holy shiste!

[1991cummins]

ok boys, a little while back i started to notice that the old s300 was starting to whistle quite a bit louder, with a little more boost, youd think good, but this happened utterly randomly, with no mods whatsoever ... and i began to notice a little bit of vibrato in the whistle tone

then one day my friend told me that my stacks were (censored) sparks when i got on it... i checked a few times and never noticed it, so i blew it off... then the yesterday, same friend was with me and he was like "dude i see them, seriously"... so i took off from a stop, and shifted into third and gave her some fuel, lo-and-behold, there came a effing sparklers worth of bright orange sparks out of my stack!!!! i very quickly freaked the eff out! checked around under the hood, nothing, looked down my stacks, nothing... idk whats up???

ive NEVER allowed my turbo to see anything above 1400*, and even then, thats HOT for me! my safe limit is 1250* before i back off, and there have been maybe 3 or 4 times she has seen 14... i monitor gauges very carefully, especially when im getting on it!, i have not got around to checking the blades yet or anything, so if anybody knows anything, has any ideas of what to check, or what it could be please let me know... mods are listed in sig, water/meth is not operating and i run 2stroke oil in my fuel... so i have nooo idea!

any help is appreciated, and sorry for the novel, im just really really really worried about my girl

[dpuckett]

First thing I'd do is pull the intake hose and downpipe off and check the blades and look for slack anywhere.

Did you get your turbo new? If so, did you do the break-in properly? Not sure if it matters with the S300s, but PDR told me to drive easy the first so many miles and avoid full throttle when I got my PDR HX35.

Has anything been able to get into your stacks that may ignite easily and send the sparks up and out?

Daniel

[Richie O]

Might be the soot balls burning.

[Oddfire]

Or a starling nest....

[PToombs]

I bet it's the hot wheel grinding itself on the housing. Better look at the turbo before you put more compressor wheel into the engine.

[1991cummins]

i have no idea, im hoping terribly that its a piece of paper, or a wasp nest or something that yall suggested... yes i did break in properly daniel, it was quite a while after the break in period that i even got on it at all, idk what the limit on those turbos are, but i have hit 45 pounds a few times and such, but never over heated it...

My next step is to take of the tubing and check the wheels, but do yall think i should take the housing off... i really dont know what exactly im looking for, unless i completely take the housing off and look for grind marks all along the blades...

so if i dont take off the housing, considering the extra amount of work required, what should i be looking for...

[1991cummins]

oh, and rich, can soot balls burn? i get them bad, considering i have mitre cuts, and moisture has no trouble dropping down in there... so if they can burn, then i love the idea of that, plusss, i have pod's with fuel just about maxed, so i sthi smoke hard!

[Richie O]

All I know is I have welded on heavily sooted pipe before and it kinda flashes up in fire. It reminds me of a flannel shirt when your welding. The fire crawls up the soot. Pretty neet looking.

[1991cummins]

yah but how hot is an arc? cause thats a long reach it seems like? not to doubt you, just trying to understand whats up? and why it just so suddenly started to happen... i guess it could have been happening for a while, im just now noticing it!

[Richie O]

You should dought me. I was just throwing out ideas. I had a gasser that used to eat mufflers and throw tons of sparks out each side. Looked like someone was throwing out hundreds of cig butts. Might have been something to do with 7500 rpm's. Pete may be more on track with the hot side starting to rub the housing.

[1991cummins]

i sure as sthi hope not!!! i just took the intake track off, and moved my wheel, and i dont know about the amount of play... there is abolutely no axail play whatsoever, but there is a little bit of radial play, but then again there was some when i bought the turbo brand spanking new! so idk what to think, i dont know how to feel about the play? is there any sort of acceptable specs i can measure i compare them too?

[PToombs]

I don't remember the exact spec, but I know you can have some radial play, and no end play. If it has end play, it can travel and hit the housings. That being said, I'd look real close, and turn it while putting side pressure on it. If it's hitting, you can feel the drag. The wheel may show wear on the edges too, like a small step down the edge of the vane.

[fergavs]

I hate to be the one to say it but im pretty positive your turbos blown. When my BD Special blew it started sparking out the exaust and my buddy also noticed it before me. As stated above, put a side load on the shaft and look for contact/drag and markings on the blade tips. You should see damage on both the exaust and compressor side so just pull the cold side 1st to save time and effort. Itll be the bearing thats toast causing the shaft to twist forcing the wheels to rub the housings.

[1991cummins]

Ok, i've turned with side pressure and nothing happens, turns as free as ever, does whatever I like... So idk, I will take the compressor housing off soon when I get a chance, bu this is really worrying me, cause I just paid an effing grand for that damn thing! Maybe a year ago:-/

[swank]

I've been told that turbos always make the most boost right before they pop. I was told this by a kid who went to a diesel program and got the info from his instructor. IOW, not from actual experience. So I would take it with a grain of salt, but I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't be driving with that turbo any more.