Got a whole 6 miles into my holiday and the turbo blew. New experience for me - very dramatic! For those who have yet to experience such a moment, the engine runs at full revs, black smoke pumps out the exhaust (big time) and removing the key or even the battery has no effect at all. Turns out that if you don't stall the engine before the sump oil (that's what it's using for fuel) runs out, it's bye bye engine/car too. Hopefully your missus won't grab the dog and run away without even so much of a "save yourself" as mine did!

Anyway - anyone had this happen who can advise me please? I stopped the engine while there was still some oil in the sump (near bottom of dipstick). No horrible mechanical sounds before it stopped (apart from the noise as it was running so hard). I guess the cat will be foobarred but other than that do you think it's worth investing in a replacement turbo? She is a 1996/7 1.9TDI CL with AFN engine (is that 110BHP?) has 147K miles, little rust and a known history so I'm loathe to scrap her if avoidable. But I don't want to spend loads of time and money if the engine is likely to be shot either.

How easy is it to swap a turbo? From what I can see it's pretty hard to get at on axle stands?

Any help would be appreciated!