PD 115 TDI dead or alive?

[datsun240]

Hi there

I have a W reg TDI pd engine 115hp golf that has developed a fault...ok it died today.

I was accelerating in 3rd when I lost all power, I looked in the rear view mirror and clouds of white smoke was pouring out the back. I have since got it towed back home and had a look at the turbo. There seems to be a lot of oil in the exhaust side and intake side so I'm guessing its blown. The problem is there is also some oil in the coolant! could the turbo failing cause the headgasket to fail? when i tried to start the car it would start to turn over then lock up (water in the bore maybe?)
Has anyone experienced this before??

when it did start it ran very unevenly and smoked badly.....I thought this could have been caused by the engine running on the oil maybe? I guess the heads got to come off..bugger!:(

Thanks

[onzarob]

White smoke is water, blue would be oil. I would say Head gasket failure. The oil around the turbo is normal they all leak a little once worn.

[datsun240]

well there was a sort of screeching noise when I started the engine back up....sort of like a starter motor that sticks.....anyway this sound would run on for a few seconds after switching off the engine, I figured it was the turbo bearings. The exhaust was white ish but smelt of burning oil.

[aBoijj]

White smoke can also be due to a dead turbo - this could be unburnt oil that's made it's way past the seals and out through the exhaust with the rest of the exhaust gasses and without passing through the engine itself (otherwise it would have been burnt with the fuel/air mixture and turn to blue-ish smoke).

Does the screeching noise increase and decrease following the load on the turbo? i.e. more or less silent on idle and screeching more as the load increases then dropping off as the load decreases.

Incidentally the oil will smell burnt due to the temperature of the exhaust gasses it's mixing with.

Another thing to check if you've got the pipes off is the play in the shaft (if you can get fingers to it - I've not had one of these turbos off personally. A small amount of side to side play (~1mm) is acceptable but in and out play is bad m'kay.

[datsun240]

Yes the turbo shaft canbe moved in and out in the direction of the shaft, it has a small amount of up and down play. Still doesn't explain the oil in the water though :(

[FLENG2008]

Yes the turbo shaft canbe moved in and out in the direction of the shaft, it has a small amount of up and down play. Still doesn't explain the oil in the water though :(

the turbo shaft shouldnt move in a out, it should have a little play side to side but not much, so i think yuors maybe be blown
is it a possibilty the oil and water could be mixing in the turbo?
either that or headgasket or oil cooler, where the water can mix?

[chrisvrscrx]

I think you have two problems. Blown turbo- this happened to my Passat and there were masses of white smoke coming out of the exhaust then the engine ran on the oil from the turbo! Don't start it if the engine starts to run on the oil it can be impossible to turn it off, I had to stall mine. I think the other problem is the oil cooler. There aren't bad to change just very messy and you will have to flush out the water system (I hear flash works really well). I would change the turbo then the oil cooler and see where you stand. If oil is still getting into the coolant then start thinking about the head gasket!

Hope this helps!

Keep us posted on what happens!

[datsun240]

ok thanks guys...I will investigate further. Good place to source a turbo? I have put a wanted out on findapart.

[datsun240]

Right, I put the car back up on the ramp to take another look at the turbo. I pulled on the exhaust side and it moved out probably 30mm!!! in fact I think if the opening was big enough it would have pulled all the way out! So it seems the compressor side has failed big time.....I will get it off and post some pics later.

[datsun240]

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d39/golfg60gti/07032008068.jpgPulled the hose that runs to the intercooler off.....about 1 litre of oil poured out!
I have the turbo off the car now, the shaft has snapped and it looks bad...will post some pics in a min. Going to run a pressure test on the cooling system in a bit.

Bit of a pig to get off though.....took the inlet manifold off and pulled up through the top. easier than taking the driveshaft off.

[datsun240]

Put a pressure test on the cooling system , it seems to hold 25psi for 20mins with no coolant loss.....what are the chances that the excess oil in the cylinder got pushed passed the gasket into the cooling system? Is it worth replacing the turbo and starting the car to see if it's ok or just bite the bullet and change the headgasket, water pump and cambelt and be done with it.

[STEWY L]

Put a pressure test on the cooling system , it seems to hold 25psi for 20mins with no coolant loss.....what are the chances that the excess oil in the cylinder got pushed passed the gasket into the cooling system? Is it worth replacing the turbo and starting the car to see if it's ok or just bite the bullet and change the headgasket, water pump and cambelt and be done with it.
the oil from the turbo would have locked the engine when trying to crank, but i doubt that it would have blown through the gasket, or that it would have had time to show in the radiator if it had.
as has been said earlier,it's possible that you have two probs,ie. the oil cooler.
sometimes they won't leak until hot, and so it may not have shown up when you pressurised the rad,don't forget, the oil side of the cooler runs at somewhat more than the 25psi you tested the water side at.it could be passing at a higher pressure than your test.DON'T try to test your water side any higher than you did,but it may be possible to remove the cooler and pressure test it off the car at a higher pressure, in a hot bucket of water(never seen them), and don't know the cost of them,but may just be easier to put a cooler on. if you had no white
signs in the engine oil,then i wouldn't think that the head gasket has suffered.

[chrisvrscrx]

My turbo failed in exactly the same way. Good luck mate. It will take weeks to get the oil out of your nails.

[datsun240]

The nut had come off the end of the shaft which in turn must have been sucked in and caused the damage. I found the nut in the pipe running to the intercooler. I decided to pull the head off anyway just to be safe. I will fit a new cam belt and water pump while I'm at it.
Recon turbo £350
Gasket, seals, water pump, belt, oil feed pipe and various other bits and bobs £300

could have been worse, I paid £3500 for the car and its has every option, 87k FSH and a 6 speed box so I can't complain....the previous owner let it go cheap as he thought the gearbox had a fault and it lacked power. New Maf and new gearbox linkage bush put it right.