• Welcome aboard HomebuiltAirplanes.com, your destination for connecting with a thriving community of more than 10,000 active members, all passionate about home-built aviation. Dive into our comprehensive repository of knowledge, exchange technical insights, arrange get-togethers, and trade aircrafts/parts with like-minded enthusiasts. Unearth a wide-ranging collection of general and kit plane aviation subjects, enriched with engaging imagery, in-depth technical manuals, and rare archives.

    For a nominal fee of $99.99/year or $12.99/month, you can immerse yourself in this dynamic community and unparalleled treasure-trove of aviation knowledge.

    Embark on your journey now!

    Click Here to Become a Premium Member and Experience Homebuilt Airplanes to the Fullest!

Any Old School Turbocharger Guys Out There???

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

HomeBuilt101

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 20, 2015
Messages
384
Location
Aguila AZ
I bought a flying airplane that has a Lycoming IO-540 with a custom turbocharger system and I am trying to figure out how it works…more specifically…I suspect that my low engine oil pressure might be a result of a stuck turbocharger oil check valve. So I am reaching out to see if anyone out there can help…PLEASE?!?!?

I ask because the engine is a Lycoming TIO-540 and it has only 170 hours on it and the oil pressure is fine when the engine oil is cool however when the oil temperature warms up the oil pressure is only 57 PSI at 2500 RPM (lower limit is 60 PSI) and 25 PSI when at idle (lower limit is 25 PSI). As you might have read from my other post I have troubleshooted everything on the outside of the engine (oil pressure adjustment/ gauge system, etc)

The system appears to have a Cessna wastegate and controller however the turbocharger appears to be an automotive system.

The logbook states that it is a "Aireasearch T4-GT with 1.5 L housing from Innovative Turbo Work Order 4957 and 5313". The cast iron turbo housing has "A/R 1.52" and the aluminum housing has a logo that looks like a turbine with "ITS" cast into the aluminum.


QUESTION: Does anyone recognize this turbocharger? Innovative Turbo went out of business.


QUESTION: After reading my post below, do I have this system figured out correctly (pictures below)?


Filtered oil returns from the remote mounted oil cooler via a steel braded hose and connects to a single fitting on the engine accessory case. This return port is tapped into the accessory case slightly above the oil filter and slightly outboard on the even cylinder side of the accessory case.

Just above the return fitting from the cooler is a threaded Port that has a Double Tee fitting shown in the PICTURE 1.


Turbo 1.jpg

STEP 1: One oil port from this Double Tee goes to a steel braded hose that flows oil to the top port of the turbo however just prior to entering the top of the turbo the oil flows through a check valve that has a Cessna logo printed on the side and P/N 9851044-1.

QUESTION: Is this check valve designed to limit oil flow to the turbocharger…and/or to prevent oil from dripping down into the turbo bearings when the engine is not running?


QUESTION: Should the oil flow from the top of the turbocharger down to the bottom or does it matter?

Check valve.jpg

STEP 2: After the oil cools and lubricates the turbocharger bearing, it exits the bearing from a port on the bottom of the turbocharger bearing case and this port has a metal pipe that is bolted on with two bolts and the metal pipe and a red aluminum fitting (COMMERCIAL AIRCRAFT PRODUCTS 340100) attached downstream of the metal pipe shown in PICTURE 2

QUESTION: Is this check valve there to prevent the oil from dripping down into the turbocharger bearing when the engine is not running and/or is it designed to have some kind of flow restrictor in it?

Turbo 2.jpg

STEP 3: After the red check valve an oil hose leads to the accessory case to what I believe is the turbocharger scavenge pump


QUESTION: Is this really the scavenger pump?



Turbo 3.jpg




STEP 4: The second port from the Double Tee fitting (discussed prior) goes to an oil line that is tapped into the "IN" (bottom port) of the turbocharger wastegate actuator and a second hose is routed from the wastegate actuator to the wastegate controller with “GARRETT CONTROLLER CUSTOMER PART NUMBER C-165004 0502” and it appears to have been from a Cessna T210 M-N (77 - UP) TSIO520R. See PICTURE 3

STEP 5: The waste gate controller is the brains of the turbocharger system.

The top left port is a pneumatic port and it is connected via a steel braded hose to the inlet of the Bendix and this port reads the discharge air pressure of the turbocharger compressor right before it enters the Bendix.


STEP 6: The discharge pressure from the turbocharger is measured by the wastegate controller and there is a spring that moves a valve that will allow the oil pressure to flow uninterrupted through the waste gate controller to the wastegate actuator manufactured by Garrett and it has a part number tag that states “VALVE Customer Part Number C165006-0105” and it appears to have been from a Cessna T210 M-N (77 - UP) TSIO520R PICTURE 4


QUESTION: Did I get this right?


STEP 7: The wastegate actuator is essentially an oil pressure operated piston with a metal linkage that pushes against a spring. When the piston moves it presses against the spring and when the spring compresses the linkage will move the wastegate exhaust valve to the closed position. If the actuator wants more compressed air in the intake manifold it will allow oil to pressurize the line to the wastegate actuator and move the wastegate linkage that moves the wastegate exhaust valve to the closed position allowing less exhaust gasses to bypass (waste) the turbocharger and more exhaust gasses spinning the turbo and this will spin the turbocharger faster making more compressed air for the induction system. The oil contained in this wastegate actuator hose is pressurized based on how much pressure the engine oil pump produces compared with how much oil the turbocharger controller allows to leak past and drain back to the engine.


QUESTION: How can I test to see if the oil flow through the turbocharger system is normal?


Turbo 4.jpg

THANKS
 
Back
Top