Turbocharger Training For Fixed Geometry Products

Turbocharger Training for Fixed Geometry Products Page 1 of 43
Service Bulletin
Service Bulletin Number: 4332738 Released Date: 11-mar-2013
Turbocharger Training for Fixed Geometry Products
Turbocharger Training for Fixed Geometry

Products
Introduction
The turbocharger is a critical part of the air handling system and engine performance.
The components within the turbocharger are often more sensitive than other engine
components. This can cause the turbocharger to show early signs of an engine and/or
system issue.
The intent of this training is to help explain the function of the turbocharger, the
turbocharger’s system interaction, what can cause failures, and other aspects of the
turbocharger.
Index
• Turbocharger Familiarization
• Bearing System
• How a Turbocharger Seals Oil
• System Interaction
• Wheel Fatigue
• Summary
Turbocharger Familiarization
https://quickserve.cummins.com/qs3/pubsys2/xml/en/bulletin/4332738.html 23/11/2019
Figure 1: Fixed Geometry Turbocharger

Figure 1 shows typical turbocharger components, intake air flow, exhaust gas flow, and
lubricating oil flow.
Figure 2: Rotor assembly.
Figure 3: Bearing housing assembly.
Figure 4: Alignment mark indicates where turbine and impeller wheel are balanced.
Figure 2 shows the following turbocharger components:
1. Compressor wheel
2. Split ring seals
3. Thrust collar
4. Thrust bearing
5. Journal bearings
6. Shaft
7. Turbine wheel.
Figure 2 and Figure 3 show the bearing housing assembly. The assembly contains the
following:
• Journal Bearings - These are free floating bearings that rotate on a film of oil. They
help to control radial motion.
• Thrust Bearing - This is a lubricated component to lubricate the oil slinger and thrust
collar, as well as help with thrust loading.
• Thrust Collar - Used to help control thrust loading (axial motion).
• Oil Slinger - A rotating component used to help keep oil within the bearing housing.
• Heat Shield - Used to help protect the bearing system from the high heat within the
turbine housing.
Rotor assemblies are a balanced assembly. The turbine shaft and wheel must be
aligned properly to the impeller wheel to have the correct balance. This alignment is
marked for assembly and disassembly, as shown in Figure 4.
Bearing System
Figure 5: Journal bearings shown on shaft.
Figure 6: Oil supply to bearings.
Figure 7: Coked oil at the turbocharger bearing housing.

There are three main causes of bearing failures:
• Overheated oil
• Oil contamination
• Insufficient lubrication
A bearing failure can cause the impeller or turbine wheel to contact its housing and result
in a turbocharger failure.
Figure 8: Turbocharger bearings with coked oil burnt onto them.
Figure 9: Impeller/rotor shaft with coked oil burnt onto it.

Overheated Oil
Overheated, or coked, oil is generaly caused by hot shutdowns*, excessive high exhaust
temperatures, or high engine oil temperatures.
* A hot shutdown is when the engine is shut off after being run hard. When the engine is
not allowed a period of idling after being run hard, the turbine housing is still very hot.
With the coolant and oil systems no longer operating, heat transfer can occur from the
turbine housing. The oil sitting at the journal bearings can increase in temperature and
turn into a hard, coked, oil, as shown in Figure 8 and Figure 9.
Coked oil deposits are abrasive and can wear away the bearing material.
Figure 10: Turbocharger thrust bearing wear.
Figure 11: Turbocharger bearing damage. Debris in the oil can score and wear the
journal and thrust bearings.
Oil Contamination:
Figure 10 and Figure 11 show damage from debris in the lubricating oil.
Debris in the oil can wear the bearing material and eventually lead to a bearing failure. If
a bearing failure is suspected, the oil should be checked for debris.
Figure 12: Damaged thrust bearing.
Figure 13: Damaged journal bearings.

Insufficient Lubrication:
Figure 12 and Figure 13 show damage from heat and material transfer due to high
friction.
Lack of lubrication creates high friction and heat leading to bearing wear.
Poor oil quality can also cause high friction and heat. The lubricating properties of oil can
break down over time and cause insufficient lubrication. Contaminated oil from
water/coolant can have the same effect.
Bearing failures can often be associated with the following characteristics:
• Axial and Radial Play are Out of Specification

• A Broken Shaft (When the wheel contacts its housing from bearing wear, the shaft
can eventually fracture.)
• Noise (When the wheel begins to contact the housing from bearing wear, a high
pitched noise can sometimes be heard.)
• Oil Leakage (When the axial and radial play are out of specification, the pressure
seals can wear and cause oil leakage into the compressor and/or turbine housing.)
If a bearing failure is suspected, be sure to look into the cause of the bearing failure, as it
could affect other engine components.
Oil Seal
Figure 14: Pressure in the compressor and turbine housings.
Figure 15: Compressor housing (1), bearing housing (2), and turbine housing (3).
Figure 16: Oil Slinger with seal ring.
Figure 17: Compressor impeller.

Figure 14 illustrates the pressure in the compressor and turbine housings. See Figure 15;
The pressure in the compressor housing (1) and turbine housing (3) needs to be higher
than the bearing housing (2) pressure to contain the lubricating oil in the bearing housing.
The bearing housing pressure is nearly equal to the engine crankcase pressure.
Figure 16 shows an oil slinger with the compressor seal ring installed. The seal ring is a
“piston style” seal that uses a positive pressure difference to seal oil. This is not a true oil
seal.
The seal ring seals oil by having a higher pressure on the compressor side of the
turbocharger than the bearing housing (center section).
Oil seeks low pressure and will stay in the bearing housing as long as the pressure is
lower than the compressor housing pressure.
There are a number of outside factors that can allow compressor side pressure to drop or
bearing housing pressure to rise. These factors are found to be external to the
turbocharger.
See Figure 17; Oil is fed to the thrust bearing (1) to lubricate the oil slinger and thrust
collar that mate against it. The seal ring (2) sits in the oil slinger. The oil slinger spins and
directs oil into the oil baffle (3). Oil should not have contact with the seal ring. The oil
slinger relies on turbocharger shaft rotation to keep oil away from the seals. The oil baffle
is intended to direct oil to the turbocharger oil drain.
The seal ring is not a true oil seal. It is used, instead, as a pressure seal.
Common Factors for Turbocharger Oil Leakage
• Restricted Air Filters

◦ A dirty air filter will lower pressure in the compressor housing, resulting in idle
conditions allowing the bearing housing pressure to be higher than the
compressor housing.
◦ A non-approved air filter could be too restrictive and cause the same effect.
• Boost Leaks
◦ A boost leak can be from a torn hose, cracked charge-air cooler or aftercooler,
improperly torqued clamps, or other conditions that can cause air to leak out of
the air intake system.
◦ Instances where a boost hose pops off will act as a large boost leak.
◦ These cases cause a drop in pressure in the compressor housing and can lead
to turbocharger oil leakage.
• High Crankcase Pressure
◦ Bearing housing pressure will roughly equal crankcase pressure. This pressure
can rise from a restricted or collapsed crankcase filter. Crankcase pressure
can also rise from a power cylinder issue.
◦ High amounts of blowby gas going up the oil drain will cause oil coming down
the drain pipe to foam, preventing oil drainage and causing the turbocharger
bearing housing to fill with oil.
Figure 18: Turbine wheel split ring oil seal.

Turbine Side Oil Leakage:
The turbine side of the turbocharger uses a split ring seal that works just as the
compressor side.
Typical causes of noticeable oil leakage past this seal are from high crankcase pressure
or a restricted oil drain.
Figure 19: Measuring axial movement.
Figure 20: Measuring radial movement.

When the Turbocharger Should be Replaced:
• The compressor seal ring has only been found to malfunction if the rotor system has
gone out of balance due to another turbocharger component failure.
• When diagnosing oil leakage into the air intake, if the axial and radial play of the
turbocharger are measured to be within specification, the turbocharger should not
be replaced.
Note : The cause of the oil leak must be found before allowing the engine
back in service.
• The turbocharger axial and radial specifications can be found in Procedure 010-036
of the engine service manual.
• If the impeller wheel has not contacted the compressor housing, the axial and/or
radial play are most likely to be within specification.
Turbocharger and Engine System Interaction
Figure 21
Figure 22: Damage to the turbine housing.
Figure 23: Damage to a heat shield.
Figure 24: Capscrew missing from bearing housing-to-turbine housing connection.

High Exhaust Temperatures:
High exhaust temperatures can affect the turbocharger in a number of ways.
• The turbine journal bearing can fail due to overheated oil.

• The stamped steel heat shields can crack.
• The turbine to bearing housing capscrews can loosen/break due to thread
relaxation.
• The turbine housing can crack externally.
Figure 25: Scaling on turbine housing.
Figure 26: Scaling on exhust manifold.

Evidence of high exhaust temperatures can be seen from scaling at the turbine housing
and exhaust manifold joint (Figure 25). It can also sometimes be seen externally on the
turbine housing and exhaust manifold (Figure 26). Material is seen removed from
oxidation.
Exhaust temperatures on a diesel engine can rise from low intake manifold pressure,
high intake manifold temperatures, overfueling, or high exhaust restriction.
Figure 27: Boost leaks.
Figure 28: Cooler plugged with debris.
Figure 29
Low intake manifold pressure can cause a low air-to-fuel ratio. Overfueling conditions
raise exhaust temperatures.
Figure 30: Turbocharger heat blanket.
Figure 31: Exhaust manifold heat blanket.

Heat blankets over the turbine housing and/or exhaust manifold can cause heat soak and
increase exhaust temperatures. Heat blankets require approval for use in order to keep
the exhaust temperatures in a safe range.
Figure 32: Fractured impeller wheel.
Figure 33: Collapsed intake air hose.

Turbocharger Overspeed
The turbocharger rotor system can reach speeds that exceed the capability of the
components. The journal bearings can wear and the impeller can eventually fracture, as
seen in Figure 32.
Figure 33 shows an air filtration setup that was too small for the engine and turbocharger.
Part of the intake hose collapsed when the turbocharger was drawing more air than the
filter would allow.
Common causes:
• High intake restriction or poor air filtration setup. The restriction of air to the
turbocharger and engine causes the turbocharger speeds to increase as the engine
requires more air.
• A boost leak can also increase rotor speeds as the engine requires more air.
Figure 34: Turbine wheel damage.

Foreign Object Damage (Exhaust Side)
Objects that enter the exhaust, such as a valve and piston material, or an injector tip,
generally move at a very fast rate into the turbocharger. This can damage the blades of
the turbine wheel.
Blade damage can be detected by looking into the turbine outlet with a flashlight.
Figure 35: Impeller damage from small debris.
Figure 36: Impeller damage from large debris.

Foreign Object Damage (Compressor Side)
Objects such as bolts, nuts, sockets, hoses, or even shop towels have been known to get
into the intake system and damage the turbocharger impeller.
Objects as small as weld splatter can cause some damage to the impeller blades (Figure
35), which could affect performance.
Larger objects entering the intake can cause a turbocharger failure, as seen in Figure 36.
Figure 37: Wheel fatigue, stress vs. strain.
Figure 38: Initiation point in failed impeller.
Figure 39: Initiation point in failed impeller.
Figure 40: Damage from high cycle fatigue.

Wheel Fatigue
Low Cycle Fatigue
Figure 38 and Figure 39 show fatigue initiation points in impeller castings.
The stress and strain put on the impeller wheel will cause the wheel to fatigue over time.
The fatigue life varies by wheel material, method of manufacturing, application, and other
factors. Low cycle fatigue is most commonly found to occur on the impeller.
High Cycle Fatigue
Figure 40 shows a blade fractured from fatigue (1) is found to have a clean break in
comparison to blades (2) damaged from impact. The blades labeled (2) were damaged
from impact with pieces of the fatigued blade(s).
High cycle fatigue is most commonly found to occur on the turbine wheel. The fatigue
occurs due to frequencies that can cause the blade to get excited and eventually
fracture.
Summary
• A better understanding of what engine/system issues can have an effect on the

turbocharger should help the understanding of the importance of certain
maintenance practices.
• Turbochargers can fail in a number of ways, but the cause of the failure can often be
related to an engine/system issue.
• Better understanding the cause of the turbocharger failure could help prevent further
damage to the engine.
Additional Resources
Figure 41: Turbocharger Troubleshooting Chart, Part 1.

Use the charts in Figure 41 and Figure 42 to verify the problem before replacing the
turbocharger.
Figure 42: Turbocharger Troubleshooting Chart, Part 2.

Use the charts in Figure 41 and Figure 42 to verify the problem before replacing the
turbocharger.
Document History
Date Details
2013-3-11 Module Created
Last Modified: 04-Jun-2013

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Turbocharger Training for Fixed Geometry Products Page 1 of 43

Turbocharger Training for Fixed Geometry

Figure 1: Fixed Geometry Turbocharger

Figure 2: Rotor assembly.

Figure 3: Bearing housing assembly.

Figure 5: Journal bearings shown on shaft.

Figure 6: Oil supply to bearings.

Figure 7: Coked oil at the turbocharger bearing housing.

Figure 8: Turbocharger bearings with coked oil burnt onto them.

Figure 9: Impeller/rotor shaft with coked oil burnt onto it.

Figure 10: Turbocharger thrust bearing wear.

Figure 12: Damaged thrust bearing.

Figure 13: Damaged journal bearings.

Bearing failures can often be associated with the following characteristics:

• Axial and Radial Play are Out of Specification

Figure 14: Pressure in the compressor and turbine housings.

Figure 16: Oil Slinger with seal ring.

Figure 17: Compressor impeller.

Common Factors for Turbocharger Oil Leakage

• Restricted Air Filters

Figure 18: Turbine wheel split ring oil seal.

Figure 19: Measuring axial movement.

Figure 20: Measuring radial movement.

Turbocharger and Engine System Interaction

Figure 22: Damage to the turbine housing.

Figure 23: Damage to a heat shield.

Figure 24: Capscrew missing from bearing housing-to-turbine housing connection.

High exhaust temperatures can affect the turbocharger in a number of ways.

• The turbine journal bearing can fail due to overheated oil.

Figure 25: Scaling on turbine housing.

Figure 26: Scaling on exhust manifold.

Figure 27: Boost leaks.

Figure 28: Cooler plugged with debris.

Figure 30: Turbocharger heat blanket.

Figure 31: Exhaust manifold heat blanket.

Figure 32: Fractured impeller wheel.

Figure 33: Collapsed intake air hose.

Figure 34: Turbine wheel damage.

Figure 35: Impeller damage from small debris.

Figure 36: Impeller damage from large debris.

Figure 37: Wheel fatigue, stress vs. strain.

Figure 38: Initiation point in failed impeller.

Figure 39: Initiation point in failed impeller.

Figure 40: Damage from high cycle fatigue.

Low Cycle Fatigue

Figure 38 and Figure 39 show fatigue initiation points in impeller castings.

High Cycle Fatigue

• A better understanding of what engine/system issues can have an effect on the

Figure 41: Turbocharger Troubleshooting Chart, Part 1.

Figure 42: Turbocharger Troubleshooting Chart, Part 2.

Last Modified: 04-Jun-2013

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