TE-51 compressor damage. Big deal, or run it until it dies?

[zigm]

I bought an 87 T this year that had a TE-51 installed in 2000. (8 years and 30,000 miles ago). Previous owner ran the car @115mph on 24psi and alky.
Other than a bit of lag and flutter at 10psi, there are no symptoms anything is wrong with the turbo.

I recently took it off to check the passenger header for leaks and saw some compressor wheel damage inside the exhaust housing. The area of the fins closest to the center section have small bits missing from the leading edges (almost like chipped teeth). The rest of the fin structure looks ok & there is very minimal shaft play.

I've read some of the troubled history of this turbo.... does this sound like what I should expect with this model, or has mine just eaten some foreign material at some point? I'm guessing this throws the balance out of whack, and will cause the bearings to wear faster than normal.

Will the small missing bits on the turbine wheel significantly impact the turbo's performance? (I'm sure it increases lag some, but is it 2% or 20%)
The car feels very strong now....

Can this be repaired with a turbine wheel replacement? If so, where and how much would this cost? Can it be retrofitted with ball bearings during a rebuild?

I'm sure this is wishfull thinking, but hey.. it doesn't hurt to ask:
Any warranty 'recalls' still in effect for this model so I could trade it in/up?

Thanks,

 

[Junior Samples]

Que has been sitting here with no replys


drive it till it pukes!:biggrin:

serious, if its off balance, at about 1 zillion rpms i would think its only a matter of time before it would casue a catastrawfic failure, with parts everywhere

 

[ChavoLC2]

Are you crazy?

Man I wouldn't drive it like that. Had a Turbo go bad Compressor wheel hit the side of the housing during a WOT run and just tore it all up , talk about a noise you don't want to hear I just got out of it and nursed her home.. Had pieces/chunks of compressor wheel all thru the IC had to take IC out and clean all that metal debris out. The last thing you want is all that debris getting in to the engine. Unless you need a real good excuse for having to buy a new turbo , IC and possibly a rebuild Run her hard till she pukes her guts out. or like you said run her till she dies!

 

[RUQWKNF]

Agreed.
The more you drive it, the more compressor wheel material will get into your intercooler, causing damage, and eventually working it's way into your motor and taking out your bearings. What might have cost you $500-$600 to repair, has just turned into $1,500 - $2,000 repair bill all because you wanted to take a chance and drive it till it breaks.

Then there is the worse case scenario. The rotating assembly becomes so unbalanced that the wheel/wheels self destruct, sending shrapnel everywhere. Now, that shrapnel can keep going through the sheet metal at the RPMs the turbo operates at. (75K - 150K RPM is typical under WOT) What if that shrapnel hits an innocent bystander, or worse, causes you to have a blow out at speed leading to a wreck. For this very reason, is why turbo manufacturers continue to make turbine housings out of thick cast iron. Think containment barrier...

To me, that's not a risk I'm willing to take.
I would stop driving it and get the turbo repaired. New oil and oil filter, and discontinue use of the factory oil cooler if it was installed and functioning when the turbo went south.
Hope this helps.

Patrick

 

[bison]

If it loses a big piece on one side it could get way out of balance and further damage the turbo or engine.