poping off FPR's, or FMU freezing etc.. so you see, it's not as reliable as staying N/A, but being turbo is not nearly as much a high stakes affair as so many uninformed people make it out to be. Yes, you're opening yourself up to a whole new array of problem possibilities, but that's not neccesarily to say that you WILL experience them. Take care of your motor, stay away from nickel and dime half-assed shortcuts, be aware and sensible.. and you motor should live a long healty life.

Honda motors are amazingly strong in comparison with alot of other economy class motors (1.6 and 1.8L engines i.e. Mitsu, Kia, Hyundai etc..), and have a great reliability track record, even with F.I. Just something t consider..

earl

Even if you built your motor to withstand all types of failures a simple clogged injector can lean out a cylinder causing enough heat to melt a piston. A lean condition will not necessarily cause detonation, just damage.

DIRep972

iTrader: (1)

Ive seen alot of people blow motors, then go and build some bad *** sleeved/forged motor and blow it all over again. why? because they didnt get to the root of the problem.

If u have a perfectly tuned motor, no detonation, and reliable parts that are not gonna fail, nothing should ever go wrong.. Unless u r really pushing the limits of the motor internals.. in that case, it would just take lots of time to blow the motor.

most common reasons people blow motors(from what ive seen)
1)trying to run too much boost on stock injectors
2)running stock timing on too much boost
3)deltagate wastegate failure causing insane boost spike



[Modified by DIRep972, 7:38 PM 5/15/2002]

wonny

Oil Pressure. Watch your oil levels and pressure. That is what caused my engine to blow.

I just got my turbo back yesterday so in three weeks, I'm going to try it again.

Dave

DA666

how did ur oil pressure blow ur motor....just curious.....cos mine seems low as well.

ninesecrx

low oil= high heat and friction

JJ-Built

the # one cause of turbocharge engine failure is the driver.
just look in the mirror and see what i mean....................

wonny

I think it was a bad oil return line. I was losing oil somewhere.

Like the other guy said:

Low oil = low cooling, low lubrication

Pressure should read around 50 when in boost.

turboex

damn he got me....
"3)deltagate wastegate failure causing insane boost spike"
but was it the wastegates fault or mine for not swaping it out after i had been told a million times.. yep its my fault

The_Head

I'm on my 3rd motor so heres what hashappened to me.

#1 Dont boost for too long, (>15 secs at a time) or you may melt internals, such as pistons.

#2 Keep a close eye on oil pressure. My oil pumped failed for some odd reason and I had to have the entire bottom end replaced. Not fun.

I've never had any detonation problems, both times the head was pulled the plugs were a nice tosty brown color.

HTH

FBP Ex-T

so if u cant be in boost for that long of a time 15 sec. then like u can be on the express way like passing cars and stuff like if im going 60 on 5th gear and someone tries me...i cant downshift to 3rd and just dip it like in and out of traffic?? what about a long race...1st through 5th gear...thats more than 15sec. at least my car (even when its turbo)

X2BOARD

There are many issues that you can run into with a turbo'd car, what I can tell you to avoid most of them is

1) Know how your engine/turbo works...an educated driver can avoid disaster
2) Choose the right gauges and brand (necessity and quality)
3) Pop your hood often to take a peek for any loose lines, fittings, spots from oil leaks, etc

Just as the old saying goes, An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of boost... or something like that

AzianAvenger

My motor had 50,000 miles on it before it blew. I cracked my #4 land rings (sp?) and hairlined fractured number 3. The top of my stock pistons looked healthy and there was not a single scratch on my stock sleeves. I was very lucky.

I boosted for 20,000 miles and I did many drag racing events and ran it hard on the streets. I boosted anywhere from 6 - 12 pounds. And I ran 93 -104 octane.

I did a lot of highway racing and that is what caused my engine failure.

Never ever boost high or for long periods of time in 5th gear. I even recommend in not boosting much in 4th. That puts mega stress on the engine. Since I was a dumbass and recklessly drove up to 145+mph all the time, I caused a lot of internal pressure in my engine. It was only a matter of time for my engine to go. If I had drove my car normally and boosted every now and then, I would of lasted another 20,000 miles no problem. Turbo requires a lot of maintenance and tender loving care. I don't know jack about cars so my turbo has been a great learning experience.

Currently, I am rebuilding my engine with pistons/rods (9.5:1) and adding in a hondata. I am going to conservatively boost only 10-12 pounds since I am on stock sleeves.

Anyways stock motors are strong as long as they are healthy before boosting.
My motor was a good NA turbo setup because I bought the car brand new and never really got on the car until after 5,000+ miles!!! I knew the engine was a gem and pulled really hard.

WEll I'm babbling...good luck with your FI experience!

-AzianAvenger

Smurfylude

but we all know that your not the best driver.......

How's the rebuild going?

The_Head

Yeah, thats another thing you should avoid boosting in 5th, especially if you've an LS tranny like myself with really tall gearing. It puts alot of stress on the bearings.

DIRep972

iTrader: (1)

Ive only topped out my car 3 times. is that too much 5th gear boosting?

<<<who knows his motor is gonna blow anyday

X2BOARD

You can never boost too much in 5th !!! J/K... 3 times is not gonna do squat.. but boosting in 5th is almost as bad as hitting nitrous in 5th, no ?

boostedcrx

my main problem was detonation, thats how my first motor went i broke a ring land. other than that tuning is a big factor to keep the life of the motor, and regular maintaince. other that that i see no reason to "build" a motor for a daily driver.

SEFIxCivic

#1 cause of blown motors is a loose nut behind the steering wheel

Aeka GSR

ah man, now you guys tell me... hehe... i was boosting a few times for like 5 seconds at a time on a 5-10% grade hill... It was in the vally between Bakersfield and LA in Cali. It still runs... ill just be more cautious.


[Modified by Aeka GSR, 7:13 PM 5/22/2002]