turbo in diesel car

A4volvo

The turbo is starting to go in my 1.9tdi passat, would it be better to replace it now before it goes or would it be ok to drive it until completly gone. Will it have a knock on effect down the system if it goes e.g. filings going through it.

chiefwiggum

yes ..if you know its on the way out get it replaced asap

bcmf

^^^^^
+1
If it goes it could easily suck up all the oil from the sump and bang goes your engine.

Nissan doctor

A4volvo wrote: »

The turbo is starting to go in my 1.9tdi passat, would it be better to replace it now before it goes or would it be ok to drive it until completly gone. Will it have a knock on effect down the system if it goes e.g. filings going through it.

In what way is it going?

trixyben

few months back thought the turbo was "going" on my own car only to be advised that they dont shown signs of "going" but just fail altogether...there was a bit of a squealing noise which is why I thought it was going but ended up the power steering pump making the noise...bought stuff in motor factors cant remember name of it which is for squealing power steering pumps, remove some steering fluid replace with new stuff and low and behld squealing noise gone...whatever the new fluid done im sure is just masking the real problem and a new pump will be needed eventually but hey quick cheap fix and that annoying noise is gone

paddydriver

Had our smax back in this week because there is a clear whistle/whirr coming from engine on acceleration and then de-acceleration - not really audible at higher rev's.

Mechanic was adamant that not indication of issue with turbo and he more or less confirmed it was the turbo but that you will hear it on spin up and spin down. Talked to friend with smax and no noise with his... so not sure.

Been with ford dealer twice now for same issue so if it blows up and destroys my engine then I will be arguing strongly that they cover any major costs as they were given ample chance to diagnose it. FWIW the thing that concerned me was occasional "Engine Malfunction" warning coming on but they giving me the oul story about diesel's not good on short hops back and forth and this causing build ups of dirt etc which is causing errors.

TBH I just feel at their mercy and they are telling me same stories I tell customers when we are talking computers.. "we checked everything, no sign of problems, upgraded the OS (ECU:D)

Did plenty of googling on it and all sorts of stories on this kind of thing and plenty of "whistles" from ford's but no issue.

Confused... taking family to UK next week in it so got my AA cover in place!

gerrycollins

paddydriver wrote: »

Had our smax back in this week because there is a clear whistle/whirr coming from engine on acceleration and then de-acceleration - not really audible at higher rev's.

Mechanic was adamant that not indication of issue with turbo and he more or less confirmed it was the turbo but that you will hear it on spin up and spin down. Talked to friend with smax and no noise with his... so not sure.

Been with ford dealer twice now for same issue so if it blows up and destroys my engine then I will be arguing strongly that they cover any major costs as they were given ample chance to diagnose it. FWIW the thing that concerned me was occasional "Engine Malfunction" warning coming on but they giving me the oul story about diesel's not good on short hops back and forth and this causing build ups of dirt etc which is causing errors.

TBH I just feel at their mercy and they are telling me same stories I tell customers when we are talking computers.. "we checked everything, no sign of problems, upgraded the OS (ECU:D)

Did plenty of googling on it and all sorts of stories on this kind of thing and plenty of "whistles" from ford's but no issue.

Confused... taking family to UK next week in it so got my AA cover in place!

sound similar to me and all that was wrong was a crack in an air pipe. Are you still getting the kick from the turbo or is it less than usual or not happeneing at all.

paddydriver

Hi Gerry, plenty of kick and no issues there - though realised on Sunday that it actually goes into limp mode when message comes on; didn't realise this before as were only on local spins at the time.

On Sunday though dropped it to 4th and was overtaking at around 110kmh on M11 when it came on. Car dropped off power altogether couldn't take it higher than 2k revs and fastest could go was 80Km - pulled in, turned it off, restarted and all fine.

I am not confident they have resolved it and will be interested to see. I had said to him about an air leak somewhere but like talking to the wall.

Is your's an smax or another ford?

Thanks

fasttalkerchat

If you're sure its the turbo get it replaced sooner rather than later.

taintabird

Turbo's don't give much warning as a rule they generally just pack up, what exactly leads you to believe its on the way out

fasttalkerchat

taintabird wrote: »

Turbo's don't give much warning as a rule they generally just pack up, what exactly leads you to believe its on the way out

If it goes due to age you can hear that it is worn. But this would be after 150k miles.

bcmf

paddydriver wrote: »

Had our smax back in this week because there is a clear whistle/whirr coming from engine on acceleration and then de-acceleration - not really audible at higher rev's.

Mechanic was adamant that not indication of issue with turbo and he more or less confirmed it was the turbo but that you will hear it on spin up and spin down. Talked to friend with smax and no noise with his... so not sure.

Been with ford dealer twice now for same issue so if it blows up and destroys my engine then I will be arguing strongly that they cover any major costs as they were given ample chance to diagnose it. FWIW the thing that concerned me was occasional "Engine Malfunction" warning coming on but they giving me the oul story about diesel's not good on short hops back and forth and this causing build ups of dirt etc which is causing errors.

TBH I just feel at their mercy and they are telling me same stories I tell customers when we are talking computers.. "we checked everything, no sign of problems, upgraded the OS (ECU:D)

Did plenty of googling on it and all sorts of stories on this kind of thing and plenty of "whistles" from ford's but no issue.

Confused... taking family to UK next week in it so got my AA cover in place!

Had this problem on a Mondeo a few years back. Turns out it was just the pipe on the intercooler had come ever so slightly loose causing it to 'whistle'.

A4volvo

Nissan doctor wrote: »

In what way is it going?

Its very smokey when started and the man i bought it from said he was told the turbo is going.

fasttalkerchat

A4volvo wrote: »

Its very smokey when started and the man i bought it from said he was told the turbo is going.

Ah well thats a different story. I wouldn't take it for granted that its the turbo! What colour smoke do you get?

taintabird

A4volvo wrote: »

Its very smokey when started and the man i bought it from said he was told the turbo is going.

Over full of oil most likely VW's don't handle being over filled very well they generally blow the excess oil into the intake system

A4volvo

fasttalkerchat wrote: »

Ah well thats a different story. I wouldn't take it for granted that its the turbo! What colour smoke do you get?

Very white smoke flows for about 2 mins when started!

A4volvo

taintabird wrote: »

Over full of oil most likely VW's don't handle being over filled very well they generally blow the excess oil into the intake system

The oil has always been half ( between min and max) since i got it checked every week so its not burning oil

Mr.Biscuits

1.9 TDIs are notorious for whistling and whining a little on acceleration and so wouldn't be so sure your turbo is going.

Nissan doctor

A4volvo wrote: »

Very white smoke flows for about 2 mins when started!

Smoke from the turbo would be blue and wouldn't go away after a couple on mins, it would be there all the time, especially under acceleration.

How is your coolant level?

A4volvo

Coolant is between min and max aswell and isnt using any

Nissan doctor

A4volvo wrote: »

Coolant is between min and max aswell and isnt using any

Do you do much mileage? Are you sure its not just the normal steam from the exhaust after start up in colder weather?

A4volvo

156k miles, no its definitely smoke. It smells and is present in all weathers hot or cold.

rex-x

Nissan doctor wrote: »

Smoke from the turbo would be blue and wouldn't go away after a couple on mins, it would be there all the time, especially under acceleration.

How is your coolant level?

This is not entirely true. Most turbos run on a piston ring and oil flinger style seal and have one on the compressor and one on the turbine. If it happens to be the compressor one that leaks it will be blue smoke, if its the turbine it will be thick white smoke as the oil doesnt go through the combustion cycle, it is only dumped into the hot exhaust gases.
Also as these seals 'wear' startup is when you notice the oil first as when you finish driving some oil seeps past and is present for your next start, its not present in normal driving as the seals ability to seal is increased with turbo speed (to a certain point)
It is only in the situation of total seal failure, or bearing failure leading to seal destruction would you see smoke at all times of driving.

shansey

Hey! I'm driving an 07 golf tdi.. Had some problems before with the turbo pipe coming loose but tonight I felt a bit of a thud as I took off and I basically had no power.. Has my turbo gone!? I could still get the car upto 100kph but it took A LOT longer!