Broken revision 3 Toyota MR2 turbocharger - CT20B
Exhaust turbine wheel snapped off at 57 thousand miles. For 6 months there
had been a slight whine when at low speed when using the throttle slightly;
sounded just like a whine from a differential, but everything worked fine
even under sustained wide open throttle. Then one evening the whine
became a loud raspy noise, and as soon as the engine warmed up enough for
me to open the throttle up half properly, the thing exploded - and the whine
I'd had for 6 months had gone... unfortunately so had all the power above 4000
RPM.
The mileage sounds low, but I use the turbo an aweful lot, so the 57k seems
probably about the equivalent of the 75K Turbo Technic's site reckons a
turbo typical lasts. There was no oil leaks I could notice, just radial play
in the bearing, but theres also radial play in a brand new one, the limit in
the manual is 5 thousands of an inch, which is quite a bit. There was no
axial play I could feel. Interestingly, 4000 miles
before the turbo failed, I had to tighten the nuts that held the turbo onto
the exhaust manifold as they had all vibrated loose.
http://www.mr2turbo.info/