Blown Turbo

[vtsean]

OK, before I decide to send my 2001 to it's final resting place...My mechanic -who I trust- has told by my turbo is blown and needs to be replaced. It is blowing big clouds of white/blue smoke so I think he is right. My big question is what to do now, pay big bucks for a new turbo? The second part to the dilema...what caused the turbo to go? I have heard these turbos are all but bullet proof. The shop has pulled off the oil pan and there was some sludge and build up from infrequent oil changes (previous owner). Is this engine gonna blow another turbo? I could get another engine (used) with the turbo on it intalled for about $1200 more than the turbo replacement job. I am having a hard time parting with my hard earned cash for a 10 year old car but I'm having a harder time parting with my much loved x/c!

[JRL]

As usual, you fail to post the mileage but if it's an 01, send it to its grave

[Astro14]

There's an old rule of thumb that says if the repair costs more than half the value of the car...send it to the junkyard...

So, a bit more information is needed to make that determination:

mileage, condition, (for the 2001, previous transmission history?) other mechanical problems that need fixing (that falls into the 50% calculation).

Then, you need to know what it costs to R&R the turbo. I was able to pull the turbo on my '85 240 and get it rebuilt for less than $500 at a local specialty shop that dealt in Subarus. That price included a new impeller housing, impeller, shaft, bearings, bearing housing (upgraded to water-cooled), turbine and wastegate.

Clearly your turbo is shot...what's it going to cost to make it right? Replacing the engine is crazy - that's a $1,000 job in labor alone...and I think a turbo is around 7-800 (rebuilt, less core charge) on this car. If you're lucky, with gaskets, bolts, etc, you're looking at $1,000 in parts.

I haven't done it, but I'll bet that replacing a turbo on this engine has to include R&R of the manifold because torquing the new turbo to the manifold is best done on the bench...plan on a new stud or two with that job...

IF the impeller has hit the housing, then your core likely won't be accepted, and you'll have to flush out the intercooler to get rid of the aluminum chips in it.

The general reason for turbo failure is coking of the bearings. Old oil will definitely coke up (turn to carbon) in there - so has the oil ben changed regularly with the correct specification? Poor driver habits contribute to bearing coking too, do you allow it to idle for 30 seconds before driving to ensure good oil flow to the turbo? Remember that turbos spin in excess of 60,000 RPM or more than 10 times as fast as the engine, when they're developing full boost. You should also allow the eninge to idle for a period of 30 seconds to several minutes before shutting the engine off. That allows the turbo spool down and to cool. The harder the car has been driven (think turbo heat...), the longer that idle period to prevent bearing damamge and coking.

If the engine is in good shape, it won't kill a new turbo, but poor oil maintenance and poor driver habits sure will!

[Chilled Man]

Hi

If you decided t part with the car .......

PM Me

[Ocean Racer]

Let me know if you want a perfectly working replacement turbo.
I have a 01/02 13T - out of my XC for sale.
PM me.

[vtsean]

Thanks for the insight Astro14, the car has 120k miles, and the transmission has never had any issues, the car in great shape.

I am the second owner of this car and do not know what the owner did for oil changes, I do know that when they pulled the oil pan there was build up and carbon. Which is what concerns, it is my guess that the oil changes were not frequent an/or up to spec.

My mechanic told be around $1850 to replace the turbo with a new one, I imagine I will be able to save some money by looking for a rebuilt turbo, or finding used one.

I think I will replace the turbo, is there anything I can do to help clean any sludge/build up in the system?

Thanks again!

[Astro14]

$1800 for a new turbo installed is about what I would have guessed - what, $800 for the turbo, another $1-200 in parts and $800 labor? If he's charging more than that for the turbo - shop around, for example: http://www.swedishparts.net/addtocar...&part=40-30115

I am not the one to judge repair costs, there are some folks with way more experience than I have...

So, on to the coking question.

I hope they cleaned the pan when you saw the carbon build-up. Now, the new turbo won't have any coke in the bearings, so it should be fine. to prevent future coking, synthetic has the highest resistance to coking (highest temp, lowest NOAK volatility) and good driver habits will prevent coking as well.

For cleaning the engine - hard carbon is the most resistant to chemical cleaning, so any attempt won't make a ton of difference right away...and if the carbon isn't blocking any passages, your engine will be OK. If the pan has been cleaned, then you've got most of it out anyway. DON'T use strong solvents or other dramatic measures, note that Volvo recommends against all oil additives. The solvents will do two things; 1. reduce the viscosity of your oil, potentially damaging your engine, and 2. break free sludge and carbon, which will circulate before being filtered...potentially damaging your engine.

IF you really want to try cleaning it, there is a product called Auto RX, which is not a solvent, but a detergent like the additives found in regular oil...I am not endorsing it because I have no personal experience with it, but if your engine is really sludged/carboned up, it might be worth it. It takes thousands of miles to work, which is good, that means that it is dissolving the build up...not freeing it to circulate...Google it...

I think the best route is to use a good synthetic. It will best protect the turbo and they generally have strong additive packages, including detergents, that will slowly dissolve the deposits and clean the engine up. One of the best for cleaning is Pennzoil Platinum, or (more expensive) Pennzoil Ultra. The Platinum is available at reasonable cost in gallon jugs at Wal-Mart (not easy to find a Wal-Mart in your state...but there is one in Williston and one in Rutland...or cross the River to NH...).

Run the synthetic, if it gets dark quickly, that is good, it is cleaning the engine. Change it early in that case. One or two changes, and you should be good to go to 7500 miles again. For more than you ever wanted to know about oil, visit www.bobistheoilguy.com and read through the oil 101 and surf the forum...

Good luck

[vtsean]

Wow, thanks again Astro!

Yes, cleaned out the pan the best we could while we had it off.

I'm gonna go for the new turbo, synthetic oil, good driving habits, and crossed fingers.

[Aviator]

Another way to prevent coking is to let the engine idle and cool down a bit after a hot run. If you park and shut the engine off immediately the turbo basically marinades in stationary coolant and oil (remember, the oil cools as well).

Dave.

[Ocean Racer]

$350 for my perfect working 13T turbo delivered.
No shaft play etc..