I have 97 f-350 183K miles I Just got a few weeks ago. today I was poking arond underneith the hood, just checking it all out . I pulled my air box and was looking down the in take . I noticed that there was some oil before the turbo, and it looks like my turbo has been dusted. the blades even look bent up on the edges.
how big of a problem is this, what can it lead to, what can I do about it?
the truck seems to run fine, not too much oil consumtion, good power and fuel economy. how screwed am I . is my moter F up? help please. thanks J

 

The oil is no big deal. Your crank case breather goes in right before the turbo and will mist up a little oil. Proably need to get a new compressor wheel and I'd look into a good filtering intake like the Tymar set-up if ya don't already have one. If your not using alot of oil and the truck runs good I would'nt worry too much about a dusted motor but don't let the dust continue.

 

can I just replace the wheel? is the wheel the impeller? how much do they run and how hard to replace? thanks alot itfox !

 

Its the wheel. Their around 75 bucks depending on where ya find one. I think that the turbo has to be pulled off the truck to change but I'm not 100%. Someone will chime in.

 

do I need to fix the wheel in a hurry will I do any damage having a bent up wheel or is it more of a power thing? J

 

The wheel is bent on the edges from the factory, so what you are seeing is almost certainly normal. There is no way that something could hit them hard enough to bend them, and have the turbo still keep working. Also, any bent fins would definitely unbalance the turbo, and I think you would notice that at the RPMs that it turns. In fact, it would probably self-destruct from the vibration.

As for the oil, it is normal. Dirty isn't good though, if it is anything other than oil or oil film. If there is a layer of dirt, grit, etc mixed in with the oil on the fins this is a definite indicator of a leaking air filter/air box assembly. Not good. This would indicate potential engine damage, which is a much bigger concern then your being worried about a bent turbo wheel.

Use your finger and a white tissue paper to wipe the oil off. Look at the paper closely to see if you see any evidence of particles of dirt or grit. If you have a problem you would also have the same dirt and grit on the insides of the intake prior to and after the turbo.

 

how can tell if there has been engine damage? J

 

I would think if there was any major damage, your oil consumption would be way up and the truck would lack power. You can do a compression test that will tell you alot.

 

Does it smoke big clouds of light blue smoke in the morning on a cold start?

 

Hey, wycowboy - I just went through the same thing with my turbo within the last month (97 F350 CC SRW PSD). The leading edge of one of my blades was bent. Since the wheel spins at around 70,000 RPM, this is not a good thing. Not only does a bent blade limit the speed that the turbo can spin (and reduces the boost it can make), it could mean that something went through the turbo and could have caused more damage to the wheel than you can see. It also effects the balance, which will eventually cause the wheel or bearings to fail, and pieces of it might end up going through the engine. Also not a good thing.

I replaced my wheel with a Swisher and at the same time replaced my stock intake filter system with Kwik's setup. I highly recommend doing both. Replacing the wheel is a bit of a pain, but you can do it without pulling the turbo off the truck if you're patient. Have a look at this thread "Turbo wheel change? PDI anyone?" (not sure why it won't let me post a direct link here) and read Kwik's description of how to do it without pulling the turbo. It'll take 2-3 hours.

It made a BIG difference in the power output of my engine, and the intake filter mod will give you the comfort of knowing that the turbo isn't ingesting anything but clean air.

Also, I recommend unplugging your EBPV. I did it this weekend, and gained another BIG boost in engine performance. My EBPV must be faulty, since unplugging it also improved performance even when the engine is at normal operating temperature.

Have fun!
Keith

 

I just ran out and started it, it's around 25-30 degs. farenheight. greyish brown smoke, not blue. is that what it should look like? I put kwiki's air filter right after I looked at my turbo so thats done. I'm not to sure about my oil consumption, I did not think it was useing much but with this cold weather it seems to be going through it a bit more . Ijust have to keep an eye on it for sure.. the truck has good power. at least
when I re place the turbo wheel I an I replaceing the whole howsing and fan or just the impeller?
Thanks roam and kwik
J

 

You'll just repace the impeller.

Keith

 

is the swisher a good wheel and wher would I find one? thanks roam. any thought on the smoke?

 

Do you have a boost gage on your truck, if so what is your max boost. this will tell you if you have a problem with the compressor side wheel.

 

Nope, no boost guage, it would have been a nice though wouldn't it. so I'm guessing Ineed a new one after looking at the turbo wheel. j