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Hello- I'm new to the forum and not a gearhead yet. I've had my 7.3 for 5 months and I'm not sure of its history.
During a recent visit to the shop, a diesel tech said there was evidence that large amounts of dirt had entered the motor because the intake was soiled. He said as a result, the turbo fins were ruined and the turbo itself was missing bolts and falling apart. He also said that the motor was likely ruined
(he kept saying "dusted") and needed a compression test ($600) to determine if it's damaged.
When I look into the intake, it's not clean, but what I see is a very fine oily residue in some areas with a few dust streaks. The turbo fan doesn't look abnormal and I didn't see anything missing or falling apart- at least to my untrained eyes.
Side note- I'm 4000 miles into this oil change, and he said the oil was in good condition and it hasn't used any.
How clean is an intake suppose to be?
Is my engine really "dusted"- what's my next move?
Compression test would tell you about the cylinder pressures. But it's hard to do on a 7.3. You need special tools.
Is there any play in the turbo shaft? Is there evidence of the fins making contact with the housing? Are the fins chipped or nicked?
The turbo spins at around 200,000rpm at full blow, so it needs to be in tight shape. As a blown up turbo will indeed completely ruin an engine. Even if the oil seal gives way the engine might go into a "runaway". Although it's not likely.
These 7.3 engines are tough. It takes a lot to ruin them. If it's running good and not using oil, I'd say don't worry about it.
I think the price on his compression test is a tad bit HIGH.
Bsipes30 is right take it to someone else. See what they say.
You might even he ahead with a Ford shop. But check out who
ever you take it too. See what people are saying before you go.
FTE is a very useful resource. You should also ask in the 7.3
forum for you year. They will have a Tech Folder at the top
with a lot of info to help you.
Have look at the compressor. The edges should be nice and
sharp in shape and not rounded and smoothed off.
Look this photo and see how the edges are rounded off.
You also need to look at the blades to make sure that there are not any nicks
or broken off edges.
With all that had been said so far I would not go to this place without someone
that I trust to check out what they are saying.
Way too many times shops will take advantage of new owners and hose them
over with expensive repairs and parts that they don't need. Some even take the
removed parts and resell them to the next guy with the word "Rebuilt" on them
when all they did was rub off the dirt.
I grabbed the turbine and tried to wiggle it. The shaft seem tight, and it spun freely. I didn't see any chips, or pitting on the fan, but I'm no expert.
Turbos are funny things... leave them sitting around and the oil runs out of the bearings, then the shaft wiggles, blow some oil back into them and they tighten right up. Turbos get bad when the fins contact the housing or wear as described above, although wear without contact as long as everything stays balanced really only loses efficiency. Fins contacting the housing or breaking apart or pieces missing is a whole other story. I have a hard time when someone else it working on my truck (almost never) let alone someone I don't trust. How much money do you want to spend? My 7.3L inhales oily fumes from the valve cover into the intake tube. Guess what that leads to... oily intake tubes. Does it run ok? If the turbo isn't falling apart (minus the missing bolts), and it starts nice and runs good and has ok power and all that then.... it's probably just a little more worn out than it was before. The key to a diesel is compression. It makes heat for combustion. Grind the cylinders and pistons and rings all up and lose compression, you lose the heat to get it started. Ever knew a diesel that was a pain to get going in the morning but once it warmed up it worked ok?
I guess I'm saying you know enough to be questioning this shop... find another and see how you feel about them, trust goes a long way. If you were just in for a random visit and not for anything you noticed, I wouldn't do anything big or expensive until you were sure about your truck having problems......
