How would I know if my Ecoboost turbo was going bad
01-24-2014, 11:41 AM
#2
Senior Member/Vietnam Vet
I've heard that a hamster wheel-like noise under load prior to shifting is a good indicator. I have that myself and plan to have the dealer take a look. The process is to disconnect the turbo output hoses and check for metal shavings and excessive play in the shaft.
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THINKLIKEAHORSE (10-02-2022)
01-24-2014, 12:02 PM
#4
Boost :)
I've blown my fair share of turbos in other cars I've owned, mostly drag cars, but there are a lot of different ways and symptoms that can occur depending on how it actually blows.
1. Obviously boost could fall off and have a slower response but other than your "feeling" of it spooling slower, you would have to have a boost gauge to be able to notice that.
2. When bearings/seals go, oil will bypass the CHRA housing and smoke out the exhaust when you are idling or cruising. Giant smokescreen of grey/blue smoke. Fuel is black so please don't confuse the two. Coolant is white, fuel is black, and oil is grey/bluish color. It also has a distinct smell to it.
3. If it blows bad enough, the wheel(s) can touch the sides of the housings and scrape and make a horrendous noise with a metal on metal sound. It would be VERY obvious if this were the case.
4. Lastly, and usually the easiest way on some turbos (maybe not so much on the EB due to turbo location) is to check for the play in the wheel and shaft of the turbo. Side to side for sure, but a few mm here and there is ok on that. The true way to tell is to grab the wheel by the nut in the middle and try to pull it out the front of the intake and then try to push it back into the exhaust. There should be ZERO play forward and backward like that and if there is any, it will need to be rebuilt. On cars I've worked on and had, that was only a matter of popping the hood and spending 10 seconds to check. Obviously this would be harder in the EB because of the location of the turbos.
Those are just a few ways really. There are other, less likely, issues and ways to check them, but in my 15 years experience building, owning, driving, and tuning turbo vehicles, those are the most common.
1. Obviously boost could fall off and have a slower response but other than your "feeling" of it spooling slower, you would have to have a boost gauge to be able to notice that.
2. When bearings/seals go, oil will bypass the CHRA housing and smoke out the exhaust when you are idling or cruising. Giant smokescreen of grey/blue smoke. Fuel is black so please don't confuse the two. Coolant is white, fuel is black, and oil is grey/bluish color. It also has a distinct smell to it.
3. If it blows bad enough, the wheel(s) can touch the sides of the housings and scrape and make a horrendous noise with a metal on metal sound. It would be VERY obvious if this were the case.
4. Lastly, and usually the easiest way on some turbos (maybe not so much on the EB due to turbo location) is to check for the play in the wheel and shaft of the turbo. Side to side for sure, but a few mm here and there is ok on that. The true way to tell is to grab the wheel by the nut in the middle and try to pull it out the front of the intake and then try to push it back into the exhaust. There should be ZERO play forward and backward like that and if there is any, it will need to be rebuilt. On cars I've worked on and had, that was only a matter of popping the hood and spending 10 seconds to check. Obviously this would be harder in the EB because of the location of the turbos.
Those are just a few ways really. There are other, less likely, issues and ways to check them, but in my 15 years experience building, owning, driving, and tuning turbo vehicles, those are the most common.
01-24-2014, 11:22 PM
#5
UR going to loose performance rather nastily and have stuff in the area toward the CAC mainly.
01-25-2014, 11:00 AM
#6
Agree with the above posters..........What we have seen in our fleet are mainly 2 things......
1- Considerable loss of power. Truck feels sluggish, hesitates and feels quit lazy. Very noticeable on hills. Some drivers thought they just needed a tune-up.
2- As described by SkiSmuggs......turbo starts getting noisy.
1- Considerable loss of power. Truck feels sluggish, hesitates and feels quit lazy. Very noticeable on hills. Some drivers thought they just needed a tune-up.
2- As described by SkiSmuggs......turbo starts getting noisy.
01-25-2014, 11:09 PM
#7
It should throw a CEL with an under boost code, if one turbo is going out the other turbo can not make up for the lost boost. If you have excessive play in the shaft from a bad thrust bearing you MAY and I say that loosely be able to hear the impeller hitting the compressor housing.
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rabies (01-28-2021)
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06-01-2023, 03:39 PM
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Bad turbos
Lee
06-10-2023, 08:12 PM
#9
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Originally Posted by TJPlatinumEB;[url=tel:3251624
3251624]There should be ZERO play forward and backward like that and if there is any, it will need to be rebuilt. .
2011 XLT Screw 4x4 3.5L 3:55Ls
01-06-2024, 05:12 AM
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Need help
I’ve got 35 11.5. 20r wheels on my 2013 f150 fx4 right now and I get 10.8 mpg. Is that right or is that wrong. I occasionally hear my turbo drivers side turbo sound like a kazoo for a split second when I’m accelerating quickly. Is that a sign for a new turbo or is it the tires messing up my mpg?