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So, as some of you know, I gave up trying to work on the engine from the balcony of my high-rise apartment. Since KDR Rotary quoted me a very good price on the conversion and because I wanted the peace of mind of having the engine fully torn down and then professionally tuned...

So, everything goes in just fine, custom exhaust etc. I went through BNR and got their stage 4 turbo with a 14lb actuator spring as I have run BNR turbos twice on other cars with no problems. The car will not boost past 5 psi. Tried all kinds of troubleshooting including: routing from the turbo to the throttle body (bypass the BOV and intercooler), removing the wastegate actuator, removing the downpipe and ensuring that the wastegate is not stuck open, remove the entire exhust to ensure it is not cloged etc.

Turbo appears to be spinning freely and is nice an tight. On removal of the turbo, the compressor wheel can spin independantly of the shaft (with some effort). So, it looks like the compressor blades are not spining up like they should. Furthermore, it looks like they may have grooved a little into the housing of the compressor.

Dave, at KDR, sent the turbo back to Brian at BNR. It seems like they have had disagreements before as to who was at fault when a turbo went bad. In this case, I do not see how KDR could have messed it up as it seems bvious that either the wheel was not torqued correctly or the loc-tite was not applied correctly.

It sucks for me, as I am out of my car which I was hoping to drive a little before the winter set in. Besides, I already paid for all the work to be done and a $1k turbo rebuild.

I paid, can I play now?Anyone ever heard of this issue with a rebuilt turbo?

 

damn, haven't heard of that, but I definitely see how it's possible. Well good luck with your project, the time will come.

 

I'm almost worried that it is not that, but we could not find anything else wrong with the car. Anyone have any other ideas on what may be wrong that I could while awaiting the turbo?

 

did you pressure test the system for boost leaks?

 

I'm not sure what you mean by this or where you are suggesting that there may be a boost leak. Let me repeat: I wanted to ensure that there was no issue with my intercooler being cracked--so I bypassed that. I wanted to ensure that there was no BOV problem--so I eliminated that. I wanted to ensure that there was no wastegate problem--so I disconnected the wastegate actuator and verified that the wastegate stayed closed. The intake manifold has no leaks as if it did, the engine would not idle.

With no wastegate, intercooler, or BOV and a big turbo, my boost should have shot up to 40 psi or so and blown my engine if the turbo was actually compressing. I obviously did all of the above in steps so that I would not blow up my new engine. Mind you, this whole time the car in on a dyno with three guys standing around scratching their heads. A boost "leak" that big would be blowing someone across the shop or at least be audible.

 

you can't just try another turbo could you? I guess that could be a lot to ask for, but it would definitely narrow it down so you can verify your problem is with the compressor wheel freespinning on the shaft. I would have already assumed that tho after I saw it free wheel by hand.

 

I wish there was another good turbo lying around that I/KDR could just bolt on. However, I do not have one and neither did KDR. The turbo was sent back to Brian at BNR and I have not hear back from him yet.

The compressor wheel was not exactly "free spinning", but it would turn on the shart with some effort. I assume that is why it could get up to 4-5 psi, the pressure above that would start holding it still. However, this is just an assumption since I have no way to clock the turbine wheel speed.

 

i have had that nut fall off a bnr hybrid turbo before. i instantly lost boost and the car started burning so much oil, i thought it caught on fire. after i got everything shut down and made sure there was no fire, i found the nut sitting in the tid. im not the only one that it has happened to either. fix the turbo and post with results.

 

Dang man. I hate to hear stuff like that happening. For a grand, you could have opted for a tubular manifold and a knockoff GT35R. I hope everything works out for ya.

 

Not a fan of knock-off anything--just my nature. In addition, this is a track car so I am not looking for maximum power, rather quick spool up and a good torque curve. A good turbo, manifold, and wastegate would run me a few grand which I may upgrade to one day. However, for now the BNR turbo will work just fine for what I'm doing. Besides, car trailer, and conversion has already sent me back about $11k.