COMP Turbo Oil-Less Weird Noise
 

Quick background. I bought this kit around Jan '18, installed it late July '18. It's done about 6000Km now. Last service was at 5000Km when I changed the engine oil as well. 5 pumps of turbo grease went into it as instructed.

Over the weekend went on a club run through some twisties. Didn't really push it all that hard ( cause of all them normie NA 370s up in front :p ). Got to the meeting spot and noticed a very loud audible high pitched almost bearing like noise coming from the Turbo.

What's super weird is after shutting the car off, and immediately turning it back on 10 seconds later and about 95% of the sound was completely gone. I couldn't see any leaking from the zerk fitting, but I'll get a chance to properly go under later this week.

Any other COMP guys here ever experienced this? :ugh::confused:

Before: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXmkeFm_IrM

After: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EsnEj2tu8I

After it breaks in it does get louder ..a lot louder ..you can hear the ball bearings more when spinning down ...I freaked out when mine did it ...I was told it’s normal and haven’t had any issues

...I did remove the turbo and inspected everything ..everything looked good nothing rubbing inside and still spins freely.

Nothing to worry about. The grease liquefies with spirited driving, and becomes less of a resistance...so everything spins faster.

How come the sound disappears just by shutting it off and turning it back on? That doesn't seem right at all to me. I get the feeling I may have under greased it. The only remote idea that makes some sense when I think about it, is the grease while liquefied is spun outwards and not lubing properly while the turbo is spinning, and shutting it off allows that liquefied grease to pool a bit enough for it to lube the shaft (or get to somewhere it's needed) so that when starting back up again the sound is significantly mitigated.

And yes, I can hear it spin down when shutting the car off when hot (takes about 40 seconds last time I counted), and I don't really know how to describe it and the phone mic may not be picking it up but it sounds different to the noise it makes spinning down.

Also in that clip you can hear another odd noise between 0:10-0:13 & 0:17-0:23, like this odd whining down that repeats every half second or so.

The sound in the first clip is the “jet” sound of a turbo mine does it as well ....Hotter the air the faster it moves and louder the whine ....maybe turning it off and restarting it temp drops low enough to quiet the whine down ......from what I hear in the video clips...it sounds great lol

So after putting this on hold for months as lot of other personal things were going on at the time (focus dominated by work, and what was left over on becoming a dad) finally had a chance to take it out a few nights ago and reassess. Swear it's getting worse and I'm reaching out to COMP. Horrible grinding noises in the few seconds before it stops spinning when engine is shut off. At about 6000Km / 3900 miles since install now.

I'll be going under on the weekend and seeing if I still have a zerk fitting... maybe I'm another victim of the dreaded loose zerk fittings, who knows. I sure don't. :confused:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gMXGTV96SY

That is the same sound mine makes. Did you pull yours out to see if the blades are making contact with the housing? I pulled mine and zero contact and makes the same sound. Sounds normal to me.

Sounds like normal spool down to me ... my first comp turbo had a very distinct sound and I thought something was wrong but it was just breaking in at around 10k miles ... I did have a issue with the zerk fitting O-ring leaking coolant ... so I sent it in and got the updated version that eliminates that issue .. second turbo is following same sounds as the first and is almost fully broke in .. but to be sure I would remove the turbo and verify the blades are not damaged or and binding and see how it spins by hand .. if there isn’t any signs out the ordinary ... put it back and keep boosting

Last 10 seconds of the clip sound bloody horrible. How the heck is that normal? Never once made that sound for thousands of kilometers and never heard another turbo sound like that spinning down.

Yeah I'm going to pull it out soon and see if there's any contact with the blades and if there's any play in the center shaft.

Got your email as well, I forwarded it to COMP.

To me, this is a normal sound. If you give it a few shots of grease it will go away. This is what ceramic ball bearings sounds like when dry. I had a Precision turbo that sounded very similar after the car shuts down, and it would spin for 20-30 seconds after shutdown.

If there was issues with the rotation assembly contacting any surface of the compressor or turbine, you would not hear it spinning like this.

It is the ball bearings that are making the sound.

Thanks.

COMP got back to me. Told me to give it 8 shots of grease...

So if I got this right; When servicing the unit normally every 3000 miles you give it 5 shots. But now not 1000 miles later they're telling me to give it 8 shots of grease.

That doesn't seem right. :confused:

It won’t hurt it to go a few more .. just waste out the exhaust ... but telling you to do 8 would make sure there was plenty in there

Should of went with the traditional oil feed. This sounds like a lot of trouble

If given the option ..I wouldn’t go back to traditional oil feed ..less heat to the engine oil ..no oil lines or secondary oil pumps ..but that’s just my opinion

I was a complete Oil-less convert until this. Just been too much conflicting information in my experience. I've heard about 3 different mileages & shot amounts from different sources.

The install was a breeze by traditional turbo install comparisons and I appreciated that a lot, but servicing leaves a bit to be desired.

At least with the Stillen SC I could pull out the dipstick and check oil levels. Here there is no feedback to help you confirm if you're good and you're relying purely on word of mouth and having to keep an ear out for odd noises.

...and yet I still love this bloody thing.

You will know more once you remove and inspect it ...I was paranoid as well with mine ...but it wasn’t anything to worry about

5 to 6 shots of grease every 3,000 miles, assuming you are not tracking the setup. This can also be found on the COMP website.

So where does the grease actually go? After 40,000 miles and 80 pumps...

All grease is oil based, with different chemical compositions. The grease dissipates in the environment it is designed to work in. This is why COMP has a specific grease for this application.

It is no different than lubricating a roller bearing in an electric motor for example. Manufacturer recommended lubricants.

This is painful to read. It looks like nobody actually understands what’s MoulaZ is saying.

MoulaZ, I get exactly what you are saying, and I see all the confusion when everyone else seems to keep repeating the same, contradictory, correct, or maybe not, info. Strange.

Went under it today and zerk fitting still there so I just gave it 8 shots of grease as directed by COMP. It was still fairly cold after the short half a mile down the road to my Dad's place where all my stuff for the car is. Noise was quite audible as usual. After the extra grease now I could barely hear the noise when I fired it up, even when sound is bouncing off a nearby wall. Took it for a short drive to warm it up and noise is completely gone. Shutting the car off now and the turbo takes at least another 15 seconds to finish spinning down more than it has in a long time. Raises so many questions.

I gave it the normal 5 shots at 3100 miles (5000Km). But now it's had 8 shots like 1100 or so miles later. Does that mean the original direction wasn't enough? Is there some other reason why mine is consuming grease faster? Does this mean I need to give it another 8 shots in 1000 miles? Does this mean I give it 5 or 8 shots in another 2100 miles at the next scheduled service? If 5 to 6 shots is normal, why did COMP themselves just recommend I give it 8 shots 1000 miles from the last service???

I mean it's ultimately good news but worried now how long this is going to last and implications on how to RELIABLY service this thing in the future.

I don't track it, and it's seen maybe half a dozen club meet days since install and only two of those days did I beat hard on it.

I'll get another clip up later tonight, but the difference is so obvious now.

I tell you what, if you are having any serious issues with the turbo, where it gets damaged due to defect, I will replace it, at no cost to you.

All I ask is for you to lubricate it, 6 shots every 3k miles....drive it like you stole it, and not worry about it.

I'm absolutely loving it and thank you again for making these kits.

I don't know if it's a serious issue, but wanted to nip this quick before it turns into a genuinely serious issue, and also put it out there so others could benefit who may have concerns but not step forward.

I'll give it 6 shots in say 2500 miles?

I sincerely appreciate the offer, but hope it never comes to that. This is still by far the most favourite thing I've installed on any car I've owned. :)

If it puts you at ease, to do it every 2500 miles then by all means. If you run out of grease let me know.

Wow

I would honestly just drop the turbo and send it to comp. The only way to be sure. I blew my clutch and shredded my drive line. My turbo is fine but I am sending it to comp for a inspection. Only way to be sure or your going to drive yourself crazy.. picks of my driveline is on my Instagram bmpboosted I also beat the crap out of my car.

Not that simple for me mate. I'm in Australia, and can't work on my car in my complex. All the work done at my old man's place and I can't clog up his driveway for weeks and drop who knows how much in shipping just to find out "it's fine, that'll be $xxx please plus also $xxx for return shipping". Hence why I provide a bit more detailed information and some audio for someone else who's more familiar with them to chime in. What worries me is so many have said 'oh yeah, that sounds fine', then why did the extra shots of grease significantly quieten it down?

Just keep it greased as was stated. You should be fine.

Gee thanks mate. Should I keep my engine oiled too? :rolleyes:

Talk about missing the entire point. It WAS greased exactly how I was told to and still developed the issue I outlined, and the 'solution' didn't make sense in context of the official directions on how to service it.

If it wasn't the manufacturer that said that, then it seems like you might have been a little light on previous grease applications. Like Spooler said, keep it greased :driving:

If you're really concerned, you can follow someone else's suggestion and send it back to the manufacturer for analysis :twocents:

https://www.carid.com/images/comp-tu...tion-guide.pdf

"6.The Turbocharger is Pre Greased and ready for install.
• Apply 2 to 3 pumps of Comp Turbo Grease (Part # 950000) every 3000 miles for a rearmount setup.
• In the engine mount 6 pumps every 3000 miles."

https://www.compturbotechnology.com/...ease-cartridge

"It's a 3 Oz Oil-less Grease Cartridge for routine maintenance with every 3000 miles for reliable and long lasting service."



Manufacturer said even less. Started with "We will need the turbo for inspect for the issue and repair the problem. Can you send it?" and ends with "Do 8 pumps of grease". Those are direct quotes.

Now fair enough, I gave it 5 instead of 6 as stated above. But that's all I'm going to concede... and you're now telling me that somehow means that I went light on the greasing and 1/3 of the way through to the next service that 1 extra missing shot of grease causes the noise to exponentially become louder? I'm not even remotely close to buying that.

Far as I'm concerned, I already did what I was told. I really do hope it was just a mild anomaly and nothing more happens. That last thing I'd want to do is be back here with a 'I told you so' because I'm still the one who gets f*cked... though thanks to Sasha's impeccable customer service that has been significantly mitigated.

Dang dude, don't stress about it.

Just out of curiosity ...is your zerk facing down and very visible when greasing ...if not some grease may have not have been going into the zerk and out the side ..I have noticed that if I don’t make sure the grease gun is secured on the zerk this happens ...just a thought

Yep. Not dead set down, maybe 5 or 10 degrees slight slant, but still clearly facing down.

Yeah I know what you're talking about. Happened on my first pump way back when. Unless you hold firm pressure pressing into the zerk with the grease gun while pumping, it squishes out the sides. Never happened after that first pump though. Wiped it all off and did it again.



Here's an after greasing clip from just now:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MozSatqw4FU

I'd say about 80-90% of the noise is gone while the car is hot and idle, also when shutting off it spins down quieter and doesn't have that horrible grinding sound in the last few seconds before stopping.

Here's the one again from earlier in the week before the 8 shots:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gMXGTV96SY