I have 216k miles on mine right now, but I'm putting in the effort to keep her going!
She needed a sill weld and brake lines to pass the MOT in 2023. Five days later, the turbo blew, but I chanced driving her the 1.2 miles home and made it in a cloud of glory!
The engine ran away three times during that risky drive home. All hail the anti-shudder valve for actually cutting off the airflow.
(should it happen to you...)
Every time I felt the revs spike out of my control, I instantly clutch in / key off. waited for the engine to die while rolling as far as could then ignition on and started bumpstart style before i lost too much speed.
Once I got home, I stripped the car and found the turbo shaft had a clean shear—perfect. I installed a second-hand turbo and cleaned out the intercooler. Job done. I also cleaned the buildup out of the intake and ASV housing. Christ, that was very nearly blocked solid. roughly about a pound coin sized hole was left.
Boom, done! The car's running done 7k miles and sails through the next MOT with nothing but new brakes needed.
Then I lost all boost power, except for the second I planted my foot. I thought to myself, "I've no luck—has the mot killed the car again?" lol!
£5 worth of vacuum pipes later, and we were back in business!
Three weeks later, I'm at work. I walk out to go to the local coffee
shop and see my rear wheel is badly tilted in at the top.
I thought it might be the springs, but that wouldn't cause that tilt, would it? Shock? Same conclusion. BEARING!? It has to be the bearing, surely.
I nursed it home the same fateful 1.2 miles from work (I know, I know—short drives kill diesels), jacked it up, and checked for play in the wheel.
Nothing! I was like, "WTF?" Wheel-off time.
See the photos for the current doom scenario.
(For those who can't figure it out, that's a massive hole in my twisted rear axle and a crack spreading 1-2 inches on either side of the hole.)
going to rebuild the rear axle, new axle subframe , new stub axles, new brake dust covers, new wheel bearings
calipers and lines done in recent history
only thing holding me back at the moment if trying to find new bolts for the stub axles
wish me luck haha