IH Dan

New User
I have a 1980 International Harvester 125E Track Loader TD239. I'm curious! How does one know if the turbo is working or not? Is there an
easy way? I'm also curious if anyone has an idea how to ensure that vandalism doesn't happen through the exhaust pipe.

Thank you in advance,

Dan
 
Not a track loader...

The turbo went bad on one of my friends Vermeer chippers. Very low on power and black smoke were the primary symptoms.
 
Likely, there's a port somewhere in the intake manifold with a pipe plug (such as 1/8").

If you can find such a port and connect a gauge with an appropriate pressure range to it and monitor it as you load the engine.

Positive pressure in the intake manifold will prove the turbo is working.

How much pressure? Basic turbo systems can run from 5-15 psi, on up into the 20's and above for aftercooled/high output engines. (At full load.)
 
Don't even need a gauge. Pull the plug. At idle,you should feel a bit of vacume. As you add rpm,the vavume will becme pressure,and will increase as rpm builds. For making 'vandal proof',do as our county does. put a flat plate on a hinge over the exaust opening. then padloch it shut.
 
No need to check , you will know it, when you see black smoke and loss of power. Be more concerned with the bottom side of the d239 operating on steep slopes. They have a bottom mounted engine balancer that is prone to go bad. Make it a habit to absolutely check the engine oil ever time you go to it. Operating it with low oil level is what causes the problem.
 
A lot of excellent suggestions here! Sounds like for the turbo. It would smoke like a steam engine, but black. And if desired, I could pull a plug on the intake manifold to look for pressure there. It should go from suction at an idle and have pressure when rpm's rev up? Sounds also like there is a balancer on the bottom of the motor that is more of an issue to be concerned about when working on grades. The grade of the road is approx. 14 degrees. Should I have a quart over normal like I did racing, as when throwing the auto into the corners and even when putting the pick up low in the engine the race car could have run out of oil. We also had to put baffles in the oil pan to assist w/the sloshing. Sounds like for the exhaust to ensure no vandalism that I put the flap on it w/a lock. Just purchased the flapper and lock tonight.

Is there a place to send my transmission oil and hydraulic oil to to analyze it?

Thanks for the pointers,

Dan
 

I had what appears to be an unusual situation with a turbo a few years ago. I had the pipes off and poked the compressor wheel just to see it spin, but it didn't. It took constant pressure to make it turn. I removed the lube lines and sprayed WD-40 into the inlet, and black liquid came out the bottom. I kept spraying it until it came clear, and it spun free. The bearing had apparently gotten "coked" from lack of cooling down after a hard pull. It seemed to make a little more power after cleaning, but prior to cleaning there was no indication of a problem.
 
Not knowing about turbos, I suppose there is no way to spin it blindly to see if there are issues?
 
(quoted from post at 06:34:15 04/16/18) Not knowing about turbos, I suppose there is no way to spin it blindly to see if there are issues?

If by blindly you mean with your finger as I described, it shouldn't be difficult. There should be adequate room under the hood of that 125 to pull the pipe off the turbo. I know that the panels are a pain to remove but you want to take a look anyway, right?
 

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