Ok... so just been out to the car again and thought I'd see if I could recreate the problem by holding the revs at around 1400-1500 rpm (which is where the turbo seems to spin).

 

And sure enough holding it there for a minute smoke started to come out the exhaust. This happens at the point where you can hear the turbo start to spool. It sounds to have a bit of a whine to it... what do you guys think?:

 

I think this may be the very earliest stages of exhaust turbine seal failure. I've only normally knowingly seen the late stages when you get a "James Bond" smokescreen, and an oil consumption measured in litres per mile.

Yes I think it's pretty conclusive that it's the turbo seal.

 

I also right doing it and holding it right before I could hear the turbo whistle/whine and no smoke. As soon as I hear the turbo it starts smoking.

 

How safe is it to drive like this?

 

Phil

You mean "how long before it gets to the James Bond stage?" No idea.

Lol. Fair enough... How longs a piece of string eh!?

So looking at turbos there are two. A Borg Warner and Garret. I understand the preferred one is the Garrret.

Anyone know if they are the same in terms of fitment? So if I currently have a Borg Warner for instance I can fit the Garret?

I seem to think that a new oil feed pipe is recommended?

Feeling a bit sick right now...

 

Two quotes in for a new Turbo.

 

One £970 and one £950.

 

That was for a new turbo (oem quality they said). They both recommended against a remanufactured turbo... is this right?

 

Phil

I thought most turbo's were reconditioned?

 

The price for a 'new' turbo usually includes the part exchange value of your old turbo.

 

The old turbo is then gutted and reconditioned and sold on as new to the next customer.

 

I'm 99% sure the turbo I had fitted by DM Keith (Skoda main dealer) on my vRS under warranty a few years ago was a reconditioned one direct from Skoda UK, the garage happily volunteered that information.

 

Fitted price was a smidge over £1,400.

Edited 21 December, 201510 yr by silver1011

Yeah if you search on ebay then the majority of them are remanufactured units.

 

I looked on Euro Car Parts and they offer a brand new one and a remanufactured one so you obviously can get them.

For that price Phil, you may as well go for a stronger unit.

 

You can have a GTB1749V which will do 170hp on the BXE injectors or 200 with uprated injectors for less than £800

 

http://www.darksidedevelopments.co.uk/products/1-9-tdi-8v-pd105-bls-brm-2-0-tdi-pd140-bmm-gtb1749v-200bhp-turbo-upgrade.html

I'm not really wanting to upgrade to be honest. Plus that's £600 plus fitting!

 

Then it would need a remap... plus the hassle of declaring to insurance etc.

 

Phil

In that case then, I'd be very tempted with this

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Audi-A3-1-9TDI-BKC-BXE-BorgWarner-5439-970-0022-Turbo-Charger-/151763480004?hash=item2355ceedc4:g:5C8AAOSwpDdVbbyb

 

They seem to be a reputable business. 2 Year warranty for less than £240.

 

Fit it yourself

My head is buzzing now.

 

Just been on phone to the garage, the other half and euro car parts.

 

The garage is quoting £370 for the labour, oil, filter and an oil feed pipe.

 

They can do it tomorrow.

 

Then a reconditioned garrett turbo from euro car parts is £310.

 

Is this the right thing to do? on ECP it says the turbo is remanufactured by G-Force turbos. Then some google search results suggested to stay clear of remanufactured garrett turbos!

 

Should I get the borg warner or stick with garret?

IIRC Garrett don't sell parts to recon their VNT turbos, but then people do remanufacture them obviously.

 

I think it comes down to how long you want to keep the car and also the reputation of the people doing the reman job.

Personally I stay well clear of any cheap ECP stuff, but that's just because one of two bits looked a bit ropey so got taken back for proper ones a few years back.

 

The SAS one looks reasonable to be honest for the money, but it's a case of do you trust what they write?

If you can get hold of them directly, then it's worth checking out their claims.

Edited 21 December, 201510 yr by cheezemonkhai

So I went for the ECP turbo in the end.

 

There are loads of companies on ebay selling reconditioned turbos but what makes buying them tricky is not having an address to walk into if it goes wrong if you know what I mean. I guess the advantage of the ECP one is that if it does go wrong I am more likely to get somewhere with them being a reputable company.

 

Plus we have trips to see family etc over Christmas and new year including a trip to Germany on boxing day so it needed sorting like yesterday!

 

Booked in with a place called Wills and Ellis in York who are a VAG specialist that get some good feedback and came recommended by Harry VRS on here. They have so far been super professional and helpful... unlike Roger Holmes another VAG specialist who sounded like some grumpy mechanic on the phone... you know you're through to a professional establishment when they answer the phone simply "hello?"... really bugs me that! Answer the phone with your company name!

 

They were able to do the car tomorrow as they'd had a job cancelled so collected the turbo and took it with the car this evening.

 

They're going to remove the turbo and double check it is the turbo first but with the symptoms I described (including the excess oil round the turbo outlet) he was quite confident it is the turbo at fault.

 

Finger crossed!

So I went for the ECP turbo in the end.

There are loads of companies on ebay selling reconditioned turbos but what makes buying them tricky is not having an address to walk into if it goes wrong if you know what I mean. I guess the advantage of the ECP one is that if it does go wrong I am more likely to get somewhere with them being a reputable company.

Plus we have trips to see family etc over Christmas and new year including a trip to Germany on boxing day so it needed sorting like yesterday!

Booked in with a place called Wills and Ellis in York who are a VAG specialist that get some good feedback and came recommended by Harry VRS on here. They have so far been super professional and helpful... unlike Roger Holmes another VAG specialist who sounded like some grumpy mechanic on the phone... you know you're through to a professional establishment when they answer the phone simply "hello?"... really bugs me that! Answer the phone with your company name!

They were able to do the car tomorrow as they'd had a job cancelled so collected the turbo and took it with the car this evening.

They're going to remove the turbo and double check it is the turbo first but with the symptoms I described (including the excess oil round the turbo outlet) he was quite confident it is the turbo at fault.

Finger crossed!

Keep your receipt for ECP turbos, fitted 2 and both blew in a short space of time

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Hmmm... don't know what to do now!

Where do I stand if it fails... do they just replace it then I have to pay the labour charges again?

I wouldn't worry about the ECP turbo. Sometimes you never really know with turbos.......Lets face it, your oem turbo hasn't done so well blowing a seal at 54K. 

 

If it fails within it's warranty, they will pay for a new turbo and the labour charges. 

Hmmm... don't know what to do now!

Where do I stand if it fails... do they just replace it then I have to pay the labour charges again?

Didn't get around to getting a refund, it's sat attached to manifold on my bench.

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I agree with booke23, Your OEM one should have managed a 100k minimum to be honest, my 1.9 is a BXE on 79k now and still on its original Turbo with no issues.

 

Begs the question does this all come down to how people treat the Turbo, I'm not the original owner of this car I guess the same as yourself and yours Phil, Maybe a previous owner never allowed a few seconds for oil to lubricate the Turbo before starting off in the morning, then letting it idle for a few seconds before each switch off, All good practice as we know and do, But many people don't.

 

I'm sure with the way you care for your car with oil changes etc, You'll be fine with the ECP one. :clap:

See here for ECP's warranty process, point 3 makes specific mention of turbo's so they are covered...

 

http://trade.eurocarparts.com/hassle-free-warranty

 

Wills & Ellis used to be the franchised SEAT dealer in York and have specialised in Skoda's and VAG for years so they know their stuff.

 

I too have experienced Roger Holmes before, the guys working for him are sound, however he himself is a miserable old git. Didn't you have issues with them in the past with your gearbox on the Cordoba? Well avoided.

Thanks Roy.

 

I feel a bit happier now.

 

They have phoned this morning. They've done some initial diagnostics. They couldn't see/recreate the smoke. There is some oil on the outlet and intercooler pipes but nothing they would class as excessive/abnormal. He said at the moment he doesn't see any merit in changing the turbo as it's not making any funny noises and still boosting fine etc.

 

I told him the circumstances under which the smoke occurred and how I had managed to recreate it on the drive at home so he's going to pass that onto the tech and have another look.

 

If it isn't the turbo then what is it?! But it surely must be the turbo... in my video I held the revs at 1400-1500rpm where I could hear the turbo just start spinning and it was just constantly puffing out white smoke. Any other revs etc it didn't happen.

 

And on the subject of Roger Holmes... yes he does seem a tad miserable! The problems I had before weren't all down to them... I had a recon gearbox fitted (bearing failure on the chocolate FJW gearbox!) and when it came back they had somehow fitted the wrong gears and it was extremely low geared (70mph was over 3000rpm instead of 1900rpm!). Initially he took it for a test drive and phoned me and said "I can't see anything wrong". To which I was a bit shocked at. In the end I had to go down and go with him on the test drive. Made him drive on the A64 and get into 6th gear... he then realised the issue that a 6 speed TDI shouldn't be doing over 3000rpm on the motorway! So they sent the box back and got it sorted. Their communication isn't the best either.

Are you at work? I find in these situations it's better to be with the tech during the attempted diagnosis.

 

You know you can replicate the fault, they can't at the moment.

 

I'd be nipping over in my lunch break (a bit difficult without a car though!) if possible and try to get the car to smoke.

 

I'm with you, knowing the car isn't right would put a dampener during the holidays, especially with a long drive over to Germany.

Edited 22 December, 201510 yr by silver1011

I am at work but working from home and work flexi so if they're having no luck I may pop over. I can get there in the mobile home!

 

And yes I know there is definitely a problem and won't be happy will I know what it is and it's fixed! lol

 

Phil