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Irratic turbo boost isuue

Grant1985

Active Member
Jun 11, 2016
47
0
Hi all, got a 2003 leon tdi, got the limp mode problem,turbo is fine in 1st and 2nd get in to 3rd at about 3/3500rpm and the turbo drops and no power at all struggle to get 60/70mph out of it, I've disconnected the maf to try and had no turbo at all, if I slow down to pull away again in 1st and 2nd turbo is fine till I get to 3rd gear, I've blocked off the egr valve turbo end and made no difference feels sluggish to me without the turbo, any help and advice would be appreciated, also I have no laptop or access to one so I don't have vagcom, please help it's all the time daily
 

Tay-FR

Active Member
Sep 17, 2015
49
2
Rugby
That sounds very similar to an issue I had with a tdi Alfa. The turbo vanes were clogged up causing the engine to drop into limp whenever I hit third great.

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Grant1985

Active Member
Jun 11, 2016
47
0
I put some Mr muscle in the turbo egr pipe pushed the actuator every 10 mins, had it in there for about 40 mins to a hour but made no difference, I'm thinking of taking the exhaust off the turbo and spraying directly in to there, it's really bad, drops to limp mode regardless of the hill or slopes I'm on, seems an exact time and place through the gears and revs it happens
 

Grant1985

Active Member
Jun 11, 2016
47
0
That's the video I found last night but normally they say to go through the egr pipe but I had no joy so thinking of doing it this way now and leave it for the whole 2hrs
 

supersticky

Active Member
Dec 16, 2010
1,014
46
taunton somerset
Yep sounds like what I had pal, the vains in the turbo are sticking which in turn tells the n75 valve and ECU that there's over boost so will drop you straight in to limp mode. Just a tip....After all is complete and trouble free, make sure you give the car a bit of stick in 2nd and 3rd (up hill if possible) once every two weeks, this will reduce the build up again of Carbon deposits by burning it off. Cheers.

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Grant1985

Active Member
Jun 11, 2016
47
0
If I can get it to run in the other gears then il do that but at the minute soon as I'm out of 2nd it's a joke, get done by 1.2 fiesta the other day lol
 

chriswales6

Active Member
Mar 2, 2016
295
48
If the actuator rod is moving freely over its full travel then it’s likely the vanes in the turbo are clean enough to work. They’re operated by a vacuum line basically a rubber tube to the actuator.

These start leaking after a while stopping the actuator from moving. If the vacuum lines haven’t been changed then it’s worth checking/replacing them.
 

supersticky

Active Member
Dec 16, 2010
1,014
46
taunton somerset
lol, you will have use of all gears and acceleration after this is done pal. Note when I done it I just unbolted the 3 13mm bolts to the end of the thread's this gave me enough space the pop in the straw and spray away, closed the pipes together again left it for 1hr opened up again another good spray closed tighten up leave for another hour, all along pumping the vains every 20 mins. All done, give it a good blast once done.

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Grant1985

Active Member
Jun 11, 2016
47
0
Hi thanks for the reply, the actuator rod seems to move happily enough, I put a pipe down the egr hole, sprayed in the Mr muscle and used a extension bar to push the actuator up and down moved ok but I couldn't get my hands down there enough, left it in for about 40 mins and every so often pushed on the rod, connected it all up drove lovely in 1st and 2 nd till I got to 3rd, it's a daily thing now everytime I hit 3rd, il check the vacuum, any tips on best way to check them? Can they be checked on the car without removal so to speak?
 

Grant1985

Active Member
Jun 11, 2016
47
0
Il give it a try, will I have removed the splash panel underneath to do this with the Mr muscle again? Or will I have room behind it
 

supersticky

Active Member
Dec 16, 2010
1,014
46
taunton somerset
Forget the egr route pal just do what I've said and follow the video, sorry that sounded harsh but no offense intended. Cheers.

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Grant1985

Active Member
Jun 11, 2016
47
0
Also just for info the car is on 166k so I should imagine there's a fair bit of crud in there, but apart from the boost it runs sweet as a nut
 

Grant1985

Active Member
Jun 11, 2016
47
0
Na that's cool mate, I'm gonna try it through the the exhaust part and spray direct in to there, did you not need any pipe on the straw to get the Mr muscle in or does it reach where it needs to be
 

Grant1985

Active Member
Jun 11, 2016
47
0
Ok il give it a go, any other possibilities it could be that I can do simple checks/test it etc
 

supersticky

Active Member
Dec 16, 2010
1,014
46
taunton somerset
Take the top off this and connect it to mr muscle can, bend the straw at a 45 degree angle, fits like a glove.

c6477fb9d79252bc4c65e87785dd4b4d.jpg


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Last edited:

Grant1985

Active Member
Jun 11, 2016
47
0
Also supersticky did your turbo work in 1st and 2nd after going in limp mode if you pulled over to pull away again or did you have to turn it off and back on? I don't have to turn it off just drop in to 1st and 2nd and it works till I hit 3rd again
 
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