Blown Turbo?

[immortalkhalsa]

Hi All,

this is my first post here and i am in need of some advice.  i was driving on the M4 yesterday night and was doing about 120 mph when there was a sudden gush of thick white smoke which covered all 3 lanes and i immideatly started to loose power.  the smoke was continuous and i then pulled into the hard sholder immediatly and got taken home by RAC.

the RAC bloke told me that he could guarantee that my TURBO had gone by the description i gave him of what happened and that my turbo would ned to be replaced.  he didnt really check but he said he was 100% sure even without haveing a look.

car - Golf MK4 TDI (110 bhp, 5 speed)
Year - 1998
current milage - 94,000

1 - I was wondering what your thoughts are on what may be the problem?
2 - how much can i get a turbo for, and where from?
3 - how much is my car worth at the moment? (just wondering if it is worth getting it repaired)

many thanks for all your help, any advice most welcome.

[richandhazel]

I would check for a blown hose first. Turbo is the last thing I'd right-off. Its a resiliant little bugger.
The turbo on our model is part of the exhaust manifold so you'd be looking at quite an expensive lump if it did need changing.

One of the pressure hoses has probably blown off around the intercooler area.

[richandhazel]

Oh and I'd estimate the value around the 3 to 3.5K mark (without actually checking).

[Ridg]

i'm with richandhazel i think a fair few of use have had a pipe go at one point and its pretty much what you've described.

if you can get the car raised up and check all the pipe work, failing that wait till the engine is cold and try and follow the pipes with your hand, and inspect the joins.

i think the connection clips on your yeah are jubilee clips so odds are the pipes just come out of it.

[immortalkhalsa]

thanks soooo much for both of your responses guys.  How much of a task is it to check the pressure hoses for a non-mechanic like myself? also what will i need to look out for in a damaged pressure hose?

what are the costs for this?  huge £?

should i just give up and take it to the mechanic?

any help is much appreciated...keep your comments coming.

[Rhyso]

get a torch and look for any slight tears, rips in the pipes.  also check that the connections are secure and tighten them if need be or replace with new clips.

you should be able to do it yourself, make sure the engine is cold though!  don't think new hoses are that expensive; possibly sub £50 for the main pipes and less again for the smaller ones but don't quoteme on that lol

[immortalkhalsa]

are there any service manuals i can download for my model to tell me where the pressure hoses are? i want to give this a go myself. fingers crossed.

[Rhyso]

have a search for 'Online Bentley Manaul' should be some floating around the net.  otherwise try and pick up a cheap copy of the Haynes manual

[Ridg]

you should be able to follow the hose down from the turbo, and to the inter cooler, which looks like a radiator, not sure how easy it is to then follow the hose from the inter cooler and back is though.

if you're getting massive amounts of white smoke, i'd guess the hose has come loose, at which point its either a new clip or new pipe.  i replaced one on mine for £25 and the clips were about 50p  the hoes vary in price depending on the size though.

if you can't find the fault then get someone to look at it.  if you've up for it, get her on axel stands and get the front bumper off as that should then allow you to see the whole turbo inter cooler system.

[immortalkhalsa]

many thanks ridge.  sounds like you did the same thing, i will try to give this ago over in the next few days. 
really stupid question but how do i get the car on axel stands. 

i know i have a jack at home (its my dads, never used it)
i think i have the axel stands (also my dads), are those triangle looking things right?  i think i have 2 of those......how many do i need?