Turbo went boom. [pics]

CoyoteStarfish · March 15th, 2012, 12:31

So I'm driving along, and I hear an all too familiar POP and loss of power. I immediately shut the engine down and coast into a parking lot expecting a charge pipe blew off somewhere. Not so lucky.
I see oil pouring all over the ground near the rear of the engine, so I play it safe.. call in, wait for a tow.
I get home and start checking around only to find THIS:

The entire compressor housing had sheared off!

When I reached down to feel how bad the compressor blade had been chewed up - knowing it wouldn't be salvageable anyway - I didn't feel anything at all. The compressor blade was gone.
Any idea what might have caused this? Vehicle details and mods are in my signature... keep in mind the EVRY mod is on a momentary button only activated at WOT. I was nowhere near WOT when this happened.

Nutsnbolts · March 15th, 2012, 15:43

That is absolutely amazing. I've got nothing as far as an idea about why that would have happened, though. At first glance, it looks like it took a hit from behind, but I'm not sure what could have done it. Was the nut that holds the turbo outlet pipe to the body (the one between the turbo and the intercooler) still on? If the pipe was hanging free, vibration over time might have fatigued the housing?

-Rich

CoyoteStarfish · March 15th, 2012, 15:51

I just had to go check.. the pipe was still bolted to the body. Someone else suggested it may have been a casting flaw. There is a hair-line crack that runs from the center out to the outside of the flange. I'm trying to get a better picture right now.

Ski in NC · March 15th, 2012, 15:53

Seen other photos of the same type failure on this site. Looks like fatigue failure. Boost pressure up high?? High boost puts alot of force on that housing (looks like a piston to the pressurized air) and that will stress it where it failed. Each gear shift is a load cycle, creating a fatigue situation. Maybe some other turbos are beefier there.

CoyoteStarfish · March 15th, 2012, 15:56

I'm running stock boost, and I don't drive it that hard. Oh well.. time for a VNT17 or 20 perhaps?

CoyoteStarfish · March 15th, 2012, 17:12

More pictures:

bloc · March 15th, 2012, 17:43

Shaft failure > compressor wheel wedging itself between the cartridge & housing? maybe?

diesel-dave · March 15th, 2012, 18:39

looks like you need a new turbo, My suggestion is to get a vnt 17 this time. they are similar to vnt 15 in price.

CoyoteStarfish · March 15th, 2012, 19:10

I'm looking at a VNT20 using a cast 8V manifold with a T25 flange. Not sure about clearances on this Beetle, however.. anyone want to chime in?

If that doesn't pan out, I'm also looking at a KP39A [Isn't this essentially a VNT17?] with integrated exhaust manifold.

We wanted to go big power with this Beetle, this was just a little unexpected. But if I have to shell out, I might as well go big.

FordGuy100 · March 15th, 2012, 19:33

The same KP39 found on BEW's? if that's the cause many say that are to small andust be upgraded for bigger power.

1.9 TDI Awd · May 18th, 2012, 14:59

i would love to know how yours blew aparts/ split. i did get a message from my VWvortex a guy John that had a same issue. i should call him like he offered. just wondering are all of your vacuum lines oem? mine r. have you ever replaced your N75 valve? mines OEM as far as i know, had the TDI a year and never replaced. old owner didnt know much. needed alot of tlc when i bought it. still needs some... anyways i had my EVRY mod on at WOT 2nd gear up hill pull, full running temp after bout 1hr plus driving lightly no evry. just normal cruising, wanted to pull up hill... BOOF. same though of boost pipe, no response. then i saw a bit of white smoke, had to crest the hill as i was on a highway. it started dieseling the oil(rpm and feel gave that away) i shuter down ASAP, in gear as i have PD150 IM and RP. no asv to shut for me as im egr deleted. coulda been the Engine!! glad to upgrade also, just way to unexpected....enough rambling

1.9 TDI Awd · May 18th, 2012, 15:06

This is the housing off my VNT15. as you can see pieces of the wheel are lodged into the housing...

then the whole housing, still unable to locate the actual shaft. however the nut is in mint condition threads and all! so confused on that part

seperated form the cast...
and literally all that i found in the housing on the road after blow out. wheel pieces where on my skid plate.

after tearing everything apart, the vanes work flawlessly. the actuator moves(unsure of how much vacuum it takes) and the soot was minimal. just oily as can be!...upgrade i guess!

CoyoteStarfish · May 18th, 2012, 15:13

I also have the EVRY mod, but mine is a bit different. I have a trigger button under the accelerator which only triggers it at WOT and there is a toggle which arms the trigger mounted just by my hazards. The EVRY was OFF when this happened!
I will admit, I did like to race this little Beetle around town, and with the EVRY it was pretty quick - so I did abuse it on occasion. It has no boost gauge, which is why I stopped using the EVRY in the interest of waiting until I could put a quality pyrometer and boost gauge on it.
I was leaving a McDonald's parking lot with casual acceleration and when I hit second gear.. "BOOF!" describes the sound perfectly. I thought maybe I had blown an intercooler hose but then I saw the white cloud and the engine started accelerating on its own. The first post describes the rest.
The compressor stage had been sheered off completely, leaving the damage pattern on the compressor housing you see above.
This car had OEM everything with no service records, 150k on it, clueless POs and the lady (my friend, owner for 3 years) I bought it from wasn't very well informed by myself as I didn't know much about the TDIs at the time of her ownership either. The only things I DO is that I installed some .216 "prothe" nozzles about 1.5 years ago and that the car had a timing belt and clutch installed a few months prior to my purchase.

1.9 TDI Awd · May 18th, 2012, 15:28

hmm, i wish i new the reason? is it too much overboosting previous to it letting go? just bad turbo, oil seals going out anyways. i wish i knew more about what lead to this catostrophic failure.... have you repaired your setup yet? or are you still turbo less?

CoyoteStarfish · May 18th, 2012, 16:01

I've got a good used turbo on mine right now, still VNT15 until I get up the parts to do a 17 or 17/22 swap.
I did an EGR/CCV delete while I had it open so I'm in limp mode until I either tune it or go mTDI.