It's taken me almost 8 months, but I've finally gotten around to digging under the valve covers on my F-450. In the process I removed the intake boots and finally have a good look at the turbo compressor wheel. Something didn't look quite right so I snapped a pic. The wheel has zero or very little play in-out-up-down. Boost levels seemed fine...maybe slightly higher than expected. No strange sounds or driveability issues that I noticed....
Airaid filter installed (cone type).

So, my first gut instinct says the fins are damaged but I don't see any damage on the compressor housing. The previous owner must have had a happy day with a can of spray paint because the housing is blue. So, at a minimum, the housing was removed for the paint job but I can't help but wonder if maybe the wheel was replaced at the same time. Is there an aftermarket wheel that looks like the photo below? Seems very similar to an OEM wheel but the notches on the blades seem unnecessary...

So, I suppose there are three possibilities...

1. The compressor wheel is aftermarket, brand unknown...
2. The wheel is OEM but the blades are damaged by contact with the compressor housing. Then, the previous owner replaced the housing but not the wheel (doesn't seem a very likely scenario...)
3. The OEM wheel is damaged by dirty air, dusting. I've seen some threads on the internet about this issue but am not sure that a dusted wheel would be so symmetrical.

Blow by is normal. Wheel spins fine. I have noticed that the engine builds boost much faster than my pickup trucks do but I figured that may be due to the weight of the truck, rear gears or Big Head wastegate.....(or maybe a combination of factors).

Here is a photo. The top pick is Alvin (my F250 DD truck). The bottom pick is Simon (F-450 RV hauler). Should I be shopping for a new wheel? If so, do I need a WW or will the OEM wheel be ok still? So far to date, I have not experienced turbo surge (or whatever it's called...)

Thoughts...???

 

The lower pic looks like mine probibly did in its earlier days.

 

Looks like a dusted turbo to me... very early stages, but none the less. Here is a link, scroll to the second page, you will find a picture that looks just like your wheel.

http://www.motorcraftservice.com/vdi...argerGuide.pdf

 

The top picture is fine. Bottom one has made contact with the housing from time to time and the third picture... OMG.

 

Bottom pic is definitely turbo damage.When mine went bad the wheel was damaged but the marks inside weren't visible until I took the comp.housing off.I already had an ATS ported housing so I went with a center cartridge from Riffraff Diesel. The exhaust wheel,and seal o-ring or whatever its called on mine was badly damaged as well. The first symptom I had was a light colored smoke on acceleration,that was the reason I started digging.

 

X2 on housing contact. Dont know why the wheel wasnt replaced if the housing was. But then some people do some strange things

 

Yes.

That's up to you. OEM wheel is more efficient, and if it isn't surging there is no reason not to use it....... But the aftermarket wheels are available everywhere and they are cheap.

I would probably run a stock wheel given the option.

 

Greg, if ya want an OEM wheel, I've got a good one here hiding in the garage if you want it.

 

They're not in the garage...parts box on the trailer. Will have it all here in less than 2 weeks. Its up there in the Wht Mts.

 

I also have one I think. If you want it let me know and I'll go dig it out.
Free to you because youre a good member

 

Ouch! So, my gut feeling was correct and you have a nice photo of what my future might look like.....(I hate it when I'm right)

I stared at that document for a while last night. I presume you are talking about the third (far right) photo. While I agree that wheel is definitely blasted, I am not sure the notches are from dirty air. Could the notching be from housing contact if the boost was high enough to move the wheel out along the shaft axis?

Thanks Joe. It looks that way to me as well.
The notches are very symmetrical, almost as if the blades were machined down a little bit....sorta like what would happen if it contacted the housing...

So, what causes that exactly? Excessive boost, worn thrust washer etc? I have zero play when I grab the nut with my fingers. I guess I need to get in there with a pair of pliers and give it a real tug....
Is that the best method to check the condition of the bearings etc? I guess I am wondering if I get a replacement wheel and my housing isn't all torn up inside (because it may have been replaced already....), then is it reasonable that I might have a simple fix by just replacing the compressor wheel?

I haven't really noticed anything unusual with the exhaust but then again I may not have been paying all that much attention. You bring up a good point...even though I can't see any damage that doesn't mean the housing isn't tore up inside where I can't see. I think I'll get up early tomorrow and pop off the housing before heading into work. I presume it will be obvious if the housing is damaged....correct?

Yeah, this is what I get for buying a truck without knowing the history of the thing. I've had my F250 since it was baby....I've messed with some things over the years but at least I know what has been done and what hasn't. My F-450 on the other hand is a giant Jack-In-The-Box with a diesel engine inside.

With luck the housing will be ok.....however I am not going to hold my breath. I can see this turning into PMS-fest real quick. (I knew I should have picked up that Holset on CL a while back...)

Thanks. That is my first inclination as well. If my housing is good then I'll definitely go that option. Thanks to the two brothers below who have my back when I'm in need.

Thanks Tom. Let me yank the housing and see what horrors lurk underneath. If I don't find anything else wrong, then I will be glad to have your wheel. Thank you very much. This will give us an excuse to get together for some beverages anyway....

My injectors are off with Rosewood right now anyway so 2 weeks will be just about perfect. He usually turns them around in 1 week but not always...just depends on the work load I guess. I sorta knew something like this was going to happen. It can't be just a simple injector swap because that would be to easy. Nooooo, have to make it more complicated whenever possible. I tested my coolant and the strips show about 60% antifreeze when it needs to be about 50/50 so I need to get that back in balance. But why do that when I can have ELC for $100-$120? So, I'll be doing Gooch's flush procedure. Since I'm doing that....might as well rebuild the oil cooler since I have the kit because you KNOW that thing will start leaking as soon as I put ELC in the block... Murphy's Law gets me every time....

Thank you Trey. I really appreciate the offer. Sounds like Tom has me covered already. Very nice offer though.

 

No prob. I have an entire turbo sitting in my garage. Kind of corroded, but if you need any parts I can go grab it and see what the condition of what ever you need is.

 

Strange but the horrable looking wheel I posted has almost no play in the bearings. From what I can tell it never made contact with the housing. The housing doesn't have a mark on it. I would have to guess it was sandblasted severely for a verry long time. I ran that turbo for a month or two after noticeing the damage before my 38R. And it ran great and i had 27lbs of boost. With all that damage believe it or not the truck runs great and gets good mileage and burns little oil and has little blow by. I don't know the history except it was a repo from Misouri and the turbo was replaced(used or new?) by the guy who got it from the repo auction. If you replace your turbo and air cleaner system then you should be fine. Obviously your air intake is letting in dirt! I went with the AIS and am verry happy and so is my 38R!