Community Forums

lorim · 06-26-2020, 12:25 PM

I need some advice..

I have a 1999 Winnebago Adventurer with a 24V 5.9 diesel Cummings, that I've owned for the past 2 years and drive it almost every weekend during the summer and I'm only around 60K miles (granted it's 20 years old and probably sat a lot before I got it).. last Sunday we were on our way back from a weekend trip and I really started having issues. On the way out, things weren't too bad, blew an airline but not hard to fix. Now on the way back things got all kinds of ugly. I noticed I was losing power bad and of course we're in heavy traffic, as we pulled over I realized I blew another air line (same place) fixed it again and thought the breaks could have been dragging from the low air pressure so we got on the road and still no power so we limped off to a better spot.

The turbo totally crapped out, oil had exploded everywhere and every clamp was loose and the blades chewed up the housing pretty good, I doubt it's rebuildable. The V clamp on the exhaust side was completely blown off and the clamp was badly deformed (I'd guess a lot of force) So now I'm worried, could my exhaust break (the butterfly type, Jacob's brand) malfunctioned and closed off when I was accelerating .. both air line blow outs were off the exhaust break solenoid. Or would a failing turbo blow that line off like that and cause issues with the exhaust break? I've googled the issue and everyone talks about the line to the intercooler blowing off, not the exhaust line.

saddlesore · 06-26-2020, 12:39 PM

1) Yup turbo is toast.
2) most likely the waste gate (this acts like a pressure regulator on lbs of manifold pressure) on the turbo stuck closed , which over pressured the exhaust system and clamps.
3) poo.... It Happens...................

twinboat · 06-26-2020, 02:02 PM

If the ehxaust brake was on while driving, the turbo probably overheated and cooked the bearing.

Once the bearing fails at thousands of RPMs, it gets ugly.

If you had a EGT ( Exhaust Gas Temp ) gauge, it would have been reading in the red.

tommar · 06-26-2020, 03:35 PM

sO NOW WHAT?

I'm really sorry to hear of this issue. Are you having your coach towed somewhere? What are your plans? I have an 8.3 Cummins with 74K on the clock. Sure hope that this doesn't happen to me. Since the turbo is apparently toast, can you simply put a new one on? Or are you looking at at total engine rebuild? While I know a lot about diesels and how to operate them, I know little about turbos and what happens if one blows. Please keep us informed as this progresses; could be a very informative thread!

153stars · 06-26-2020, 03:58 PM

I have heard of turbos failing on a big diesel, not heard that it took the motor with it. I'm sure all the intake side should be checked for metal if the blades made contact. Diesels have very little vacuum to suck up metal on their own. Hopefully the intake side was not open too long or on a gravel road.
I think I would also ask any aftermarket turbos that will perform as well as OEM without breaking the bank.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tommar

sO NOW WHAT?

I'm really sorry to hear of this issue. Are you having your coach towed somewhere? What are your plans? I have an 8.3 Cummins with 74K on the clock. Sure hope that this doesn't happen to me. Since the turbo is apparently toast, can you simply put a new one on? Or are you looking at at total engine rebuild? While I know a lot about diesels and how to operate them, I know little about turbos and what happens if one blows. Please keep us informed as this progresses; could be a very informative thread!

twinboat · 06-26-2020, 04:12 PM

Any debris from the turbo wheel will settle in the intercooler.

Have them hose it out before returning it to service.

Domo · 06-27-2020, 07:59 AM

Out of curiosity - how was your air filter and last time it was changed? I've heard that they disintegrate (even if they have retaining metal mesh) and can burn up a turbo...

Unplanned Tourist · 06-27-2020, 08:20 AM

Be sure to have the COMPLETE air intake system cleaned.

Parts can blow back towards the air cleaner.

If not removed, they can take out your new turbo!

Just don't cut corners on the repair, otherwise it will bite you.

Happy Glamping.

lorim · 06-28-2020, 07:57 AM

tommar - we managed to get the MH back to the house. We happen to be a drag racing family so we do most of our own mechanical repairs. Turbos are normally very reliable, everything I own at the moment has some type of turbo. I already have the new turbo which I ordered from Cummings ($1532) and I also ordered a new solenoid for the e-brake just for good measure ($327). Getting the intercooler cleaned is top priority because I know that we have metal due to the chewed up housing which I can see. The motor appears fine, still has good oil pressure and no signs of leakage soot around the manifold. I'll have all the hoses cleaned up, check it all over (clean, clean, clean) and I need new clamps. The upside of sucking it up and buying the Cummings Turbo instead of an aftermarket is that we won't need any modifications other than clocking to get it in.

Domo - I changed the air filter last year and it looked good. It probably didn't need changed but figured we should get everything done since the MH was new to me and we just don't know when it was done last.

I'm pricing guages now, I want an EGT and boost gauges. I normally wouldn't think of getting these gauges unless I had done some performance mods, but I think both will be a good investment. I run with the e-brake on all the time because I'm often pretty heavy with fuel, water, and I often tow a car trailer..
All of our mechanic friends swear its a good idea to run the e-brake all the time because it reduces wear on the service breaks and also keeps the turbo cleaner.

Unplanned Tourist · 06-28-2020, 08:44 AM

We ALWAYS replaced the air cleaner/cleaners whenever a turbo let go.

Just think about how much and how far the shrapnel will go back up the intake piping with 20 plus psi pushing it.

If something is lodged in your air cleaner and it comes loose under power, you will be buying another turbo.

Consider it a form of cheap insurance.

Happy Glamping.

twinboat · 06-28-2020, 09:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 153stars

I have heard of turbos failing on a big diesel, not heard that it took the motor with it. I'm sure all the intake side should be checked for metal if the blades made contact. Diesels have very little vacuum to suck up metal on their own. Hopefully the intake side was not open too long or on a gravel road.
I think I would also ask any aftermarket turbos that will perform as well as OEM without breaking the bank.

There are lots of naturally aspirated diesel out there, no turbo.

They suck air just like any other 4 stroke engine.

tommar · 06-29-2020, 01:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by twinboat

There are lots of naturally aspirated diesel out there, no turbo.

They suck air just like any other 4 stroke engine.

Wonder if anyone has ever converted a Cummins turbo to naturally asperated? Back in the day, my twin diesel boat had CAT 3208s that were natually asperated. I believe they were rated at 210 hp each. They were big V8 diesels... The advantage (in marine use) of naturally asperated diesels is primarily longevity; they last a lot longer than turbos before needing a rebuild. The other issue (again marine) is that they use a lot less fuel per hour. A turbo CAT uses at a minimum of 30gph. My CATs burned about 12 gph or about 1.2 nautical miles per gallon.

G Schulz · 07-01-2020, 04:33 PM

You think 1.2 NM is bad mileage, we were on a cruise ship last February it got 12ft. per gallon.
I had a 1990 Ford 3/4 ton truck with a 7.2 l international diesel in it, no turbo, I sold it a couple of years ago it had 525,000 km on it. The body of the truck was rusted away but the engine still ran like a clock. Never touched the engine except for oil changes and two injector pump rebuilds with injectors.