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[Nascarfan08]

Sorry I've become kind of a lurker lately, I've been busy with my senior year and whatnot.

Unfortunately I've had a major problem with the Capri. I'll give you the long version to hopefully give as much as evidence as possible. I'll start at the very beginning, I guess.

A few weeks ago, when I'd start the car up in the morning and would first leave my driveway, as the turbo would spin up it would make kind of a "weeeee" noise for just a second. I attributed it to the cold and figured it was just one of those turbo noises.

Then, as I was coming home on the freeway, that noise suddenly happened again, except that it wasn't for a second... it was constant. "Weeeee...weeee...weeeeweeeweeee...weeee", etc. I suddenly lost a lot of power and the car slowed down to about 55, even with my foot close to the floor. I decided since it was driving okay and I didn't see anything bad coming out the back, I'd keep babying it until I got closer to home, because frankly, I didn't want to be a white boy with a broken down car near Flint (it's the most dangerous city in the nation or something). I stopped at a gas station, didn't see anything, and the car was idiling okay there, so I got back on the freeway. I decided that as soon as I got close enough to take backroads I would, to get out of the way and take my good ol' time, but try to get it home. As I exited the freeway, the car was really sputtering, and I looked back and saw a huge cloud of smoke, so I shut it down immediately.
After getting it home, we started to do preliminary analysis. The engine itself is fine- it pulls great vaccum, and still ran up the point that I shut it down. It burned up all of it's oil, down from full to below L. The oil was COVERING the intake from the turbo up through the engine, where it was burning and causing the smoke. Everything seems to point to the turbo, but I want to see what you guys think. Initially I got suggestions that I seized the bearings in the turbo, but as I've been slowly pulling everything apart, I've gotten to the intake side of the impeller thing and it spins with little resistance and seems undamaged. I have yet to actually remove the turbo, because if it's something else I'd like to save myself the hassle of pulling it out.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

Scott

[Heavensheros]

ouch that sucks to hear that happen i dont really know what the problem is but what what part of muchugan are you from ? if it is the turbo i have a spare one that i could prolly sell to your for super cheap like less than 50 bucks or more it works well with my car its got some bent fins but its works real good but im upping the boost and that wouldnt do good but it runs great if it is the turbo i can prolly hook you up with it

[1992xr2]

Grab the nut on the intake side and move it back and forth while spinning it, if it hits anywhere the turbo is shot.  If it doesn't the turbo is still probably shot.

[Rocketman]

It really sounds like your turbo is shot. The bearings were probably worn out and he oil seals failed.

Dont replace it with a damaged turbo unless you are really desperate. Its a pretty big job but not huge, you should be able to pull it off on a saturday.

In the meantime do not run the car as it will continue to consume all of its oil. I did the same thing and I burned a quart in less than 25 miles.

Also note your intercooler will be filled with oil. Clean it out best you can, and keep in mind the car will probably smoke for a while untill all the oil is drawn in and burned off.

[Gus Kelley]

Hey Nascar! I'm jumping on the bandwagon, as I've had indentical symptoms twice myself. Source out a good used unit or a quality rebuilt. Dallas[Majestic] Turbo is a popular rebuilder in the forums.  Good Luck  Gus.

[Nascarfan08]

My next question is, what caused this? Simply its time, or did something else cause the wear and eventual fail on the turbo (I still haven't gotten it off yet, so no exact diagnosis, but I'm throwing out general questions). Basically, I don't want to buy another turbo to have it slowly get eaten up again. I've only got 74,000 miles and would love to at least double that. I love this car.

Thanks,
Scott

[Gus Kelley]

Hey Nascar!  74,000 miles is soon for a normal driven car. Several factors,oil needs changed regularly with out fail, they're more sensitive to dirty oil. Also, some people will turn a car off imediately after highly spooling the turbo up. That turbo can spin up to a minute after spooling and if there is a lack of oil pressure then damage is done. then there is the changing of the air filter. Oil is the most important.  Gus.

[Rocketman]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Turbos-turbocharger-Mazda-323-Capri-XR2-1-6L_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33742QQihZ019QQitemZ290230447060QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

[Gus Kelley]

Hey Rocketman!  You spreading the word on a turbo I'm bidding on?   Gus.

[Gus Kelley]

Holy Crap!  The bid went from 102.50  to  350.00 just today alone!  Gus

[1992xr2]

If you want one that isn't new but only has 50k, I'll let one go for alot less than $350.  I also have one with 125k that you can have for really cheap and get rebuilt for less than that one.

[Rocketman]

There are several things that can lead to turbo failure:

-Crappy oil. If you dont have clean oil, you can get crap in the turbo bearings and it will wear. Also, running low on oil can kill a turbo (and an engine) very quickly

-Boosting while the engine is still cold. You can take off with a cold engine but avoid putting the pedal down. You'll notice the turbo sounds much different spooling when its cold.

-Overboosting. Overspooling the turbo accelerates the wear on the turbo.

-Cheap/worn out/blocked bypass/blowoff valve. If your bpv is clogged or just not functioning properly. the turbo will suffer from compressor surge. Our turbos are tiny, and are easily stalled. A poorly adjusted aftermarket valve, or a cheap aftermarket valve that just doesnt work correctly can also cause turbo damage.

-FOD- foreign object damage. If your air filter isnt up to par or if its damaged, large debris can be sucked into the turbo and cause major damage to the fins.

-Coked oil- running dyno oil and parking the car hot. The oil cokes up in the bearings and craps em up. This is not too much of a problem since we have water cooled turbos; but you should always let the car cool down a bit (idle) after very hard driving, before parking. Since we have such a small turbo it wont really keep spinning for long but larger turbos this can be an issue.

-Blocked oil drain- if the oil drain becomes blocked or kinked, high pressure oil builds up inside the turbo and eventually makes its way out of the oil seals into the compressor and/or the turbine.

It could also just be a fluke - maybe improperly balanced from the factory. These are common issues you situation may differ im just offering up some possible causes of turbodeath

[Nascarfan08]

Thanks guys! No word yet but I'm getting closer to having it off.

I can eliminate every one but the dirty oil just because I try to use common sense and care while driving the car. How often do you change the oil in your cars? I had seen everything from 3,000 to 6,000. I hit 3,000 in January, and since I was planning on doing it myself, I had been putting it off (so cold!)... I was somewhere just north of 5,000 when it blew.

[Nascarfan08]

Well, it's off, and it's official. The bearings are bad. I took off the exhaust and could see the impeller for the exhaust side (I'm talking the exhaust pipe, not the manifold off the engine). I reached up and was able to push it back inside. I won't know until I get the exhaust manifold off what all exactly is bad inside.

Are there any bearing rebuild kits available, and would this even be a feasible option, or would it be better to just find a turbo in good condition?

[Rocketman]

If the turbo is that bad, its not rebuildable. The shaft has bearing seats that if they become too worn, it cannot be re-used and must be replaced.

Also, if the turbine or the compressor wheels have impacted the housings they may be damaged.

You can try to send it out for rebuild but they'll likely have to replace the CHRA, which is usually very expensive. You'd be best off finding a good used turbo.