303,000 miles on stock turbo!
11-27-2008, 06:30 PM
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
iTrader: (3)
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Plano,TX
Posts: 670
Total Cats: 4
303,000 miles on stock turbo!
I took this apart today.
I daily drive a 99.5 Jetta TDI which currently has 334,000. I drive for a living and put 8,000 miles a month on the Jetta.
I was running my Saturday route when the turbo went. This route consists of me driving 680 miles throughout west Texas delivering autotraders.
On this particular day, machismo happened to be with me. As we were leaving Aspermont,TX, a howling noise occurred. Neither of us were sure what the problem was. I immediately thought it might be the turbo, but my limited experience with turbos made me skeptical. Valvetrain? Bent valve? Wastegate? Leak? We looked at the exhaust tip and little bit of white smoke was coming out. We figured ok, it's probably a valve, we can finish the trip. After just a few miles, the smoke went from white to gray to dark gray. We drove 35 miles to Guthrie,TX and by that time, we were smokescreening! I checked the oil at my stop, and we had used 2 quarts! We added oil and went to take off and the TDI showed symptons of what tdiclub calls "runaway turbo". We drove 4 miles and used 3 quarts! At that point we parked the car and called in reinforcements.
Below are pics and video of the turbo damage after 303,000 miles:
I daily drive a 99.5 Jetta TDI which currently has 334,000. I drive for a living and put 8,000 miles a month on the Jetta.
I was running my Saturday route when the turbo went. This route consists of me driving 680 miles throughout west Texas delivering autotraders.
On this particular day, machismo happened to be with me. As we were leaving Aspermont,TX, a howling noise occurred. Neither of us were sure what the problem was. I immediately thought it might be the turbo, but my limited experience with turbos made me skeptical. Valvetrain? Bent valve? Wastegate? Leak? We looked at the exhaust tip and little bit of white smoke was coming out. We figured ok, it's probably a valve, we can finish the trip. After just a few miles, the smoke went from white to gray to dark gray. We drove 35 miles to Guthrie,TX and by that time, we were smokescreening! I checked the oil at my stop, and we had used 2 quarts! We added oil and went to take off and the TDI showed symptons of what tdiclub calls "runaway turbo". We drove 4 miles and used 3 quarts! At that point we parked the car and called in reinforcements.
Below are pics and video of the turbo damage after 303,000 miles:
Reply
0
0
11-27-2008, 10:31 PM
#7
Senior Member
Thread Starter
iTrader: (3)
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Plano,TX
Posts: 670
Total Cats: 4
In regards to the magazines: I do autotrader, automart, payload, and homes.com. All are under Dominion Enterprises. The routes are in my friends name and I do the work. He takes out money for himself and fuel, then pays me the rest. The money is always better when the mileage is higher. City routes don't pay as much, but don't take as long either. My routes are pretty long.
Reply
0
0
11-28-2008, 01:13 AM
#9
Elite Member
iTrader: (1)
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Birmingham Alabama
Posts: 7,930
Total Cats: 45
Good god. What is up with the "shaft play"? Was it acting up before it decided to take a dump, or did it just fail all at once? Thats more play than I have seen before, if you can even call it play. I bet that 1 piece manifold/turbo setup makes a fix costly (if that is what it is, looks that way).
Reply
0
0
11-28-2008, 12:28 PM
#10
How is it I always seem to be mixed up with stuff like this? That was one hell of weird day Wags....the one time I decide to take a ride along, and the car became the worst mesquito killer I have ever seen in an instant.
We were getting some boost issues, but nothing major. Then shut the car off, drop off some mags, get in, and the car over revs on its own and next thing you know.....stuck out in the middle of nowhere. Poured over a quart of oil out the tailpipe in two miles.
But you do have admit, that little High School girl made the wait, that much more tolerable.
We were getting some boost issues, but nothing major. Then shut the car off, drop off some mags, get in, and the car over revs on its own and next thing you know.....stuck out in the middle of nowhere. Poured over a quart of oil out the tailpipe in two miles.
But you do have admit, that little High School girl made the wait, that much more tolerable.
Reply
0
0
11-28-2008, 06:30 PM
#12
I guess you haven't been away from high school girls long enough. Cute and sweet is one thing. Annoying, lippy, dumb and obnoxious are another. Unfortunately there are a whole lot of the latter.
300k on a turbo is pretty impressive. The diesel box trucks do that pretty much all the time though. My 94 Isuzu NPR had 300k and terrible maintenance but the turbo was still spooling great.
Reply
0
0
11-28-2008, 07:40 PM
#14
Senior Member
Thread Starter
iTrader: (3)
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Plano,TX
Posts: 670
Total Cats: 4
Good god. What is up with the "shaft play"? Was it acting up before it decided to take a dump, or did it just fail all at once? That's more play than I have seen before, if you can even call it play. I bet that 1 piece manifold/turbo setup makes a fix costly (if that is what it is, looks that way).
The turbo just went suddenly. The car had been going into limp mode off and on, but only at the beginning of my route where there was significant hill climbing and elevation change. This was the only time it would go into limp mode. A lot of things can cause limp mode on these diesels.
We were getting some boost issues, but nothing major. Then shut the car off, drop off some mags, get in, and the car over revs on its own and next thing you know.....stuck out in the middle of nowhere. Poured over a quart of oil out the tailpipe in two miles.
But you do have admit, that little High School girl made the wait, that much more tolerable.
But you do have admit, that little High School girl made the wait, that much more tolerable.
I guess you haven't been away from high school girls long enough. Cute and sweet is one thing. Annoying, lippy, dumb and obnoxious are another. Unfortunately there are a whole lot of the latter.
300k on a turbo is pretty impressive. The diesel box trucks do that pretty much all the time though. My 94 Isuzu NPR had 300k and terrible maintenance but the turbo was still spooling great.
300k on a turbo is pretty impressive. The diesel box trucks do that pretty much all the time though. My 94 Isuzu NPR had 300k and terrible maintenance but the turbo was still spooling great.
Click the "Garrett VNT15" link I posted in post #7, if you haven't.
Reply
0
0
11-30-2008, 09:33 AM
#15
Tour de Franzia
iTrader: (6)
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Republic of Dallas
Posts: 29,085
Total Cats: 375
next time I have to pick you up in the middle of nowhere, it will be in a turbo miata.
You should just use my trailer and drive your track car on the routes, lol
You should just use my trailer and drive your track car on the routes, lol
Reply
0
0
