Well my intermittent turbo problem has been solved as it went bang yesterday thus it is definitely not working at all now. There was a cloud of grey smoke out the back end and it ran itself for a short while but fortunately stalled itself quickly. The revs never hit the limiter so I was hoping the engine survived. The intercooler pipe has been removed by my local garage man and he has it running OK. It sounds fine although noisy without the pipe connected. No strange noises and no oil out the back. He started it several times and it went every time. He has driven it a short way and no problems that we are aware of.

So maybe a new (recon) turbo is all I need.??  And a clean out of the intercooler etc.

Is there any checks I should do before getting the wallet out? It is high  mileage so turbo was due to go any time.

Appreciate any advice from you guys.

 

I'd suggest you try and determine the cause for the turbo failing in the first place to ensure there is no problem with oil pressure or coolant.

Garage should be able to check oil pressure for you and also there is no restriction in the oil return from the turbo. Hopefully just too many miles on the turbo has ended its life.

I would say 275,000 miles is about right?!! So bought cheap new replacement turbo and it's now back on the road. Seems all good but I will be treating it gently for a while.

Well here is an update - the new turbo did about 1,000 miles and then let go in a cloud of white smoke. Engine still running but smoking badly. Investigation proved the turbo shaft had snapped. This means all the bits are still inside the turbo so I need a decent guaranteed rebuild option. Beware Ebay sellers who reside in Germany but are actually Chinese and refuse to give you contact details which is against Ebay policy.

I have the original Garrett which is virtually seized and I assume beyond repair and the new one with snapped shaft.

What are my best options? The car needs one ball joint for the MOT so could have a few miles left in her.

As above with Leeboy's post. You need to find out what caused the turbo to fail. First seized and the second snapped it shaft suggests you have an oil starvation problem. Lots of people don't check this (including garages) and call the turbo as faulty.  So make sure the feed and drain pipes are free with no restriction and you have good oil pressure with clean oil.

Will do thanks

What oil feed pipe do I need? They seem to be excessively expensive on this model! It will all be checked and cleaned with new oil and filter with pressure check but I need a new pipe which does not come with the turbo kit. If you can point me to a sensible supplier would be appreciated as the cost is creeping up. Thanks