Turbo blown ? Help.....

[netgeni]

Last night I broke down but not sure to what extent the damage is so looking for some input if possible.

I Pulled away from a set of lights (road works on a country lane) and a felt like I hit a wall and a great big bang then the car sounded like an aeroplane taking off.

I couldn’t stop as there was about a mile of traffic behind me and the road was down to a single lane.

I continued to drive with floods of black smoke pouring out of the car there was a period just after the initial “explosion” where there was a metallic sound as if there was a bit of metal bouncing around.

I pulled over a 1/4 of a mile up the road (nearest place) had a look under the bonnet the intake pipe from the intercooler had come off!! (bottom right)

I managed to get it back on and started the engine and it sounded ok so I revved it up a little and bang the hose flew off again and it sounded like a jumbo jet...

So I found a bit of old string in the bush and tried to strap the pipe in place but it kept blowing of as soon as I applied any pressure to the engine.

So the other half came to collect me and brought some cable ties with her so I strapped the pipe in place nice and tight!!! This time it didn’t blow off. So thought I would chance driving the approx 4 miles back to my house.

The engine sounded ok but there was very little if any boost (get a slight pull but drops of straight away if any)

I have no error codes or warning lights nothing that would give me any clues as to what is going on..

So questions...

Why would the intake pipe from the intercooler keep coming out (not falling out blasting out with a bang!) would a faulty turbo cause this?

Why do I have no turbo (does the sound of metal I heard mean it has broken up inside)

How easy is it to take off and have a look at it.

Any other ideas would be helpfull.

It is a superb I AWX with 240k :0)

[KenONeill]

I'm not sure exactly what's wrong other than maybe the pipes aren't being pulled right home.

I had this happen once on my Octy, and replaced the standard spring clip on the offending joint with 2 real Terry Jubilee clips.

It is vaguely possible that you may need to drain out the intercooler (just disconnect the bottom hose to it, and wait til things stop dripping).

[softscoop]

The pipes are pressurised and will go with a bang when they pop off.

It does make a horrible noise when they come off.

Have you tried it since it's been turned off for a while, and are you sure that all of the turbo pipes are properly connected?

[netgeni]

Thanks for the reply's

I will check the pipes over the weekend but I dont think its that.

I have the pipe that keeps blowing off tyed up with cable ties and it isnt coming out now.

The problem is even now there is no boost from the turbo and as i heard a metallic sound (like a bit of metal flying about in the engine bay)

I am a little worried to drive it in case i cause more damage..

The car runs fine no smoke sounds ok etc.. just when I drive it the turbo isnt working... Sloooooowwwww lol

I was thinking if its easy enought to inspect the turbo ?? Ill have a look to see if any thing is damaged.

I have no error codes or lights on the dash so I dont really have any where to start from..

[CookieMonster]

Mine did this last week. I am going to fix the pipe using the four self taping screws method. This will also mean I can clean out the intercooler with brake cleaner at the same time. I heard the sound too. On inspection it looks like the pipe had been rubbing on the auxiliary belt wheel, I hope this was the noise we heard. I know what you mean by sounding like metal though. Best to check all of your connections. Then run up to temperature on a test drive to check for smoke or noises from the turbo to indicate if the turbo was damaged when the pipe came off due to over spin. The lugs on the pipe wear out as it is put under pressure. This is not caused by an issue with the turbo, but leaking pipes can damage a turbo.

Let us know how you get on.

[netgeni]

Mine did this last week. I am going to fix the pipe using the four self taping screws method. This will also mean I can clean out the intercooler with brake cleaner at the same time. I heard the sound too. On inspection it looks like the pipe had been rubbing on the auxiliary belt wheel, I hope this was the noise we heard. I know what you mean by sounding like metal though. Best to check all of your connections. Then run up to temperature on a test drive to check for smoke or noises from the turbo to indicate if the turbo was damaged when the pipe came off due to over spin. The lugs on the pipe wear out as it is put under pressure. This is not caused by an issue with the turbo, but leaking pipes can damage a turbo.

Let us know how you get on.

Well I noticed that the lugs had worn out on mine (turned the pipe round and it would blow out the other end) one large self tapping screw done the trick lol

My only concern now is when I rev the engine hard the pipe swells right up (really scary!!) I didn’t dare drive it like that in case the pipe exploded!!!

Not sure if that is normal????

The compressed air flow was going down this pipe into the top of the intercooler so I took the intercooler completely out (looked very clean for a car that has done 240k) to make sure it wasn’t blocked or something!!

Why would there be so much pressure to make the pipe swell up??

I took the vacuum hose of the actuator (seems that stops the pipe swelling) but drives with no turbo (very slow)

The engine sounds ok so I don’t think it has caused any damage.

Can any one explain the way the turbo system works on this car so I can understand what is going on

[m0gsi]

Well I noticed that the lugs had worn out on mine (turned the pipe round and it would blow out the other end) one large self tapping screw done the trick lol

My only concern now is when I rev the engine hard the pipe swells right up (really scary!!) I didn’t dare drive it like that in case the pipe exploded!!!

Not sure if that is normal????

The compressed air flow was going down this pipe into the top of the intercooler so I took the intercooler completely out (looked very clean for a car that has done 240k) to make sure it wasn’t blocked or something!!

Why would there be so much pressure to make the pipe swell up??

I took the vacuum hose of the actuator (seems that stops the pipe swelling) but drives with no turbo (very slow)

The engine sounds ok so I don’t think it has caused any damage.

Can any one explain the way the turbo system works on this car so I can understand what is going on

It sounds as if the hose that is swells is perished. I'd replace this hose and use good quality clamps/clips to keep this hose on.

[CookieMonster]

Did you check the bottom intercooler hose for blocks?

When you say you want an explanation of how the turbo system works, what exactly did you want to know? There is a lot of information found through Google for the basics.

[netgeni]

Did you check the bottom intercooler hose for blocks?

When you say you want an explanation of how the turbo system works, what exactly did you want to know? There is a lot of information found through Google for the basics.

Yep I took the whole thing out, inc the L shape pipe at the bottom (not the long metal one that runs the full width of the car).

I was just wondering how compressed air runs around from the turbo, intercooler egr etc.. From what I read is seems the compressed air flow should be going the other way from what I am seeing in my car.. but that doesn’t make sense lol.. so I must be missing something.... petrol vs diesel ?? maybe I read something wrong

Ie. the air is drawn into the turbo from the main air filter then pushed out to the intercooler then into the intake. is this correct?

[softscoop]

Yep I took the whole thing out, inc the L shape pipe at the bottom (not the long metal one that runs the full width of the car).

I was just wondering how compressed air runs around from the turbo, intercooler egr etc.. From what I read is seems the compressed air flow should be going the other way from what I am seeing in my car.. but that doesn’t make sense lol.. so I must be missing something.... petrol vs diesel ?? maybe I read something wrong

Ie. the air is drawn into the turbo from the main air filter then pushed out to the intercooler then into the intake. is this correct?

Yes, air comes in through the filter, into the turbo, where it gets compressed and thus gets very hot.

It then goes through the intercooler to cool it down and make the air more dense, where it then goes into the intake.

[netgeni]

Yes, air comes in through the filter, into the turbo, where it gets compressed and thus gets very hot.

It then goes through the intercooler to cool it down and make the air more dense, where it then goes into the intake.

Can u confirm for me..

It looks like i get compressed air coming out of the EGR bit (top left on my engine, where the diaphragm is) running round the top of the engine then down to the right into the intercooler round the front of the car and into the bottom of the turbo.

AWX pd130 is this correct I thought it should be to other way round or an i just beeing silly again haha

Cheers!!

[softscoop]

Can u confirm for me..

It looks like i get compressed air coming out of the EGR bit (top left on my engine, where the diaphragm is) running round the top of the engine then down to the right into the intercooler round the front of the car and into the bottom of the turbo.

AWX pd130 is this correct I thought it should be to other way round or an i just beeing silly again haha

Cheers!!

Not sure on the Superb as the engine (although the same block etc as mine in my Fabia) is mounted the other way round.

[CookieMonster]

i have had a look around some other forums for you and pipe swelling is a common issue, especially with moddified cars. It is fine to use the car like this. some pipes get old and become streatchy.

Edited 1 October, 2012 by CookieMonster

[netgeni]

i have had a look around some other forums for you and pipe swelling is a common issue, especially with moddified cars. It is fine to use the car like this. some pipes get old and become streatchy.

Thanks for that! Maybe I am being a bit paranoid lol. Just don’t want to damage anything after hearing that initial noise.

Maybe I will just try it and see what happens.. Then get a new hose....

[CookieMonster]

If you are concerned about the pressure you could fit a boost gauge to keep an eye on things.

[netgeni]

Gonna give it a little run later and see what happens!!!

If i dnt blow it up ill go and get one and see whats going on...

Any ideas on the best place to tap into on these?? Done my 1.8T golf years ago will have a look at thatto refresh my memory...

[CookieMonster]

I believe the pipe between the turbo and intercooler will show you what the turbo is producing based on what i have seen. I think there may be a pressure drop after the intercooler so would give false readings.

[netgeni]

Ok so connected the actuator pipe back up and took it up the road it felt ok (engine runs fine sounds ok etc..) until the pipe came off it again. Not the end thats now screwed in but the other where the connector is good.. (little ear things) so there must be something causing it to produce to much boost for the pipes to hold or there is a blockage some where...

So has any one got any ideas what i should do now??

[softscoop]

Once the connectors start popping off, they will pop off more and more often as the lugs wear.

[CookieMonster]

If your car has the variable vein turbo like the fabia then they can seize up and cause over boost. There are posts about using Mr muscle cleaner to clean it with the turbo still on the car. There are official cleaners for this too with the sodium hydroxide chemical needed to do the job. Maybe worth a try unless you want to take the turbo apart to clean it.

[Stormchaser]

It certainly sounds like over boost causing your problem.

[netgeni]

I was thinking that’s the next thing to check... The turbo!

I was going to do that at the weekend but didn’t have enough time after trying different things. Checking the pipes, removing erg and intercooler (not that easy)

I believe it is a variable vein turbo but need to check, which is not that easy! It’s getting dark by the time I can get round to doing anything in the evening

"There are posts about using Mr muscle cleaner to clean it with the turbo still on the car”

I think I will have a look at the actuator (For any play etc) and probably end up taking the turbo out and cleaning it.

It’s a bigger job but probably a better result than trying to just squirt cleaner into it (Also not sure if it can be done like that on this engine)

Not sure why I don’t get any error codes. Should the car not go into limp mode?

I would have thought that the car would know if there is too much boost being generated and tell me to go to the “Workshop”

Thanks for the input guys!

[CookieMonster]

I think there is a safe limit set in the ECU. Maybe it is set high to allow for spikes in boost pressure, however maybe your worn pipes pop off before it hits this level. Looks like it is turbo inspection time.

[netgeni]

:( yep time to get dirty again!!

Any tips on removing the turbo ??

I think I will stock up on cleaning products and have a good cleanup, intake etc.... (egr is filthy so I guess the rest of it is bad too)

Any suggestions apart from the mr muscle.. and load of carb cleaner I guess.... ohh and the other halfs toothbrush lol

[CookieMonster]

Never done this before, but from what I have read in the Haynes manual cover open pipes to prevent things getting in there. Technically you are meant to replace the gaskets when putting it back together.

While it is off you can check the shaft for play in the bearings.

Let all chemicals evaporate before putting back together.