Has my turbo just failed?

Hi,

1997 300tdi Auto 110k

Sitting at about 50mph today and needed to over-take car in front so floored it and just as i was passing and away to pull back in, lost all power. Engine did not stall just totally lost all power and i ground to a halt pretty quickly.

Stopped for a look and shut engine off. It started again first time but clouds of blue smoke coming out the back when just idling. Tried to put it back in D (auto box) and pull away but no power at all. It will creep forward in D at idle but try to acceerate and it won't. No power at all.

Think it's the turbo as the turbo has been stalling recently (not sure if that's the correct terminology) but when accelerating hard at higher revs it would momentarily dump the boost then instantly start boosting up again. It's been doing that for the last 2000 miles.

Only reason i'm questioning turbo failure or not is that it didn't run on and over-rev. It's never happened to me before and i'm an office boy so don't spend any time with machinery etc other than cars. I understood that turbo failure would result in the engine over-revving evern when the ignition switced off and the key removed, until it either exploded or sucked in and burned all it's all.

Cheers,

Chris

Check the air filter to turbo hose to make sure it hasnt collapsed. Rev the engine and look at ir to see if its sucking flat. Second take the hose off that goes from the intercooler to the inlet manifold. Its the sliver thing above the turbo. Look to see if there is alot of fresh oil. I would expect alittle to normal. It does sound as thou the turbo has gone. Dont drive it unless you really need to even then only short dostance. And disconnect the intercooler to inlethose. Keep an eye on the oil level

as above check the intercooler hoses

Thanks. air box to turbo hose fine. Not sucking flat. I konw that as i looked at that a couple of days ago trying to diagnose the turbo dropping the boost then instantly spooling up normally again. Thought it might have been this hose collapsing for a plit second then releasing again but it wasn't.

My mate just towed me to the local LR garage with his TD5 so can't look for fresh oil in the intercooler pipes but thanks for the tips!

It won't rev. It'll start up and idle fine but if you press the throttle, it does move but only by a couple of hundred revs but then it starts to fail, choke itself almost. No power at all.

No banging or clunking so internal mechanical engine parts are fine i think and the oil was at and has remianed at the correct level.

Chucking out a haze of blue smoke at idle.

Thanks,

Chris

Could be the lift pump also. Or blocked filter with the rev issues. But only a guess

if you can remove the pipe which goes to the turbo from the air filter/air flow meter and get hold of the turbo shaft and see it it has any lift up and down or in and out ,it should have very very little either way , you can also try turning it and you may be able to feel if its catching the housing
I just posted I fitted a replacement turbo from a company called turbo active and it was cheap and spot on

Well worth checking the simple things first. Check the air filter isn't dirty and blocked, change the diesel filter.

blackhadder said:

Well worth checking the simple things first. Check the air filter isn't dirty and blocked, change the diesel filter.

Click to expand...

also check the sedimentor as i have just had similar symptoms and it turned out that the seal was drawing air.

disconnectair inlet pipe from manifold so engine car suck in air..engine should rev up fine..maybe black smoke but should rev fine..if does then turbo proberly ####ed or air restriction somewhere..if not rev then engine/fuel fault not turbo

Thanks for all the help.

As i said, office boy so i have a good understanding of how it all works because i'm interested but very little practical experience!

Turns out an intercooler pipe was delaminating and had totally disintegrated causing a bloackage.

New pipe fitted and we're back to normal again!

Often the simple little things.........

colinl said:

also check the sedimentor as i have just had similar symptoms and it turned out that the seal was drawing air.

Click to expand...

Still got what feels like the turbo dropping the boost on heavy throttle openings.....

Can you describe your simptoms a bit more? have fitted new air and fuel filters and new lift pump so i know i can rule them out.

If i put it in D and floor it she'll pull strong and clean through 1st up to 4000rpm then into 2nd and as soon as we hit anywhere between 2750 and 3500 it will dump all the boost (or it certainly feels like it's dumoed the boost) then alomost instantly come back to full power. it may do that once, maybe twice between 2750 and 3500 rpm then it will finish by giving me 3rd at the usual 4000 rpm then it'll start again. Drops the boost for a split second, engine won't really rev anymore then almost instantly picks up again and finished revving.

I'm thinking another pipe me be delaminating somewhere or collapsing in ot itself momentarily but after reading your comment, i'm thinking it may be sedimentor seal.

Are the symptoms i describe exactly what you had?

Cheers,

Chris

no.... my revs wouldnt pick up and kicked out plenty of smoke.sometimes the engine would pull normally and then all of a sudden just start to die and then pick up again.it felt as though the fuel filter was blocked but all it turned out to be was the seal had perished allowing an air leak thus causing my problem.have you checked that your fuel pipes are not blocked or that your lift pump is working properly? check also the pipe that runs to the top of the injection pump and around the back of the engine has not rubbed away as this would also make you lose power

Thanks. Not checked that yet. I can hear the turbo stopping boosting then instantly spooling up again back to full boost.

What tells the turbo when to boost or not boost?

Thanks

Sounds to me like your waste gate actuator is struggling to clamp at full boost

I have similar symptoms to you Scottish senator24v. I've been thinking it might be a fuelling problem and intending to replace the lift pump at the end of the month. The previous owner put a new lift pump on although he didn't say why but I think it might have been a cheapy ****part one so I'll give it a Delphi I think. I've checked simple things like the sedimenter but I think the symptoms could be that air is entering fuel system perhaps as well. I changed all inter cooler hoses already.

shot in the dark but also very similar symptoms to head gasket failure? I had this a while ago but car would run however struggled and smoking, could not understand issue until noticed bubbling in epansion resevoir!

arienol said:

Sounds to me like your waste gate actuator is struggling to clamp at full boost

Click to expand...

Gents,

New lift pump fitted - made no difference and cooling system not pressurising etc so no head gasket symptoms.

waste gate actuator sounds plausable. I can physically hear the turbo spinning (albeit subtly) as i have a full stainless exhaust on her from downpipe back so i can actually hear it spooling up and spinning then it just shuts off (i can hear it's spin slow down - pitch of the whistle changes then) and for a slit second isnlt boosting then i can hear it spin up to full boost again.

What's the fix with the waste gate actuator? Is it a repairable or a replacable part? or is it part of the turbo so need to swap the turbo for another one?

cheers

Chris