Doctor, how long has she got?

My discovery 2.5 (2000) needs a new turbo at some point. I'm hunting for a cheap one, but can find nothing second hand. at the moment, the turbo only squeals when it kicks in (rpm above 2000).

so, if I just carry on driving, slowly accelerating, how long have I got before I get into trouble. (mecanically, not from annoyed spaniards driving behind me having to drive under the speed limit for the first time EVER).

the car's been squealing for 2 months now. Am I putting her at risk by driving around in this condition? or will any bits of small metal just blow out the exhaust with nowhere else to go (as my mecanic-friend told me)?
cheers everyone.
w

I suppose that you run two risks. Firstly the turbo self destructs and bits go into the motor. Secondly it starts to suck oil past the bearings and starts running off its oil oil until the whole motor self destructs. Just carry a rag to shove in the air intake to cut off the air supply to the motor to stop it if it starts to run off its own oil.

Any chance that this could be the manifold? It's a known issue that the manifold can warp letting some gas out and giving a squeal.

Cheers, Andy

p76rangie said:

I suppose that you run two risks. Firstly the turbo self destructs and bits go into the motor. Secondly it starts to suck oil past the bearings and starts running off its oil oil until the whole motor self destructs. Just carry a rag to shove in the air intake to cut off the air supply to the motor to stop it if it starts to run off its own oil.

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The end of the world is nigh or what!!!! the whole motor self destructs????
ok. I do have a rag in the car, ready to shove in the air intake (is that where the air filter goes?) how will I know if the engine starts to run off its own oil?

webe-2003 said:

The end of the world is nigh or what!!!! the whole motor self destructs????
ok. I do have a rag in the car, ready to shove in the air intake (is that where the air filter goes?) how will I know if the engine starts to run off its own oil?

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It will start blowing a lot of smoke and you will not be able to switch the engine off.

andymach23 said:

Any chance that this could be the manifold? It's a known issue that the manifold can warp letting some gas out and giving a squeal.

Cheers, Andy

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Hello Andy, thanks for taking the time...
I don't think its the manifold. I couldn't see any black soot around the manifold connection to the turbo. and, when I disconnected the turbo (after having tried disconnecting the fanbelt first - which is not to be recommended ever, as they are impossible to put back on!) the noise did indeed stop. is that proof enough, or should I be doing anything else to check?

p76rangie said:

It will start blowing a lot of smoke and you will not be able to switch the engine off.

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NOT SWITCH IT OFF!!! aaargh. okay, now I am panicking. if it won't switch off, what do I do???

It looks like this when it happens
[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zx3qKX_Pno&feature=related"]YouTube- Runaway Diesel Defender 200 TDI[/nomedia]

webe-2003 said:

NOT SWITCH IT OFF!!! aaargh. okay, now I am panicking. if it won't switch off, what do I do???

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You shove the rag in the intake so it can't get any air to run

p76rangie said:

You shove the rag in the intake so it can't get any air to run

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having seen the video -I'm not sure I'll be able to shove a rag in anywhere - you couldn't see a thing for smoke.

Brings me to my next question: anybody know where I can get a cheap turbo! I had seen a link on here for island 4x4, but their price is now 435 pounds plus delivery/gaskets...
best so far is www LRdirect.co.uk at 400quid.
seems that the consensus is to avoid a second hand one, unless you feel lucky.:doh:

I've got oil in the pipes too, how much you got???

Mine are quite wet and it gathers around the hose fittings.

You might be able to stall a runaway by stuffing it in 4th and dumping the clutch, but its only a might.

Bits of metal should not be able to get through the intercooler so that is not so much of a problem.

I could "really" do without having to buy a turbo so i'll be watching this thread.

Dave

if the motor wont stop why flaf about with a rag last time i saw it happen we just stalled it

mudpilot said:

if the motor wont stop why flaf about with a rag last time i saw it happen we just stalled it

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Sometimes you can burn the clutch out before it stalls. You can't do it to stall an auto neither.

davek0974 said:

I've got oil in the pipes too, how much you got???

Mine are quite wet and it gathers around the hose fittings.

You might be able to stall a runaway by stuffing it in 4th and dumping the clutch, but its only a might.

Bits of metal should not be able to get through the intercooler so that is not so much of a problem.

I could "really" do without having to buy a turbo so i'll be watching this thread.

Dave

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i don't think I have any oil in my pipes. how do I check? I'm not burning black smokey exhaust - that's a good sign isn't it?

mudpilot said:

if the motor wont stop why flaf about with a rag last time i saw it happen we just stalled it

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my engine is still stopping just fine - that was a worst case scenario warning (see the youtube in the earlier post - well worth a look. as was the viral of a model posing on the bonnet of a car that came up on youtube as the next link!)

To check for oil, just pop the intercooler to plenum (top) pipe off as it easiest, my one is quite wet at each end where the pipe fittings are.

Only trouble is, i don know how much is normal or bad?

If the turbo's blowin' oil the smoke will be blue/grey and stink like feck, if its black smoke then its fuel. Of course if the turbo fails it can do both at once

davek0974 said:

To check for oil, just pop the intercooler to plenum (top) pipe off as it easiest, my one is quite wet at each end where the pipe fittings are.

Only trouble is, i don know how much is normal or bad?

If the turbo's blowin' oil the smoke will be blue/grey and stink like feck, if its black smoke then its fuel. Of course if the turbo fails it can do both at once

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my ONLY symptom is noisy squeal. no oil burning anywhere. do you think that means I'm only in the early stages of turbo-failure, and that it should be alright for a while?

How long's a piece of string????

Squeel could be the rotor touching the housing, who knows? I dont think the bearings would squeel unless the oil was not present but if so it would die in minutes.

Turbo's can be a pain in the whatsit.