Lets hope it stays that way
How often do turbos fail?
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More Turbo
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 574
Likes: 39
From: Carthage, Mo
How often do turbos fail?
The other day I was out in the shop & heard a loud strange noise. Looked toward the road & a Kenworth milk tanker was spewing white smoke like a steam locomotive. He got it shut down a few hundred yards down the road. I live in a rural area, so he was probably doing about 45mph. I watched him get out & look things over with the hood tilted. The truck was still idling & spewing smoke and sounded rough. My first thought was a blown head gasket or something like that. Found out later that he blew the turbo. There was oil all over the road.
This seems to be an uncommon occurance if you think about the tens of thousands of trucks on the road 24 hrs a day. What is the average lifetime of our 7.3 turbo's? Mine has 80k on it & it does get worked but not abused in any way. I'm not particularly worried about it but it just got me to thinking.
This seems to be an uncommon occurance if you think about the tens of thousands of trucks on the road 24 hrs a day. What is the average lifetime of our 7.3 turbo's? Mine has 80k on it & it does get worked but not abused in any way. I'm not particularly worried about it but it just got me to thinking.
Lead Driver
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 6,708
Likes: 5
From: Kiowa CO
How I see it, ingestion of dirt from a poorly maintained air filtration system will shorten the life of any turbo on any vehicle. Working for a Cat dealer that services heavy equipment, that seems to be the leading cause of failures.
Elder User
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 699
Likes: 0
From: northern Michigan
It depends a lot on how you drive and maintain your truck. I have seen valve failure on the big detroits and it sends metal through the turbo which they tend to not survive. On the 7.3, keep the air filter in good condition and sealed around the box, change oil & filter when you should, don't shut down the engine while the turbo is still hot and winding down. I put a pyrometer on my exhaust and found with the ZF6 transmisiion if I down shift as I come to a stop it cools down the turbo and limits idle time. I shut down when my pyro drops to 300 degrees F. Not doing this has two issues, 1). your turbo is hot enough to boil off the oil once the oil flow stops when the engine is turned off. This creates particles that are not healthy for turbo bearings and is rough on the bearing seals. 2). turbo is still coasting down and you just took the oil away from a hot bearing still in motion, tends to create gauling and make them sieze. You should get over 300,000 miles on the stock turbo if it is taken care of.
Postmaster
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 2,647
Likes: 0
From: Fulltime RVer
I know for sure that OEM early 99 PSD turbos are prone to failure, especially if you tow heavy in the mountains! I blew mine at 50K, and the Ford dealer at the nearest small town just happened to have 3 in stock, which told me that he must sell a lot of them!
Surge is what kills turbos, and the following quotes are from the thread below...
Turbo Surge, Turbonetics T61, GTP38R, & GT38 w/ 99.5 & Early 99 Wheels.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/6...99-wheels.html
Surge is what kills turbos, and the following quotes are from the thread below...
Turbo Surge, Turbonetics T61, GTP38R, & GT38 w/ 99.5 & Early 99 Wheels.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/6...99-wheels.html
...towing at higher altitudes is the "elephant graveyard" for turbos! Mine failed in the mountains, and I've seen at least 6 posts where others had turbo failures in the mountains, and several weren't even towing! After I got a rebuilt early 99 turbo that came with a late 99.5 wheel, I learned the hard way towing the Grapevine the results I now see in my graphs, which clearly show how much worse surge is with a L99.5 wheel vs an E99 wheel, and how much worse surge is in general at higher altitudes!...
...Even though surge is a momentary condition, the wear and tear on the turbo bearing accumulates. It's not like being pregnant, you can have a little surge and not even realize it. It takes significant surge to make the noises that people report, and for sure this is the most damaging surge condition, but surge comes on gradually in the vicinity of these surge lines, and if you keep pushing it, then surge announces itself with the tell tale noises that indicate a higher level of more immediate damage...
...Even though surge is a momentary condition, the wear and tear on the turbo bearing accumulates. It's not like being pregnant, you can have a little surge and not even realize it. It takes significant surge to make the noises that people report, and for sure this is the most damaging surge condition, but surge comes on gradually in the vicinity of these surge lines, and if you keep pushing it, then surge announces itself with the tell tale noises that indicate a higher level of more immediate damage...
...I, too, can backup the turbo failure data at high altitude. I live at 9000ft, and I have been through 2 stock GT38's on my '03 7.3. I have just now crossed the 90K mark.
The first GT38 went at 42k miles, the EBPV stuck closed and caused a moderate oil leak from the seals. Warranty. Then, at 81k miles, I started to get a weird howl from the turbo at spool-up and when it spun down as well. Eventually, I was losing max boost pressure, and could only make a max boost of 16psi even with Jody's 100hp program. Upon removal of the turbo, I found tons of issues. The journal where the shaft bearing sat in the back plate of the compressor housing was missing 1/4 of that cutout. It was in the oil pan. Also, for what reason I do not know, the exhaust turbine blades were very chopped up on the outside trailing edges, the blades were missing alot of surface area. I still have that dismantaled turbo if anyone wants pics or part discriptions from it.
The TN unit on the truck have been nothing short of perfect, makes 25psi on average with shift spikes near 30psi, going across a Spearco 6.0 IC with minimal boost losses. The Ford dealer even admitted that our high altitude is murder on diesel turbos across the board.
Hoping my upgrades will keep my 7.3 running for a long time. Even with the challenge of thin air.-Kevin...
The first GT38 went at 42k miles, the EBPV stuck closed and caused a moderate oil leak from the seals. Warranty. Then, at 81k miles, I started to get a weird howl from the turbo at spool-up and when it spun down as well. Eventually, I was losing max boost pressure, and could only make a max boost of 16psi even with Jody's 100hp program. Upon removal of the turbo, I found tons of issues. The journal where the shaft bearing sat in the back plate of the compressor housing was missing 1/4 of that cutout. It was in the oil pan. Also, for what reason I do not know, the exhaust turbine blades were very chopped up on the outside trailing edges, the blades were missing alot of surface area. I still have that dismantaled turbo if anyone wants pics or part discriptions from it.
The TN unit on the truck have been nothing short of perfect, makes 25psi on average with shift spikes near 30psi, going across a Spearco 6.0 IC with minimal boost losses. The Ford dealer even admitted that our high altitude is murder on diesel turbos across the board.
Hoping my upgrades will keep my 7.3 running for a long time. Even with the challenge of thin air.-Kevin...
Lead Driver
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 7,308
Likes: 250
From: Hartford, WI
Assuming all things are good (filtration, no surge) it should last a long time or till I decide I need a new turbo. Like my 100K turbo is failing because I needed a Van Turbo. 
Fuel system is failing. Replacement regulated return and ITP in tank kit fixes it.
Fuel system is failing. Replacement regulated return and ITP in tank kit fixes it.
Post Fiend
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 12,835
Likes: 3
From: Silver Lake Dunes, MI
Overboost is also a major factor for the stock turbo. You guys have a wastegate that you can limit boost. The OBS trucks have no WG and the limiting done with the right foot. The stock turbo's don't enjoy too much driving over 30 -35 PSI. it destroys the thrust bearing due to the unequal drive pressures. Boost PSI vs Exhaust backpressure.
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Posting Guru
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 1,905
Likes: 2
From: East Peoria, IL
I know for sure that OEM early 99 PSD turbos are prone to failure, especially if you tow heavy in the mountains! I blew mine at 50K, and the Ford dealer at the nearest small town just happened to have 3 in stock, which told me that he must sell a lot of them!
Surge is what kills turbos, and the following quotes are from the thread below...
Turbo Surge, Turbonetics T61, GTP38R, & GT38 w/ 99.5 & Early 99 Wheels.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/6...99-wheels.html
Surge is what kills turbos, and the following quotes are from the thread below...
Turbo Surge, Turbonetics T61, GTP38R, & GT38 w/ 99.5 & Early 99 Wheels.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/6...99-wheels.html
I agree, the previous owner of my truck had the turbo go out at 110k. Replaced under warratny, he towed a trailer about 8k every dya.
Post Fiend
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 5,584
Likes: 0
From: Millbrook Alabama
I still have my original stock turbo laying in my shop, I removed it at 260K miles for the van turbo upgrade. I have torn down my old turbo to have a look see, and I dont see any appreciable wear(to the naked eye). Once agian I think Maintenance is the key to the life of any part of the 7.3. you take care of it, it will take care of you.
Laughing Gas
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 1,048
Likes: 16
i have 178,000 miles on my truck, and when i get on the pedal it sounds like my turbo is about to come apart, the side to side play in the compressor wheel is rediculous, to the point that it hits the housing sometimes. 76,000 of those miles was with a k&N filter.
LUCKILY!!!!!! a van turbo is on the way next week.
LUCKILY!!!!!! a van turbo is on the way next week.
Posting Guru
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 2,225
Likes: 1
From: Farmington, Minnesota
I have 210K on my early 99, it has been chipped and surging since 05 while towing that is about 90k ago with a chip and if would surge like crazy pulling a hill.
Now most of that pulling was with the edge, I have had the DP now since Nov 07 and still experience surge, but haven't towed any large grades yet.
I have noticeable play in the wheel, but no known hits on the housing.
I know that the early 99 have the WW which helps surge, but they also have a smaller turbo, so I wonder if that if that may put the E99 turbo in to a surge on the compressor map?
Are there any other E99 with surge out there?
Now most of that pulling was with the edge, I have had the DP now since Nov 07 and still experience surge, but haven't towed any large grades yet.
I have noticeable play in the wheel, but no known hits on the housing.
I know that the early 99 have the WW which helps surge, but they also have a smaller turbo, so I wonder if that if that may put the E99 turbo in to a surge on the compressor map?
Are there any other E99 with surge out there?
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