2nd Blown charger in 3 weeks

[JStrosnider]

A friend of mine has an 05 with a 6 speed with approximately 25,000 miles on it. . He's blown up 2 chargers in 3 weeks. I'm not 100% sure of what is going on and we are looking for some suggestions or help. .

The truck is all stock except for his Banks 4" cat back Exhaust. Well the truck ran fine and then he purchased a TST fuelling box for an 04. 5. We contacted TST before the purchase was made and they said the box would work just fine on the truck. . The said it would just not fuel 100% at peak boost but should work just fine... Well he put it on the truck and of course was test driving the truck on 9 different levels. . Well in the process the turbo gained a loud screeching noise at all speeds (like the bearings were wiped out)... So of course he took the box off cleared the codes and drove before the charger went completely out (he took it back to the dealer and they told him it was ok to drive???). The dealer replaced the charger and he got his truck back last Thursday. . Well this morning around 10:00a. m. he reinstalled the TST and set the box on level 5. . He said he never drove the truck that hard but said that he did have it up to 80MPH twice. . He said all was well and then all the sudden screeching noise is back and the turbo shaft has a ton of play in it like the bearings are wiped out again. .

Can anyone shed some light on this subject??? It seems to me like the charger isn't getting enough oil. . But I don't know. . The truck currently does not have any gauges on it so I have no idea how much boost he is pushing... I wouldn't think it would be all that much since he only has the box on it and nothing else... Was this a consistent problem at one time?? or are these Common Rails that temperamental?? I'm not that up to date on these Common Rails so any and all help will be appreciated... Thanks

 

[mattymac]

If you overboost a turbo it wont last long. On the 04. 5 and up trucks when you "boost fool" (what the TST does to trick the ECM into thinking its making stock boost pressures) you loose the signal to your wastegate actuator to control boost, did you install the mechanical boost elbow? If so where is the allen screw set, open or closed? If you have an oil problem in the turbo you would know it since it would last probably only seconds on full load with no oil.

 

[bmoeller]

A thing to add, don't run a new turbo like a raped ape right out of the box. Need to break it in, by keeping the boost down for a few hundred miles. After that, crank the box up. Just keep the boost levels within the turbos limits.

 

[sag2]

Hope he has some money because the dealer will not get a second turbo out of STAR. Also, the technician should have pre-oiled the new turbo before installing it.

 

[lmills]

If you overboost a turbo it wont last long. On the 04. 5 and up trucks when you "boost fool" (what the TST does to trick the ECM into thinking its making stock boost pressures) you loose the signal to your wastegate actuator to control boost, did you install the mechanical boost elbow? If so where is the allen screw set, open or closed? If you have an oil problem in the turbo you would know it since it would last probably only seconds on full load with no oil.

Betting you did exactly what was stated here. On the 04. 5 and up trucks you have to disable the electronic wastegate actually run a new line with the boost elbow from another source. Otherwise anything from level 3 or higher you can see as much as 50 PSI. Trust me.

 

[RDusch]

I do believe the directions also tell you not to run a stock truck over level 4 or 5.



The stock turbo can not handle all that fuel, and is only good for 40 psi max, best to limit it to 35.



Rick

 

[jwilliams3]

As the post above said... . do not run a new charger wide open right out of the box.

I know some shops say go ahead and do it. But other shops (the ones I agree with) say that you should let the turbo break in.



With new bearings of any kind be it engines, turbos, whatever a little break in time never hurts. It gets all of those imperfections smoothed over.



I have seen recently many new engines toasted that have been run hard with fueling boxes added right off the bat and run hard.



Another factor is installation:

Your dealer might not have pre-lubed or cranked the engine long enough to get oil up the charger before initial startup resulting in a scored thrust bearing or bushings.



Now the funny thing is I have had a stock HE351 up to 50psi of boost and it survived! :-laf

 

[JStrosnider]

I talked to him today and he said that his TST has built in guages but he hasn't hooked them up yet. . After hearing what you guys have said I believe he just hooked the box up and went. . I don't remember him saying anything about installing his boost control elbow. . Anyways I'm thinking almost certainly that he's overboosting the turbo. . I know he wants to upgrade his charger but I'm not sure what he's going to do just yet. I'll try to get some more info and as soon as I found out I'll post it...

 

[JStrosnider]

Now the funny thing is I have had a stock HE351 up to 50psi of boost and it survived! :-laf[/QUOTE]



That's funny!! When I upgraded the turbo on my 02 I lended it to my buddy with a 98 12V. . With all the mods I've done to that truck I'm just waiting on it to grenade. In overdrive when you stomp the throttle I had the boost up to 58 lbs... It's been on the truck since June!!! We are still waiting!!!

 

[lmills]

I have seen recently many new engines toasted that have been run hard with fueling boxes added right off the bat and run hard.

What are you trying to say??? I put my TST on with 99 miles on my truck :-laf

Now the funny thing is I have had a stock HE351 up to 50psi of boost and it survived! :-laf

Ditto on that. I subjected mine to it a couple times before I figured out the electronic wastegate.

 

[lmills]

That's funny!! When I upgraded the turbo on my 02 I lended it to my buddy with a 98 12V. . With all the mods I've done to that truck I'm just waiting on it to grenade. In overdrive when you stomp the throttle I had the boost up to 58 lbs... It's been on the truck since June!!! We are still waiting!!!

Does he sledpull with that truck? I remember discussing someones truck up at Reedsville when someone mentioned something similar to me.

 

[JStrosnider]

Does he sledpull with that truck? I remember discussing someones truck up at Reedsville when someone mentioned something similar to me.

No he doesn't sled pull with the truck it's just a daily driver and tow rig for him...

 

[mattymac]

I have always had good luck with driving them the way new like I would everyday! And thats usually hard! When I was doing a buch of snowmobile grass drags I would uncrate a brand new sled and head out to the alfalfa fields and get it on from minute one out in the heat and dust! Always having good luck with em come winter time! Same with my trucks, usually chipped and modded as quick as I can.



Drive it like your gonna use it!



As for your turbo its not designed for 50 plus pounds day to day, you need to get your wastegate actuator in!