Blue Smoke, Whining when Accelerating, No Boost

[MonkeyTibs]

Hi all,

The other day on way home from airport (so car had been in car park for two weeks) my oil light came on and engine was tapping so pulled over straight away, got taken to garage by AA and they did an oil change and said my sump and oil uptake pipe were blocked but it should be fine now. Cost me £150 for some reason but I was just relieved my engine wasn't damaged...

However, as soon as I've started driving the car again blue smoke is coming from the exhaust, there is a whining sound coming from the engine that gets higher as you accelerate and I have no boost.

I've read a few things that this could be but each diagnosis lacks one or more of my symptoms. What I've seen that it could be:

1. Boost Leak (pipe come loose or something)
2. Manifold Bolts come loose
3. Turbo blown

Obviously number 3 is my worst fear as it would be the most expensive to sort out but I've got a feeling that it must be that. I'm not engine savvy so I have no idea how to check for boost leak or manifold bolts. So depressing.

Any opinions appreciated - I guess I'll take it to the garage in the morning if they're open on a Saturday...

 

[m0rk]

Potentially the turbo could have been starved of oil when the strainer blocked.

More likely something got disturbed by the garage. Is an engine light showing? I'd get it on vagcom to see what codes exist

 

[MonkeyTibs]

Sound like permanent damage to turbo?

I'm guessing the garage aren't going to admit fault if it was their fault... I guess all I can do is take it there and see what they say. When I drove it away from the garage I probably did about 15 miles before the whining started (sounds like the faraway police siren I've read about so many times on this forum when people are talking about blown turbos...) and the boost stopped.

The smoke was white when I picked the car up and the mechanic said it would clear but now it's blue.

Really don't have the money for this at the moment.

 

[rk696]

Blue is burning oil, so it does sound like the turbo I'm afraid.

A lot of people on Briskoda have had the blocked pickup pipe cause damage to the turbo (it spins so fast and uses oil as both bearings and as coolant).

How far did you drive with the light on? Did the garage fit a new pickup pipe?

 

[maxitrol]

sounds like turbo failure am afraid

 

[MonkeyTibs]

I thought as much. Garage didn't fit a new pickup pipe as far as I know, just cleaned it out.

How much is replacement turbo and fitting likely to cost?

 

[MonkeyTibs]

I've got a mate who can fit a new turbo for me...

Where is the best place to buy one from? I've looked around but I can only find K03 everywhere... anyone know where I can get a refurbished K03s? Or even an upgraded one if there is such a thing? Anything but a downgrade!

 

[rk696]

Turbo upgrade are biiiig money, but fun. Depending on the size you want to go for, 600+ bhp is possible.

Try turbo technics, or CR turbos, they will refurb a K03S for you.

 

[MonkeyTibs]

Cheers, I've emailed Turbo Technics and CR turbos. I'll see who does the best price. Hopefully I can keep this to £500 or under with my mate fititng it.

I'm going to call the garage tomorrow and get them to analyse what the exact problem is before I commit to buying anything as I don't want to buy a turbo then find out a pipe was loose or something (although this would be highly unlikely I expect!). I'm a bit annoyed with the garage because they told me to drive it off and it would be fine and then my turbo blows... Grr.

 

[rk696]

Think the turbo would have been damaged before the garage had it TBH. They don't like running with no oil

 

[MonkeyTibs]

Yeah I'm thinking the turbo must have been messed up already but I wish the garage had just taken that into account instead of letting me drive off and mess it up even more. Now going to have to try and get it towed back to the garage to do an analysis on it and make sure that it is 100% the turbo before I commit to getting a new one.

 

[MonkeyTibs]

Quick update.

I found a new OEM K03s turbo for £549 including VAT which is cheaper than some of the refurb quotes I was getting.

One question:

What gaskets will I need to buy to replace? I'm clueless. If anyone knows (or even better, has the part numbers) I will be eternally grateful.

Cheers.

 

[JamJay]

Turbo > Exhaust Manifold Gasket
Turbo > Down Pipe Gasket

I'm assuming that you won't be removing the sump again so that negates the need to seal that.

 

[MonkeyTibs]

Thanks for the reply. I phoned SEAT and he said I can get everything I need for £18 so I've just gone with that. Picking up the parts Thursday.

Now I just need to find a way to cobble together the money for the turbo itself!

 

[MonkeyTibs]

Does anyone know if there's a guide or anything for taking the turbo out?

Taken the TIP off but can't find any way to take the metal pipe off that feeds into the turbo after the TIP. Do I need to get underneath the engine? (Won't be doing it myself, have a friend who's more competent than I am who's coming round to help).

 

[8bit]

You could also try Turbo Dynamics and/or AET Turbos. Any turbo specialist should be able to either send you an exchange unit (a pre-reconditioned, tested turbo which you have swapped for yours then send yours back) or if you can cope without your car for a few days or so, you send yours to them and they fix it if that's more economical.

I feel your pain mate, mine's going to get the turbo swapped next week. Managed to get a good deal on the same type of K04 my car uses but it's still not exactly a cheap fix

 

[MonkeyTibs]

I've managed to get the money together for the replacement turbo, just a case of getting old one out and confirming it is f***ed and then ordering new one.

I'm either going to get a new OEM one from Turbo Dynamics for £549 (with 10% discount applied) or send my one to Midland Turbo and they will see if they can repair it for around £200 but if not send a refurbed replacement for around £444.

Not sure which option to go with but I'm thinking Midland Turbo may be a better choice in case they can repair my turbo (although I doubt it). I'll be saving £100 getting a refurb so it is the cheaper option.

A mate is coming round with axle stands and tools tonight so the old turbo should be out hopefully!

 

[JamJay]

As long as the housing isn't damaged then a refurb would be the best option as you'll have all new internals which TBH are the things that break.

 

[MonkeyTibs]

I'll probably send it off to Midland Turbo and they will analyse the damage and then tell me if it can be repaired (£200) or send a refurbed one (£444).

Getting it fitted is my biggest concern currently. There's no way I'm paying a garage for 5 hours labour or whatever they charge but I also don't want somebody who's not 100% sure of what they're doing.

From what I've read it's not overly difficult but you need a lot of patience because the space is so tight and your hands have to be mini contortionists. Got to make sure they get the oil back into it as well before I start driving or it'll be back to square one!

 

[8bit]

I've managed to get the money together for the replacement turbo, just a case of getting old one out and confirming it is f***ed and then ordering new one.

I'm either going to get a new OEM one from Turbo Dynamics for £549 (with 10% discount applied) or send my one to Midland Turbo and they will see if they can repair it for around £200 but if not send a refurbed replacement for around £444.

Not sure which option to go with but I'm thinking Midland Turbo may be a better choice in case they can repair my turbo (although I doubt it). I'll be saving £100 getting a refurb so it is the cheaper option.

A mate is coming round with axle stands and tools tonight so the old turbo should be out hopefully!

You shouldn't need to get the turbo out to tell if it's goosed or not. If you can get the TIP off and get access to the compressor wheel then check it for play - it shouldn't move any more than 1mm in any direction, including in towards or out away from the body of the turbo.

Also, any more than a little amount of oil in the intake of the turbo or the TIP will suggest that it's leaking oil through the charge air circuit and back into the intake of the turbo, this would support the worn seals theory.

I'd still try AET turbos if you haven't already, I'd think they might come in a little cheaper again. They told me they'd do a refurb if that was cheaper than a replacement too.

If you're changing out the turbo then I'd make sure and replace the oil pickup pipe within your sump and potentially the oil feed and return lines to and from the turbo itself. The sump pickup pipe is only a few quid apparently but the oil feed and return lines are in the order of 40 or 50 each plus VAT, and you'll need some gaskets, crush washers, banjo bolts etc. for those (a few quid for that lot).

Once it's all changed out remove the cables from the coilpacks and the fuel injectors and keep the oil return line connected to the turbo but not the sump, keep that end in a bucket. Then turn the car over for a moment to check that oil is getting through. This will prime the turbo so there's oil in it from the first instant it's subjected to hot exhaust gases.