Cooked turbo and cracked piston

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

NavySAR1

New Member
Joined
Feb 15, 2014
Messages
7
Reaction score
0
Location
North Carolina
Is there any history of damage to these motors from tunes. My 2010 recently ate a turbo, once they got it running they found a cracked piston.
 

SHOdded

SHO Member
Joined
Dec 25, 2011
Messages
9,045
Reaction score
4,390
Location
Maryland
Yes, tunes can damage the engine if they are trying to extract every last bit of performance from it. The hotter the tune, the more the need for a cooler thermostat for example. Spark plugs must be gapped properly to 0.030 or so. High boost for extended periods can also lead to parts failure. Could lead to detonation in the combustion chamber if the tuner does not make sure to provide proper support recommendations.
 

rubydist

SHO Master
Staff member
Super Moderators
Joined
Jun 25, 2007
Messages
7,521
Reaction score
3,399
Location
Denver
and proper oil change intervals with proper oil are required. we have seen a very few bad turbos, and in each case we believed it was from cheap oil not changed often enough.
 

jayro

SHO Member
Joined
Apr 8, 2006
Messages
1,918
Reaction score
349
Location
Auburn, In
Is there any history of damage to these motors from tunes. My 2010 recently ate a turbo, once they got it running they found a cracked piston.

What tune are you running and what mods do you have? A bad tune can definitely hurt an engine, but I haven't heard much about these engines having problems with the available tunes.
 

NavySAR1

New Member
Joined
Feb 15, 2014
Messages
7
Reaction score
0
Location
North Carolina
I pulled the tune out about three months ago, because it didnt seem to be running right. The car ate the turbo and piston about two weeks ago.
 

SHOdded

SHO Member
Joined
Dec 25, 2011
Messages
9,045
Reaction score
4,390
Location
Maryland
Some things to check (i.e., known issues): cracked spark plug insulator, excessive PCV blowby, slack in the timing chain.
 

r1crusher

SHO Member
Joined
Oct 9, 2014
Messages
92
Reaction score
41
Location
Ohio
I'm surprised no one asked some other key questions like how many miles on car and how many miles with the tune? Any racing like at the drag strip? If so how often? Was it purchased used?

A lot of factors could contribute to your failure but as others have said it's not a common thing.
 

Calgary

SHO Member
Joined
Aug 23, 2013
Messages
204
Reaction score
30
Location
Alberta, Canada
sorry to hear about that. is it possible a piece of the piston went in the turbo? any luck getting it on warranty?


what can i do to prevent this from happening when i tune my car in a month or 2 from torrie. I have a 2010 Non-pp with 50k miles. Ive changed the plugs, tranny fluid, Rdu fluid. Always changed oils at least every 5k miles with Mobil 1 or pennzoil platinum. Ive decided to get the thermostat and the 3 bar. How much insulation does retrofitting the aux oil and trans coolers (included on the pp shos) from damaging my drivetrain? Is a Ptu fluid change absolutely Necessary(been told its been checked twice and its fine but i call bs)? Ive also had the coolant changed.
I really don't know what else i can do besides regaping the plugs for tune and installing the stuff i mentioned. I would be asking for a moderate tune as i plan on keeping the car for a few more years and i am somewhat satisfied with the speed of the sho stock as i don't have access to a racetrack.
 

BamSHO

SHO Member
Joined
Apr 9, 2001
Messages
1,239
Reaction score
987
Location
South Williamsport,PA, US
I retro fitted the '13+ oil cooler onto my '12. Also have the Evenflo 160 Tstat too. I think there might of been a flaw in the piston from the start. Sometimes no matter how careful we are, things break. Have you gotten the car fixed yet. Did they give you any kind of anwser as to why the piston cracked?
 

SHOnUup4

SHO Member
Joined
Jun 17, 2014
Messages
927
Reaction score
777
Location
SE MI
sorry to hear about that. is it possible a piece of the piston went in the turbo? any luck getting it on warranty?


what can i do to prevent this from happening when i tune my car in a month or 2 from torrie. I have a 2010 Non-pp with 50k miles. Ive changed the plugs, tranny fluid, Rdu fluid. Always changed oils at least every 5k miles with Mobil 1 or pennzoil platinum. Ive decided to get the thermostat and the 3 bar. How much insulation does retrofitting the aux oil and trans coolers (included on the pp shos) from damaging my drivetrain? Is a Ptu fluid change absolutely Necessary(been told its been checked twice and its fine but i call bs)? Ive also had the coolant changed.
I really don't know what else i can do besides regaping the plugs for tune and installing the stuff i mentioned. I would be asking for a moderate tune as i plan on keeping the car for a few more years and i am somewhat satisfied with the speed of the sho stock as i don't have access to a racetrack.
Once tuned I'd start doing a 3000 mile oil change and definitely service the PTU. They tell you it's fine because the paperwork says non-servicable, lifetime fluid. I bet they don't even look at it. Besides that you look to have it pretty well covered.

Maintenance is the key. I've changed my oil 4 times in the last 7 weeks now.

Normal interval....changed oil
Track day...changed oil
Random misfire(weird)...changed oil
Track day....changed oil

Might be excessive, but the car loves it.



Rich
 

SHOnUup4

SHO Member
Joined
Jun 17, 2014
Messages
927
Reaction score
777
Location
SE MI
Is there any history of damage to these motors from tunes. My 2010 recently ate a turbo, once they got it running they found a cracked piston.
Sorry to hear, not to often we hear of a transverse motor issue. Turbo issues seem to be getting a little more popular lately though.

Rich
 

Forum statistics

Threads
107,088
Messages
1,181,315
Members
16,153
Latest member
lapochkarr

Members online

Back
Top