Turbo Aluminum Hose Blew Off

[MikeNMarge]

Vehicle: 2011 3500 Chev Duramax/Allison, Crew Cab, Short Wheel Box, SRW 17,000 miles on the truck.
Trailer: 2013 Big Horn Elite 3260, approx 13,000 Pounds
This past weekend we heading home and was pulling a 6% grade at about 55mph, 2500 rpm. As we approached the top of the grade, we heard a loud bang and lost power. We were able to pull off to the side of the road and upon lifting the hood I noticed the Turbo Aluminum Hose and blown off. Not to bore you with a long story, the Truck was towed to a Chev dealership 35 miles up the road and the 5th Wheel was towed home some 150 miles The dealer did not have the part in stock and could not get it till the next day. After much frustration, the dealer eventually removed the part from a 2013 Chevy and installed it on my truck so I could get home. This whole ordeal took about eight hours.

I have pulled this grade many times with my old fifth wheel which was about 800 lbs lighter and this was the first time I pulled the grade with our new Big Horn.

I am not a mechanic and my knoledge of the inner workings of a Duramax are very limited, at best.
1. Do I need to change my driving habits on pulling grades due to the extra 800 lbs? - even though I have been told the Duramax should have no problems pullilng grades.
2. What causes the Turbo Hose to blow off? I have a friend who had the same problem with a 2008 Duramax but never got a straight answer to the cause.
3. Do I need to get a Turbo Thrust Gauge? If so, can anyone suggest a Brand that does not void my warranty.
Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks - Mike

 

[Speedy]

Which hose are you talking about. Inlet or output?

Regarding gauges, I love my Banks IQ system and just got done installing the Speedbrake and it is impressive to watch it work. Your 2011 would not need the Speedbrake but the IQ system provides you a ton of data at you finger tips.

 

[Rickhansen]

MikeNMarge,
Sorry to hear of the problem with your Truck. To my knowledge, this is not a very common problem but it has been reported. I did a search and came up with the following result that might help you.

//heartlandowners.org/showthread.ph...off-my-Duramax-engine?highlight=duramax+turbo

 

[kakampers]

Have the same truck and pull grades with MUCH heavier load than yours(close to 18K)...have never had this happen. It did, however, happen on our 98 Dodge...turned out to be a weak clamp....was a specially designed one that cost over $100...New one solved the problem...never happened again.

 

[hogan]

Had this happen climbing Big Horn out of Buffalo, WY last June with my 05 Ford 6.0. Big clamp parted and rubber hose on output side blew off. I now carry a spare clamp in the truck. $4.50 insurance.

 

[Lynn1130]

As I understand it from some on "Diesel Place" this is a problem with a few of the newer Chevy/GM turbos. The dealer that did the repairs should have been aware of it or been able to find it in the their service database. If they did not mention it I would be calling my local dealer/service when I got home to make sure they fix it so it does not happen again. It has to do with the turbo not the load you pull.

 

[porthole]

I am not a mechanic and my knoledge of the inner workings of a Duramax are very limited, at best.
1. Do I need to change my driving habits on pulling grades due to the extra 800 lbs? - even though I have been told the Duramax should have no problems pullilng grades.

No you do not, if installed correctly you should not have a problem.

2. What causes the Turbo Hose to blow off? I have a friend who had the same problem with a 2008 Duramax but never got a straight answer to the cause.

Typically, if installed correctly from the factory it should not come off. What I have found over the years is once the hose has been off for any reason, improper re-installation is usually the cause. Doesn't matter if it is your little GMC, Ford Dodge, or your 75,000 pound fire truck or your 1000 horsepower boat, installation is usually the culprit.
The hoses are usually pricey, silicone, heat resistant hoses.
The clamps are usually pricey, constant torque, specific to application clamps.

Auto part store parts may get you by, but the correct part is the correct repair.
Most of the time the hose can be reused. The clamps should be replaced.

3. Do I need to get a Turbo Thrust Gauge? If so, can anyone suggest a Brand that does not void my warranty.

Only if you have a desire to see such data. You mention you are not a mechanic, so the gauge would not amount to much more then fluff for you. Those of us that are gear heads tend to add gauges or monitors just because - we can.


Your truck is designed to run with the turbo and the programming in the various computers reflect that. It will run without the hose, you just will have minimum power.

It has to do with the turbo not the load you pull.

Without the load, less boost. I would guess most of the diesel pickups on the don't use anywhere near the capacity the trucks are rated for, so less load.
Vehicles that tend to run at 80% load most of the time will tend to exhibit this issue more often.


Experience for me has been that coming in a "less then ideal" New Jersey inlet with a following sea is no time to have an engine blow off a turbo hose - it will really get you tweaked. Been there and done that.
Driving your 75,000 pound ladder truck to a fire is also no time to have the hose blow off - been there and done that more then once - and it it still keeps getting replaced incorrectly.

 

[jnbhobe]

I agree with everything Duane says, I lost a hose on an 03 F350 down by Branson in 03 was able to limp off the highway and back to the campground. It took me three hours to get it back on so it would stay on, never came off again in 120K miles.

 

[Bob&Patty]

The clamp was the problem. It should not have blown off. If your dealer does the correct repair, it should not happen again. I did install extra gauges....boost and EGT gauges. So far I cant get the EGT over 900* with a heavy load and pulling hard on hills. The boost gauge has never been over 25# under the same conditions. BTW, I am a "gear head" so thats why I did it. I guess its the "gear jammer" in me...I just want to know whats going on under the hood.

 

[porthole]

The clamp was the problem. It should not have blown off. If your dealer does the correct repair, it should not happen again. I did install extra gauges....boost and EGT gauges. So far I cant get the EGT over 900* with a heavy load and pulling hard on hills. The boost gauge has never been over 25# under the same conditions. BTW, I am a "gear head" so thats why I did it. I guess its the "gear jammer" in me...I just want to know whats going on under the hood.

Where did you put the sensor Bob. I regularly saw well over 1000 on temps.

 

[TXBobcat]

As I was driving to Gillette Wy the National Rally last year I had the hose come of my 06 F250. Saw the hose loose and put it back on. It had a warning to not over tighten it and gave a torque setting. I don't have a torque wrench for that, so I just put it back on and snugged it down. Started to take off and it came off again. Got out and put it back on but tightened it down good and tight. No problem since.

But when you put it back on you need to clean the inside of the hose where it tightens down and on the turbo. I carry a wrench in the console that I need incase it comes off again. I have not replaced the aluminum hose or the clamp at the is time.

BC

 

[Tombstonejim]

While I agree tht it should not happen. And it does happen on all the turbo's from time to time. You can greatly reduce the chance of it happening by a little throttle contol. What you do not want to do is be pulling hard with a lot of turbo boost and then just drop the throttle. This will cause a large spike in the pressure in the hoses/manifold and is primarly what blows the hoses off. Agreed the waste gate should prevent it but sometimes they don't work fast enough to prevent it. If at lll possible when pulling hard up a hill when cresting the hill back of the trottle slowly and just don't drop it back to idle.

Twenty years ago this was a big problem with the gas motorhomes causing warped exahust manifolds. Guys would run full throttle up hill and just drop it to idle all at once and coast done the back side. The rapid temperature change was terible for the manifolds.

 

[porthole]

While I agree tht it should not happen. And it does happen on all the turbo's from time to time. You can greatly reduce the chance of it happening by a little throttle contol. What you do not want to do is be pulling hard with a lot of turbo boost and then just drop the throttle. This will cause a large spike in the pressure in the hoses/manifold and is primarly what blows the hoses off. Agreed the waste gate should prevent it but sometimes they don't work fast enough to prevent it. If at lll possible when pulling hard up a hill when cresting the hill back of the trottle slowly and just don't drop it back to idle.

Going to have to disagree here. They usually come off either from excessive age or not installed correctly. Sticking waste gates too, but not as common.
That means the wrong clamp, surfaces not cleaned or the "constant torque" clamps was not torqued correctly.
Throttle control should not be an issue. Right or wrong, the trucks we use for my real job are usually driven either full throttle or no throttle, by a multitude of drivers. Every vehicle that has had a hose come off can be traced back to some type of prior service.

Now the gas engine problem was terrible. I worked at Dodge dealers back then and what a pain doing manifolds on those 440 monsters.

 

[Bob&Patty]

Duane, I had a turbo take a dive.....so while it was apart, I had bungs welded into the turbo boost side pipe and one welded in the right exhaust pipe from the exhaust manifold just after the connection at the manifold. When the pipes where out was the time.....what a job it would be if I had to do it at home in the driveway. BTW, I worked with the guys that did the job at the Chebby dealer for 9 years.....so I gave them a few bucks for helping me out. We had to notch out (tin snips) the tin heat shield on the exhaust for the senser to clear it.

 

[porthole]

That may explain the temp difference. I had two sensors, one for a manual gauge that I installed and one that came with a banks kit I put in.
Both the analog gauge and the digital read out with the Banks palm device were very close.

Both sensors were in the exhaust manifolds in the rear next to the port.
I drilled and tapped teh right side manifold. Very easy to due. Let the truck run at idle and keep a magnet next to the bit.
The left side manifold was a BD replacement without the restriction, and that included a tapped hole for a sensor.

http://www.xtremediesel.com/bd-powerduramaxexhaustmanifold.aspx

 

[MikeNMarge]

Thanks to everyone that replied. Truck goes into th shop this Thursday for oil change, etc. I will have them check it out top to bottom.
Again, thanks. Mike

 

[mattpopp]

Honesty, it's kind of funny to hear a stock pickup blow a boot off. They may make a max boost of 35psi if you pin the throttle with a good load behind you. nothing in terms of what modded pickups can produce. I blew a Silcone boot in half at around 80 psi, that was an accomplishment for me.

But an old school trick to keep you boots on is to spray the connects with Hair SprAy and then reassemble whil the HS is still wet. And use good clamps that can put a good squeeze on it.

 

[porthole]

But an old school trick to keep you boots on is to spray the connects with Hair SprAy and then reassemble whil the HS is still wet. And use good clamps that can put a good squeeze on it.

The real old school trick is to do it correctly the first time.

 

[mattpopp]

The real old school trick is to do it correctly the first time.

Granted, a stock pickup or even a pickup with a tuner should keep the boots on with clamps. But there is a lot of worrying minds on this forum and they look for every tip out there.