Turbos- '' TROUBLE'' ..THE ANAGRAM IS THERE .NEED I SAY MORE

As others have asked what exactly is the failure ??

Years ago when Turbochargers were just becoming popular i worked in a workshop where a vehicle came in with a turbo boost light coming on and one of the workers diagnosed it as a turbo failure because of the freeplay in the turbo shaft and ordered a new turbo under warranty

When the new one arrived it also had movement in the shaft as it was a plain bearing turbo and the shaft floated on oil and the actual cause of the light coming on was a faulty alternator voltage regulator

Regards Don
 
I know nothing about turbos except that I had to have a new one under warranty on my Merc. But I don't see how you think that 'Turbos' is an anagram of 'trouble'.
Sorry Nigel, I see you had already made that quip.
 
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Robg71 said:
if you have been running at high speed,leave your motors running to allow them turbos to cool naturally.
I could get the turbo on my old car glowing cherry red, so when its hot... its hot.
diesels shouldn't get to this temperature though.
Check out some of the modified car type companies who should be able to service it. theres enough of them about. Just because of the markings on the out side of your turbo, the compressor wheel and turbine may be different from any other application.
What markings are on it....
kkk
Garret
IHI Hitachi
Click to expand...
My 3306 cats ran their turbos cherry red!
Stu
 
Fire99 said:
I would be amazed if a turbo only lasting 15 hours running, was purely down to shut down. How often do you really come to a halt on a boat from Wide Open Throttle to switch off immediately.

Simply the process of mooring takes the 'heat' off the engine and it's working less hard.

edit - Just to add, we're not talking modest premature turbo failure, we're talking almost 'bolt in then fail' situations.
Click to expand...

that's the point, you only have to cook the oil once and its good night bearings! but I would agree that there's more to this than has been said
 
Fire99 said:
I would be amazed if a turbo only lasting 15 hours running, was purely down to shut down. How often do you really come to a halt on a boat from Wide Open Throttle to switch off immediately.

Simply the process of mooring takes the 'heat' off the engine and it's working less hard.

edit - Just to add, we're not talking modest premature turbo failure, we're talking almost 'bolt in then fail' situations.
Click to expand...

But the op says he has had a number of turbos fitted. If the oil feed is compromised then the new turbos are in trouble from the start. Have new feed pipes been fitted or just "cleaned" if anything was done to them at all
 
Paul_G said:
But the op says he has had a number of turbos fitted. If the oil feed is compromised then the new turbos are in trouble from the start. Have new feed pipes been fitted or just "cleaned" if anything was done to them at all
Click to expand...

You're preaching to the converted!!! :) I did post regarding oil feed/ return. That would be my first inspection.
I was dismissing a simple case of oil starvation due to switching off from high speed, too soon.
 
Re turbo

Here on the Thames there are 3 company's that reckon turbos my last one was £500 but with the lack of use on the Themes I have removed both of them and both 250 HP engines are running much better no smoke and very smooth.
Good luck BOB.
 
pvb said:
Wouldn't you have thought the OP might have replied by now? He's been online since he posted.
Click to expand...


''... am told my Mercruiser Alpha 1.4 D stern drive is the same engine as the ISUZU van/ car .or a Volks wagon Golf ?? . but a 1.4 engine have a turbo.. and would a car turbo be suitable for a boat.''

Third last para on my post ..
 
it's the same turbo car/boat /tracktor
all it needs is a good supplie of PERMANANT clean oil...if you run the oil level to low can suck up air will kill a turbo in minit's..tel/tel.. blue bearings or black marks on thrust washer
AIR any restiction will kill a turbo...same as vacume cleaner!!.. restrict inlet air and compresser wheel cavitates and over speeds,normaly exhoust wheel falls off
over heating... burnt tipps on exhoust wheel or blue shaft

THAT IS WHY WE ARE ALL WAITING FOR A REPLY "WHAT IS FAILING"
can you tell us what the problem is then we can tell you the cure
 
george unthank said:
I have had three turbos , thus far in my boat- with 200 hrs on clock
They cost € 2K a pop, and when you ring the - manufacturers they give you the same old same old,, they just go .''. do you want a new one .?''

The last one was fitted June 2011 , and guarantee of 1 yr notwithstanding they said my warranty had expired. I pointed out that I had done about 15 hrs with it. No! It was expired ..- by 1 month (less I think ) and nonchalantly , with a yawn they ask me if I want a new one at €2k a pop.. This is Dublin .. UK dealers are rarely so abrupt - but these guys have the corner of the market in Ireland .

This then will be my 4 th Turbo in 200 hrs !
Why do they pack in so easily
O observe all the instructions apropos oil temp, and pressure heading out and returning ( Heating up and cooling down )

They tell me there a few basic probs with turbos in boats
1.
Insufficient driving at high speed to prevent 'soot' build up
2
Dirty fuel or oil - But these go through filters ?
3
Waste gate
dont understand anything about this

4.
Intercooler
Equally - nada
5
wrong prop- putting too much pressure on blades to allow engine to attain revs required for turbo to click in. But she is designed to carry 5 adults and I have got 30 +knots with full load. I have goot 37 knots/hr on my own , so with just me in boat there couldn't be too much problems attaining sufficiently high revs to enable turbo to click in , even iif the prop was slightly 'heavy' in its bite -could there ?

If anyone knows a dealer in UK who supplies or reconditions for under 2k please pass address on
I contacted a cowboy type who deals in car parts who told me he supplied turbos for ships, but when I sent him along all the numbers and a picture of my turbo he hasn't been back to me . Cowboy ? or am I being unfair ?

There's another dealer here ( I live in Ireland - W.coast -Galway Bay) - He has just started up, and is dealing with my current turbo..lets see how it goes with him
I am told my Mercruiser Alpha 1.4 D stern drive is the same engine as the ISUZU van/ car .or a Volks wagon Golf ?? . but a 1.4 engine have a turbo.. and would a car turbo be suitable for a boat.

My insurance does not cover turbos unless you've had a collision and can verify you had one ! - They regard it as fair wear and tare
..
If ANYONE knows ANYTHING about turbos , please pass on SOMETHING of your wisdom.

I'd like to understand more about turbos, just for my own sake so if anyone had sketches or exploded views showing how they work these would be deeply appreciated .
Anyone out there ?
Come in
Please !
George
Click to expand...

George,

The fact that you have little clue as to your engine model is a cause for concern.

May I suggest that you have a Mercruiser 1.7L 120 MS power unit on Alpha leg??

The 1.7L 120 (Isuzu Poland) is a nice little unit however did have some issues.

Other than complaining there is zero infomation from you regarding actual failure mode??

The little waste-gate unit on the 1.7 Izuzu did suffer from stuck waste gates causing over boosting and often severe engine damage. Anybody maintaining one of these motors SHOULD be on top of the issue and ensure free operation of the boost capsule.

Three turbos in 200 hours................Mmmmmmmmmm. Surely the penny must have dropped with somebody! This is an installation issue, cannot understand why people chasing the problem and NOT the cause, this saga is all a complete nonsense.

Despite the total lack of failure data let me take a punt. Exhaust turbine wheel damaged and corrosion in exhause nozzle?

Next step...........Make ACCURATE measurement from top of exhaust riser to your loaded W/L.

Is vessel kept afloat or launched from a trailer??

If we had some failure data it may be possible to put a repair procedure in place, but not without first defining the cause.

Forget all the balls about hot shudown, we left all that folkore behind in the 1970's. If vessel compartment temperatures are that high would never be a fit for purpose installation, and could you imagine anybody approaching the pontoon a WOT, banging motor into reverse and then shutting down. Suspect most people motor up to their berth gently.

Instead to running around lie a Catherine wheel with the pin pulled out let's just apply some rational thinking.

Technical problems are nailed with data not anagrams
 
Latestarter1 said:
Forget all the balls about hot shudown, we left all that folkore behind in the 1970's. If vessel compartment temperatures are that high would never be a fit for purpose installation, and could you imagine anybody approaching the pontoon a WOT, banging motor into reverse and then shutting down. Suspect most people motor up to their berth gently.

Instead to running around lie a Catherine wheel with the pin pulled out let's just apply some rational thinking.

Technical problems are nailed with data not anagrams
Click to expand...

True. This thread is going round and round in circles until there is some basic data beyond "Three turbo's in 200 hours"

There is a fundamental issue somewhere. My first point would be to use a different mechanic to the one who is happy to keep changing turbo's for you.
 
Silence is deafening, looks like the OP just wanted to have a winge and not actual help...............

Winge (Austral term derived from of whinge, Scots, N England term, earlier Scots quhynge, Old English hwinsian, cognate with Old High German winsōn ( German winseln ); derivative of Germanic base of whine)
 
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