Vortech damage

[murse]

I posted in the blower section, but also wanted this groups opinion. I have a 99 COBRA that's supercharged with a vortech non inter-cooled V2-e (puts down 457RWHP) I figured someday I would pull the motor and put some forged rods/pistons and could turn up the boost, but would just enjoy it the way it is (save up ofr the upgrades)

I was racing an Acura and spun some in 2nd as boost came in, got traction and hit 3rd and pulled away. When I went to turn off and stopped at a redlight, the car was running like shit, smelled smoke and was idling at 5000 rpm. Pulled in a parking lot and figured I put a hole in the block, but NO oil on the ground.

I was only a few minutes away from home, so I drove it home. The idling returned to normal and I didn't hear any weird sounds, when I got home I noticed the CAI had popped off the front of the blower, and when I looked in, I saw this

So how did the impeller get destroyed???? from the rubber elbow hitting it??? and I'm gonna guess the broken fins went into the motor???? I tried using a boroscope but it wasn't a good one and couldn't visualize everywhere that i wanted too. Time to pull the motor and I guess get my forged stuff sooner that I wanted

 

[Brutal Metal]

what does the coupler look like? Is there big chunks missing from it?

 

[mustang19932014]

Maybe too much play on the impeller shaft. When I sent mine in for a rebuild they (Vortech) said there were signs of the impeller hitting the blower housing.

 

[UncleSAm]

my guess is play in the input shaft caused the impeller to touch the housing and it shattered

 

[murse]

what does the coupler look like? Is there big chunks missing from it?

yeah it's chewed up and you can see shredded pieces at the throttle body. something took out cylinder 5's plug. Wasn't sure if the elbow hitting the impeller would be enough (I was guessing the rubber would give before the blades would) but maybe it did touch the housing and shattered.

 

[murse]

And how often does play in the input shaft happen???? This blower only has 13,000 miles. What kind of lifespan do these things have???

 

[99COBRA2881]

And how often does play in the input shaft happen???? This blower only has 13,000 miles. What kind of lifespan do these things have???

They usually have a lifespan of 12,999 miles. Haha j/k

What do you mean when you say it took the plug out? Like spit the plug out of the head? Or debris being blown through the engine crush the plug ground strap?

 

[Brutal Metal]

yeah it's chewed up and you can see shredded pieces at the throttle body. something took out cylinder 5's plug. Wasn't sure if the elbow hitting the impeller would be enough (I was guessing the rubber would give before the blades would) but maybe it did touch the housing and shattered.

Just what I suspected, shitty deal, send it in for an Si Trim impeller..

 

[Blkkbgt]

Your blower was spinning at 32000 to 52000 rpms depending on your boost level. At that speed it really does not take much to seriously damage the impeller. If the elbow collapsed or it shifted and made contact with the blades even for a mili second it would easily cause damage just like you have. This happens because one small piece of a blade breaks off and then causes a domino effect tearing up more blades. It's really not much different then what happens when you have FOD enter a turbo shaft or turbo fan engine.

All you can from here is upgrade and figure out something with that elbow to make sure it does not happen again.

 

[Brutal Metal]

All you can from here is upgrade and figure out something with that elbow to make sure it does not happen again.

There is NO pressurized air at that point of the intake track, no reason why that clamp should loosen itself unless it wasn't 100% tight from the beginning OR it was the wrong size..

 

[UncleSAm]

There is NO pressurized air at that point of the intake track, no reason why that clamp should loosen itself unless it wasn't 100% tight from the beginning OR it was the wrong size..

This is why I use t clamps on everything. I don't trust worm gear clamps at all. I also put a little hair spray on couplers sometimes too.

 

[Blkkbgt]

Pressurized air has nothing to do with it and obviously isn't present before the impeller, i said nothing to that effect. Either the clamp wasn't tight or something caused the elbow to collapse and it contacted the blower.

 

[UncleSAm]

What I ment was worm clamps have no means to lock, so they can loosen over time with vibrations.

 

[murse]

They usually have a lifespan of 12,999 miles. Haha j/k

What do you mean when you say it took the plug out? Like spit the plug out of the head? Or debris being blown through the engine crush the plug ground strap?

hahaha probably!!!! and something blown in and bent the ground plug

 

[murse]

Just what I suspected, shitty deal, send it in for an Si Trim impeller..

That's the plan :beer:

Your blower was spinning at 32000 to 52000 rpms depending on your boost level. At that speed it really does not take much to seriously damage the impeller. If the elbow collapsed or it shifted and made contact with the blades even for a mili second it would easily cause damage just like you have. This happens because one small piece of a blade breaks off and then causes a domino effect tearing up more blades. It's really not much different then what happens when you have FOD enter a turbo shaft or turbo fan engine.

All you can from here is upgrade and figure out something with that elbow to make sure it does not happen again.

That makes sense and I'll make sure it doesn't happen again..

 

[murse]

Found some missing pieces in my air filter