lx665 turbo exhaust seal blown

[nikk]

I have owned my 1998 lx665 turbo skid steer for almost 2 years. I purchased it with a blown turbo and oil was pouring out the exhaust. The inlet had bent turbine blades. The previous owner said the dealer had performed a bad service and pinched the lines. That dealer went out of business at the time. I replaced the turbo with a A&I products SBA135756151 turbo. At the same time, I replaced the engine oil/filter and all the intake air filters (2). I have run this skid trouble free for 50 hours until this winter when I noticed oil coming out of the joint between the exhaust and the turbo. I could actually watch the engine oil slowly stream out. I removed the exhaust and the connector pipes/mounts to the turbo and ran the engine at idle. I could see oil seeping out through the exhaust turbine hole. The question I have is: 1. Did I operate it badly on cold days. I did not let it idle for 3 minutes at 1500 rpm before using. In fact I seldom let the skid warm up. I normally start it, then increase revs to somewhere around 2000 and move out of its storage. 2. I do always let the skid idle for a minute or more after use before shutting down. 3. Did I buy a cheap aftermarket turbo (A&I products SBA135756151 turbo) which is destined to fail at a cost of +-$850 with shipping. 4. Or is there something else I should be looking at to diagnose before installing another turbo.

 

[nikk]

I stripped the A&I Products aftermarket turbo and found all the exhaust fan seals gone. I am not a diesel mechanic but that tells me that the seals did not handle the heat very well. I have since found that you cannot but this kind of turbo from any suppliers. This would indicate you get what you pay for ... JUNK. I decided to upgrade to the 5 bolt LS170 turbo which has an improved oil flow around the exhaust turbo fan bearings and seals.

 

[jerry]

I stripped the A&I Products aftermarket turbo and found all the exhaust fan seals gone. I am not a diesel mechanic but that tells me that the seals did not handle the heat very well. I have since found that you cannot but this kind of turbo from any suppliers. This would indicate you get what you pay for ... JUNK. I decided to upgrade to the 5 bolt LS170 turbo which has an improved oil flow around the exhaust turbo fan bearings and seals.

Just curious nikk , did you check into what would have to be done to run these machines naturally aspirated? I believe the only gain from the turbo is 10 more horsepower. The newer ones such as the ls160 do not have it. Seems to be a fairly common problem with the new holland. I do use Rotella synthetic oil in mine mainly so everything gets oil as soon as it starts running but who knows if it will help.

 

[nikk]

Just curious nikk , did you check into what would have to be done to run these machines naturally aspirated? I believe the only gain from the turbo is 10 more horsepower. The newer ones such as the ls160 do not have it. Seems to be a fairly common problem with the new holland. I do use Rotella synthetic oil in mine mainly so everything gets oil as soon as it starts running but who knows if it will help.

Hi Jerry, Yes I considered removing the turbo and putting on L565 parts. But it would have needed a new muffler, exhaust manifold, oil line, intake hose, some gaskets, nuts bolts, and some studs. I estimate that cost around +$600. I decided that the extra 10HP was something I could not ignore. I did modify my LX665 yesterday to a LS170 turbo ($1550) and with all the pieces (new exhaust manifold mount +-$270), including engine oil, oil, fuel, hydraulic filters, and taxes, I spent $2400 at the local NH part store in Denver. The new 5 hole turbo has a redesigned shaft turbine bearing which should extend the life of the turbo compared to the older 4 bolt design. My biggest challenge was modifying the hydraulic reservoir for clearance with the turbo. I used a heat gun for that clearance. I ran the new turbo for a few minutes after install and it seemed to function just fine. I am now checking to make sure I have done everything right before putting the skid back into service.

 

[jerry]

Hi Jerry, Yes I considered removing the turbo and putting on L565 parts. But it would have needed a new muffler, exhaust manifold, oil line, intake hose, some gaskets, nuts bolts, and some studs. I estimate that cost around +$600. I decided that the extra 10HP was something I could not ignore. I did modify my LX665 yesterday to a LS170 turbo ($1550) and with all the pieces (new exhaust manifold mount +-$270), including engine oil, oil, fuel, hydraulic filters, and taxes, I spent $2400 at the local NH part store in Denver. The new 5 hole turbo has a redesigned shaft turbine bearing which should extend the life of the turbo compared to the older 4 bolt design. My biggest challenge was modifying the hydraulic reservoir for clearance with the turbo. I used a heat gun for that clearance. I ran the new turbo for a few minutes after install and it seemed to function just fine. I am now checking to make sure I have done everything right before putting the skid back into service.

Thanks for the reply Nikk, when I last bought a air filter it was at a New Holland /Bobcat dealer and he said if you buy the Bobcat air filter it is about half of New Holland's price and the same filter. That was what I did and they do look exactly alike.