Do I really need a new turbo?

[GreatGranny]

My wife drives an 03 Alhambra TDi 130.

Driving it yesterday and there was a loud pop and loss of power. Very hesitant at low revs.

Took it into garage today. Fault code was for a faulty actuator for the turbo. Mechanic had a look to see if it was repairable but was told its looking like a new turbo.

Cars done 60k but I'm a few 1000mies overdue for a service. Would this have made any difference?

Is it all one unit? Looked on Ebay and new turbos are £600!!!!

Thanks for reading.

PS If anyone has a spare turbo hanging around they don't want . . . . .

[oakdale]

Fault codes are only a guide to fault finding, with symptoms like this (a loud pop then loss of power) I'd be checking for a burst hose on the pressure side of the turbo or a burst intercooler.

I'm not saying it isn't the turbo, but other items should be checked first.

[oakdale]

Also check that the hoses from the turbo to the intercooler or from the intercooler to inlet manifold haven't just blown off (failed clip).

Edited by oakdale on Saturday 13th December 17:17

[eliot]

Fault code may well be for a faulty actuator - which controls boost, which if faulty would cause overboost, which may lead to a hose blowing off, splitting etc.
So get the basic items checked first. Does it still drive? - get a 2nd opinion.
Turbo would be at the bottom of things to check/replace first.

[phumy]

GreatGranny said:

My wife drives an 03 Alhambra TDi 130.

Driving it yesterday and there was a loud pop and loss of power. Very hesitant at low revs.

Took it into garage today. Fault code was for a faulty actuator for the turbo. Mechanic had a look to see if it was repairable but was told its looking like a new turbo.

Cars done 60k but I'm a few 1000mies overdue for a service. Would this have made any difference?

Is it all one unit? Looked on Ebay and new turbos are £600!!!!

Thanks for reading.

PS If anyone has a spare turbo hanging around they don't want . . . . .

Had exactly the same on my Golf PD TDi 150, big pop accelerating onto the motorway, it was the intercooler hose come adrift because the clip had broken. It seems the clips are not what they are supposed to be. Not an expensive fix as long as you dont need a new hose. Quick fix too.

[GreatGranny]

Thanks for replies.

It does still drive, just so I've had a word with the mechanic and he's says he has checked for blown hoses etc.. but I'm still going to get a 2nd opinion. he didn't charge me for having a look at it which is a plus but I've a feeling he only plugged in the diagnostic machine and read the fault code.

Just having a quick look myself at the moment but its really difficult to see anything due to half the engine being hidden in the Alhambra as most MPVs. There is just no space.

I can't see any obvious loose hoses but I have never worked on this engine before.

[Mardybum]

If you do indeed need a new turbo, google "Midland Turbo" tried everywhere but they were the cheapest at just under £500 with a years warranty and arrived the next day. Dont bother with Seat, they'll ask for a grand!

[C. Grimsley]

Yes i use midland turbo's for all my turbos and just today rang them to recondition one for me and 20 minutes later a courier arrived to pick it up, very good service.

Carl C.G.Cars Leicester

[phumy]

Just remove the bottom cover, look on the drivers side, all the hoses under there, you'llprobably find one flapping loose under there

[GreatGranny]

phumy said:

Just remove the bottom cover, look on the drivers side, all the hoses under there, you'llprobably find one flapping loose under there

Do you mean the under tray?

Its in another garage at the moment near to my work. We will see what they say.

Thanks for pointer towards Midland Turbo, £500 seems a good price.

[FWDRacer]

Another SEAT driver here with a huge pop/whoosh and loss of power/white smoke on my 110Tdi Leon. Intercooler hose had poppped off - 1x jubliee clip later and we are back in action. Do the basics, get the undertray off it and have a look at the routing to/from the intercooler. It could save you £500 or it could be the most expensive jubilee cclip you ever buy

[phumy]

GreatGranny said:

phumy said:

Just remove the bottom cover, look on the drivers side, all the hoses under there, you'llprobably find one flapping loose under there

Do you mean the under tray?

Its in another garage at the moment near to my work. We will see what they say.

Thanks for pointer towards Midland Turbo, £500 seems a good price.

Yes undertray, might cost you about 2 quid for a big clip!

[GreatGranny]

Just an update.

Turns out to be the pipe from/to the intercooler had come adrift due to worn lugs (?).

Had to order from dealer which took a day and I have just picked it up now.

Thanks for all comments, I got a 2nd opinion on the back of the comments/suggestions.

Final bill was £155. The guy at the garage looked a bit shocked when I thanked him for the size of the bill

So, thanks to PH and Graham's Tyres in Sheffield (city centre). You didn't just rely on the diagnostics like the first numpty I took it too (which is a recommended garage on Honestjohn.com!).

[Gav182]

Can t believe the first garage didn t pick up on that , they should of heard the pressure from the turbo when revving the car . The new VAG cars use quick release clips on the intercoolers, useless idea been to loads of cars that had popped the hoses off , whats was wrong with good old jubilee???

[annodomini2]

Gav182 said:

The new VAG cars use quick release clips on the intercoolers, useless idea been to loads of cars that had popped the hoses off , whats was wrong with good old jubilee???

Lets say it takes 30secs to fit a jubilee clip on a production line, if there are 20-30 clips to fit, that adds up to 10-15mins per car.

That time is money and would need to be added to the production cost additionally if you have specific throughput on the production line to achieve you may need an extra person or 2 due to that time being lost, also extra cost.

When engineering a production car the companies spend a lot of money reducing the cost of the components and production procedures. Saving 20-50p per car on one process is common.

They will be quick fit clips due to the above.

95% of new cars are designed to be built as quickly and cheaply as possible.

Leading on to 'why is X job such a pig, couldn't they have designed it to be easier to work on?' as I have said they are not designed to be worked on, they are designed to be cheap and quick to make.

[Gav182]

True , but it must be costing them in warranty claims and pay per use breakdown assistance . I ve been to a golf on its way from the dealer after having new clips with the hose hanging off again .

[Pushrod-Power]

annodomini2 said:

Gav182 said:

The new VAG cars use quick release clips on the intercoolers, useless idea been to loads of cars that had popped the hoses off , whats was wrong with good old jubilee???

Lets say it takes 30secs to fit a jubilee clip on a production line, if there are 20-30 clips to fit, that adds up to 10-15mins per car.

That time is money and would need to be added to the production cost additionally if you have specific throughput on the production line to achieve you may need an extra person or 2 due to that time being lost, also extra cost.

When engineering a production car the companies spend a lot of money reducing the cost of the components and production procedures. Saving 20-50p per car on one process is common.

They will be quick fit clips due to the above.

95% of new cars are designed to be built as quickly and cheaply as possible.

Leading on to 'why is X job such a pig, couldn't they have designed it to be easier to work on?' as I have said they are not designed to be worked on, they are designed to be cheap and quick to make.

Totally agree

[Holst]

Gav182 said:

True , but it must be costing them in warranty claims and pay per use breakdown assistance . I ve been to a golf on its way from the dealer after having new clips with the hose hanging off again .

I think they will gain tenfold in labor costs repairing cars that are out of warranty and have the same problem. Especially if they try and sell the owners new turbos because the computer told them that this is the problem.

[stevieturbo]

Holst said:

Gav182 said:

True , but it must be costing them in warranty claims and pay per use breakdown assistance . I ve been to a golf on its way from the dealer after having new clips with the hose hanging off again .

I think they will gain tenfold in labor costs repairing cars that are out of warranty and have the same problem. Especially if they try and sell the owners new turbos because the computer told them that this is the problem.

No computer would say that is the problem.

The problem is half the numpties with diagnostic equipment, dont have a clue how to read, and interpret what they say.

[annodomini2]

stevieturbo said:

Holst said:

Gav182 said:

True , but it must be costing them in warranty claims and pay per use breakdown assistance . I ve been to a golf on its way from the dealer after having new clips with the hose hanging off again .

I think they will gain tenfold in labor costs repairing cars that are out of warranty and have the same problem. Especially if they try and sell the owners new turbos because the computer told them that this is the problem.

No computer would say that is the problem.

The problem is half the numpties with diagnostic equipment, dont have a clue how to read, and interpret what they say.

Depends how well the computer system was implemented

The systems the main dealer use will TYPICALLY be better than those available to generic garage as they will be targeted towards the vehicle and can generally access more information from the vehicle's computer systems.

However if the system is only reporting turbo fault, there should really be a checklist of things to check before resorting to replacing the turbocharger itself. This assumes that it is implemented this way.