BorgWarner EFR Turbo Seal TEST! Good or Bad??? WORK Turbocharger's Test Procedure Explained

Ever wondered how we test the exhaust and compressor seals on your turbocharger? In this video I go over how we utilize a gas flow meter to test seal integrity of an EFR 8374 turbocharger.

[@suiteproductions]

Will be trying out this technique on an EFR 9180 in the next couple of days which I suspect as some heavily worn oil control rings, thanks for the guide

[@802Garage]

This is an awesome test. Had never seen one like this. Really cool. Love these insights.

[@s4060]

Great you do that. Borgwarner EFR are the best turbo available! Just a great product!

[@alexandreperreault584]

Thanks for your time man, your video are instructive!!!

[@abdullaalameri90]

Very creative way for a fast inspection. Really like it. So what about a turbo with a blown seal. Will it leak upto 100 ft3 or even more?

[@n.prince2458]

Not bad video. Is the BorgWarner 9174EFR the best BorgWarner for a BMW M3 f80?

[@daveroy9906]

👍Turbo, speaking of crank case venting is it better to use recirculating with vacuum or atmospheric depenting on volume of a baffle can or could you run both?

[@workturbo]

A proper high performance system will always include both. The "positive" or "PCV" will make sure the engine stays free of moisture and helps with oil flow control around the turbocharger gas seals (vacuum being applied). Once the vacuum is removed (PCV checks closed) you have to have a path for the crankcase pressure to escape (Crankcase breather/catch can/etc) It is very important to make sure the PCV valve checks closed under boost pressure...especially if the boost is raised from stock levels or if the car was not a factory turbocharged model. Hope this makes sense! Reed

[@on3tvracing]

Do you guys rebuild the efr? My seals are def blown.

[@workturbo]

Not at the moment...parts availability are really in a bad spot for these at the moment. Maybe try my friends down in Tampa @boostlab , tell them I sent you! -Reed

[@strokerz2858]

Using a smoke machine will allow you to visually see the exact location of the leak

[@workturbo]

It is passing by the seal ring on the compressor and turbine side. Turbochargers do not have a positive seal on either end, hence the brand new one passes air by the seal. Most of the issues on a used one will be around the exhaust seal, we cap the compressor inlet and outlet to perform an isolated test at this point to verify. Quick and effective. Reed

[@user-cc8gb1zo8m]

You can’t test seals like this. It’s the pressure in the turbine and compressor that make the seal. The only argument could be the compressor wont make seal until the pressure increases enough to overcome the vacuum behind the wheel.

[@workturbo]

The seals are "gas" or "air" seals as you are implying. Pressure does not really care which direction is is being applied from. We have a fixture that will pressurize the seal from the outside the turbine or compressor, but we find that deformation from the housing heat cycles/corrosion etc creates variables in the results. This method of testing eliminates that as a potential source of leaks, but it does not let us isolate from compressor seal/turbine seal delta easily. As I think I state in the video, this is just another "tool" we have in our possession to quality control to a standard we set as "pass/fail/questionable" This test actually came from an Engineer at BorgWarner, while not published in public domain, it was very well distributed to shops that could benefit from the information. I have been using this method for internal QC with great success, and I think others could gain from the knowledge. Thank you for your criticism, it will help me with future video content. Reed