Freelander 2 (LR2) [FIXED] LR2 Suspected Turbo Failure

Hi all,

One of the new curveballs my LR2 is throwing at me is a suspected broken turbo.
Have been getting the P0299 Turbo underboost.

Originally I had suspected one of the intercooler hoses to have split as is common judging by this forum/word on the street. Managed to check all but the one hose that seemed to be in good nic.

Finally managed to get the undertray off while on ramps and sadly saw an oil leak running the entire length of the hose coming directly off the output side of the turbo charger. From what I could feel, there were no splits and as you can see in the picture the leak appears to originate from the very top of the hose

I'm assuming a new turbo is in order? if so, is there a way to ensure I get the right turbo for my variant?

The turbo on these engines is very reliable, often covering a couple of hundred k before replacement is needed.

Oil staining on the outside of boost hoses is normally from splits in the hose in question, or in that location it's most likely from the top intake pipe joint, which then drips down the back of the engine and onto the turbo.

P0299 is almost always a split in a boost hose, the short one below the throttle body is the most common, and hardest to check without removing it, and if it's being removed for checking, it might as well be replaced anyway.

Nodge68 said:

The turbo on these engines is very reliable, often covering a couple of hundred k before replacement is needed.

Oil staining on the outside of boost hoses is normally from splits in the hose in question, or in that location it's most likely from the top intake pipe joint, which then drips down the back of the engine and onto the turbo.

P0299 is almost always a split in a boost hose, the short one below the throttle body is the most common, and hardest to check without removing it, and if it's being removed for checking, it might as well be replaced anyway.

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Thanks.
When seeing the trouble code and noticing the resultant lack of power, I did initially suspect a split hose but all of them appear to be fine.
The one connecting the throttle body was one of them in good condition but, as you suggested, I had already bought a replacement as they're pretty cheap already.

I've highlighted all the hoses I've checked that appear to be okay in red.
Are you saying the one circled orange could be where the problem is?

HaggisMuncher said:

Are you saying the one circled orange could be where the problem is?

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No, the next joint up is normally where the oil leaks from, but it won't be responsible for the p0299 code, that is a leak somewhere on the boost side. Basically the ECM knows how much air went into the turbo as it is measured by the MAF, but the boost pressure is lower than expected as measured by the MAP. So it flags the p0299 code as air has gone missing somewhere.
This generally isn't attributed to the turbo, or there wouldn't be a mismatched between MAF and MAP sensor readings.

If you're 100% sure all boost hoses are leak free, then check the solid pipes. The metal pipe under the engine has been known to rust through, and the plastic pipe across the front has been know to split on the seams.
The intercooler has also been known to leak, especially on the end tank joints.

Nodge68 said:

No, the next joint up is normally where the oil leaks from, but it won't be responsible for the p0299 code, that is a leak somewhere on the boost side. Basically the ECM knows how much air went into the turbo as it is measured by the MAF, but the boost pressure is lower than expected as measured by the MAP. So it flags the p0299 code as air has gone missing somewhere.
This generally isn't attributed to the turbo, or there wouldn't be a mismatched between MAF and MAP sensor readings.

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I'm with you now. So the oil leaking is likely a red herring in terms of the p0299 code.

I'm close to just buying aftermarket hoses and replacing them all anyway but don't want to needlessly throw money at something that isn't going to fix the issue.

Is there a better way to get a view of the intercooler without having to take the entire front bumper off?
I've seen online that it's needed to get access to the intercooler hoses and I'd rather not take everything apart where I am currently.

I might get it back on the ramps and just take off the hoses one by one and give them a good look over.

HaggisMuncher said:

I've seen online that it's needed to get access to the intercooler hoses and I'd rather not take everything apart where I am currently.

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If the leak is bad enough to give a code, then it should be pretty obvious, as there will be oil around the leak.

Nodge68 said:

If the leak is bad enough to give a code, then it should be pretty obvious, as there will be oil around the leak.

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Had a chance to get under the car again and I'm seeing a few things that are suspect but nothing is screaming out to me as being the cause.
I can see any serious splits or holes but again, it's hard to see everything from under there.

First thing that looks suspect is the hose coming from the intercooler that connects to the plastic ducting before the manifold.

To me it looks like the hose has been banging around off the AC pump but maybe I'm just hoping to find an easy problem/fix.
Does this hose look normal to you? The spot in the middle is where the hose would make contact with the AC compressor.

Second thing that looks kind of looks suspicious is the metal pipe from from the turbo to the intercooler. This is the side of the pipe closest to the intercooler. I'm not sure what the blue marking is around the pipe, could it be a repair attempt?


Lastly, the turbo actuator arm feels a bit loose. I'm not sure how much play there ought to be in it but there's certainly some wiggling. Brother in law was under the car as I was giving it some revs and he did say the actuator was... actuating. Not sure if the play would prevent the full range of motion though.


One last thing to note is that the hose connecting to the metal pipe that connects it to the intercooler input didn't seem to be fully seated although this doesn't seem to have been the issue as I had reseated and tightened everything back up and on the test drive the code came back - weirdly, the code does sometimes disappear by itself and this time it did.

I want to come up with some possible solutions before I take it to the garage (if I'm really unable to pinpoint exactly what it is that's wrong).

HaggisMuncher said:

First thing that looks suspect is the hose coming from the intercooler that connects to the plastic ducting before the manifold

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If the plastic P shaped hose hanger isn't secured to the lower support member under the radiator, then under acceleration, the hose can contact the drive belt, which will make a small hole in it. Mine suffered this issue, when the screw came out, causing a loose of boost.

Nodge68 said:

If the plastic P shaped hose hanger isn't secured to the lower support member under the radiator, then under acceleration, the hose can contact the drive belt, which will make a small hole in it. Mine suffered this issue, when the screw came out, causing a loose of boost.

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Is that the white plastic thing in the first picture?
It wasn't connected to anything at all. I'll take a look at the part closest to the drive belt. I'll check in the morning.
Thanks

How much power has it lost? Is the power loss continuous or occasional?

HaggisMuncher said:

Is that the white plastic thing in the first picture?

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Yes. It's supposed to be secured to the lower support member, to stop the boost hose from moving about.

Hippo said:

How much power has it lost? Is the power loss continuous or occasional?

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If I reset the codes, it seems to work fine although, I swear I can hear some hissing with the windows down but I think it might just be me looking for the problem.

Once there's any considerable engine load, it will go back into limp mode. This happens frequently when going uphill or over overtaking. Anything faster than say 30mph will set the error off again after a while.
I can get it to around 50mph on flat ground when in limp mode but that's if I delay gear changes and stay out of 6th gear especially.
Resetting the codes and the car can easily accelerate although there does feel a slight lag of power. It has torque but I can tell there should be a little bit more. Nonetheless, I could easily get the car up to motorway speeds for a short period before the error comes back.

This is what's leading me to think it's a hose or damaged intercooler as Nodge has highlighted. (at least I hope it is)

Nodge68 said:

Yes. It's supposed to be secured to the lower support member, to stop the boost hose from moving about.

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Okay, I'll take a look again. There does seem to be some wear marks where the hose would make contact. I do hope this is the issue but I don't want to start throwing parts at it. I nearly bought silicon replacements for all the hoses but stopped when I thought it could be the intercooler, actuator or turbo itself although I imagine they'd throw up further DTCs,

Turbo fail or turbo actuator fail will generate some specific codes in that area. The car has several ways of checking turbo control and power requested v what physically happens.

Hippo said:

Turbo fail or turbo actuator fail will generate some specific codes in that area. The car has several ways of checking turbo control and power requested v what physically happens.

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Yeah, I know there's a couple of codes specific to the actuator circuit so am fairly confident it's a split somewhere along the charged air route.

I did see a YT video from Beavis Pits it had the same P0299 error as me and his split was on the small hose connecting to the inlet manifold.
I've taken mine off and it's in good nick so don't think it's that one.

I'm close to giving up and taking it to the garage but it was just in there for a HP steering hose replacement so don't want to throw more money in to labour if I can help it

HaggisMuncher said:

Once there's any considerable engine load, it will go back into limp mode. This happens frequently when going uphill or over overtaking.

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That sounds very much like a boost hose is split somewhere.

HaggisMuncher said:

I did see a YT video from Beavis Pits it had the same P0299 error as me and his split was on the small hose connecting to the inlet manifold.
I've taken mine off and it's in good nick so don't think it's that one.

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No, but P0299 is almost always a split in a boost hose, as the ECM is measuring a mismatch between air through the MAF, and the boost that amount of air is actually generating. It's this which causes the code.

Check the lower hose, and the plastic hose section, as those are known to split at seam.

Nodge68 said:

That sounds very much like a boost hose is split somewhere.

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Cheers again Nodge.
I can't believe I didn't try the soapy water trick when I had the car up on ramps over the weekend.
Now I'm back in the city it's going to be difficult to get around the car without ramps.

I might take it to the garage tomorrow to see if they can do a smoke test to confirm once and for all where that leak is coming from.
I'm putting my money on the hose from the intercooler to the manifold.

HaggisMuncher said:

I'm putting my money on the hose from the intercooler to the manifold.

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That's the common place, or the one at the turbo itself.