S320 CDI - Turbo fixed, but now its not the same

[Freddy F]

Many Thanks JAGS.

MB Colindale want £817 all in. EuroCarparts a similiar price.
BTN in Uxbridge would only exchange - No repair ( £880 )
The view I got from a few suppliers was that Garrett only exchanged these - They did not repair / rebuild.

However, ESSEX TURBO tell me they can recondition my old unit for £395 + VAT. ( 3 day turn around )
Spoke with a guy called Mick, who seemed very knowledgable and friendly.

By copy MIKEY_W / JAGS - Would you be able to advise what additional MB seals / items I need to complete this job please.

Also - How difficult is it to remove existing turbo ?

Do you have a checklist for what to do please? ( Flush intercooler for example )

Any advice or guidance appreciated.

[JAGS]

Freddy F said:

Many Thanks JAGS.

MB Colindale want £817 all in. EuroCarparts a similiar price.
BTN in Uxbridge would only exchange - No repair ( £880 )
The view I got from a few suppliers was that Garrett only exchanged these - They did not repair / rebuild.

However, ESSEX TURBO tell me they can recondition my old unit for £395 + VAT. ( 3 day turn around )
Spoke with a guy called Mick, who seemed very knowledgable and friendly.

By copy MIKEY_W / JAGS - Would you be able to advise what additional MB seals / items I need to complete this job please.

Also - How difficult is it to remove existing turbo ?

Do you have a checklist for what to do please? ( Flush intercooler for example )

Any advice or guidance appreciated.

OK, here goes…

If you want to get a brand new Turbo, go for the MB one. A recon on your existing one should be ok, but it all depends on the quality of the job and how much you are willing to spend getting it all fixed.

Not too sure about part numbers or prices, but from memory, this is what you would need to get it all done:

Turbocharger
Gasket for turbo (if it does not come with the above) to bolt on to manifold
3 bolts to mount turbo (depends on condition of old bolts – best to replace)
Exhaust manifold gasket
13 copper nuts for exhaust manifold
Seal ring for plastic coupling (turbo to intercooler)
Replacement intercooler pipe (turbo side) if it is filled/covered with oil on the inside
Thrust ring (turbo to cat)
Clamp (turbo to cat)
Thrust ring (cat to exhaust)
Clamp (cat to exhaust)
Oil feed pipe
Oil feed pipe seal ring (goes into the engine block)
Hollow bolt for oil feed pipe (for the turbo side)
Oil return pipe
Oil return pipe gasket (turbo side)
Two vacuum transducers (IF they need replacing – you will only find this out when you replace the turbo, and IF it does not give you full boost, then these will need to be looked at)
Vacuum pipes (for the above)
Replacement cat or cleaning of the existing one done professionally (if full of oil)
Intercooler flush out to be done professionally if full of oil
Oil filter
Air filter
Fuel filter
Sump plug
Engine oil

Taking the bits off is not a problem, but you will obviously need to remember which nut/screw/bolt goes where.
Fitting it is another task altogether, and it took me one solid day to get it all done properly (9am – 8pm!).

One word of advice is to fit the turbo to the manifold outside the engine bay first and then put them in together as one unit. Also best to fit the oil return pipe and its gasket at the same time as this, while the turbo/manifold are out, as it is a total b!tch to fit it in afterwards one the turbo is in place. Rest of the stuff should be pretty straightforward.

If the exhaust is full of oil, it will smoke A LOT for the first few times you drive it. Keeping that in mind, take the car out on empty roads where you wont cause too many problems with the smoke. That is IF the exhaust is full of oil. If not, then it shouldn’t be too bad.

Hope this helps. Anything else, please feel free to ask.

[Freddy F]

Thanks for a superb write up Jags.

How did you proffesionally clean the Cat ?
Does this need to be removed and cleaned throughtly ?
- Yes, it does look full of oil....

Also - Did you ever find out why the cat failed ?

[JAGS]

My cat didn't fail as such, it was just soaked in oil and needed cleaning. Ideally the cat would have to be replaced, but then that was going to cost even more £££'s! Took a risk and it paid off.

I got my cousin who is a technician at VW to clean the cat. He took it to his work and got it cleaned using one of their machines (not sure what the machine is called). Basically the machine passes a cleaning agent through the cat at a very high pressure to remove all the oil from it.

Edited by JAGS on Wednesday 10th February 13:50