2.8TD Turbo

[Budjen98]

Does anyone know at what KLMs a 2.8TD turbo needs to be rebuilt? mine has 168,000Klms and has started leaking oil. Also what is a rough price to get this done?
Thanks

[Timbo]

You should be able to buy a brand new 2.8 turbo for $700 odd dollars

[YNOT]

Does anyone know at what KLMs a 2.8TD turbo needs to be rebuilt? mine has 168,000Klms and has started leaking oil. Also what is a rough price to get this done?
Thanks

Are you sure the source of the oil is the turbo? Take the inlet hose of the front of the turbo (the hose that comes from the air cleaner) and have a look inside the hose to see if the oil is coming from further up towards the air filter. If it is then the oil you are seeing is condensed PCV oil mist and you money would be better spent on a PCV filter or catch can. It's worth checking if you have not already.

Tony

[Budjen98]

Are you sure the source of the oil is the turbo? Take the inlet hose of the front of the turbo (the hose that comes from the air cleaner) and have a look inside the hose to see if the oil is coming from further up towards the air filter. If it is then the oil you are seeing is condensed PCV oil mist and you money would be better spent on a PCV filter or catch can. It's worth checking if you have not already.

Tony

Tony,
Mate taken the hose of and there is oil inside, aswell there is oil on the outside of the Turbo. Mechanic tells me that this motor is common to put a kit through between 150,000 and 200,000 Klms. He tells me that it will need replacing in the near future and its better (cheaper) to rebuild the old one before it goes bang ruther then buy a new one.
Colin

[YNOT]

If there is oil inside the hose that leads from the air cleaner to the turbo inlet then rebuilding the turbo will not fix the oil leak.
Maybe the turbo does need a rebuild-I don't know, but if you just rebuild the turbo and refit it the oil leak will return because you have not fixed the source of the leak.

Tony

[MudRunnerTD]

Hi Budjen,

I would not be in too big a hurry to shell out your cash to the mechanic telling you that these things need a rebuild at 150 to 200k! If its a 2.8 in a GU then the engine was well developed by the time it came out in a GU. There are plenty of guys running into the 300s without taking a bolt off mate.

The mechanic you are quoting may be a little confused with the early 3.0lt 4 cylinders. Very common to rebuild in the high 100s but the 2.8 is a strong and proven 6 cylinder engine. Plenty of guys swear by them.

Re-read Tonys post about the PCV valve. If the oil is inside the hose between the air filter and the turbo then it is likely to be a faulty PCV and not the turbo. Cheap and easy fix. Remember the air direction in that hose is To > the Turbo. Think about a catch can. Provent or similar and replacing the PCV valve. Type "Provent" into ebay for a good selection.

How long have you owned this car? Who put the oil in it last time? who does the servicing?

Sounds like a dumb question but ......Did the last guy that filled the oil spill any? If they did and wiped up the mess on the rocker cover and let you drive away, as the oil gets hot it will run down the side of the motor and all over the turbo, as it get a bit dirty it will start to look really messy and very terminal.

Before spending anything on this i would be giving the engine bay a very good steam clean including from underneath and monitoring the "leak" to clearly identify it's source.... Might just save you $6K+

My 2c

[missingdna]

my 2.8 has 167000 on the clock and still going strong, no sign of any leaks or problems. Hope it stays that way for another 167 thou....

[Budjen98]

Mud runner,
I have owned this car for about 3.5yrs now and do as much of the servicing as i can e.g. oil and filters. The oil i use is Castrol 15W40 which comes at the right price. I have learnt the hard way from mechanics before (still paying for there mistakes) and only get things down now that are out of my scope and that I am definetly sure what the problem is, hence joining this forum to learn from guys like you with more experience. Thanks for the advice I will be sure to do this at some stage this weekend and will let you guys no how I go. Thanks again.
P.S. Do not ever use Future Automotive Mechanics there all "#@$%ed".

[brynk]

g'day all

this thread was well timed as a problem recently surfaced with gusty's turbo. i followed the advice set out previously, but also took some phots as i went. apologies for the hijack feel free to spin off to a new one if that would be more appropriate

just wonderin if those with more experience than i could share your thoughts on the quantity of oil - would/could the pcv put this much through the system?

the first photo shows upstream of the of the pcv (powdery, black, dry deposit coating the inside of the tube - but definitely not wet)

next few photos are of either side of the intercooler; puddle of oil in the bottom of the intercooler is about 1/4 mm deep - deep enough that i wiped my finger through it and the oil puddle equalised within a couple of seconds

couple of shots from underneath & engine bay showing the oil leaks.

thanks for any help

r's brynk

edit:
2.8 tdi
~10,000k on the clock, running avg 14.5 litres / 100k
turbo is either 180,000k (more likely) or 400,000k (less likely)

[turt51]

mine has done 375000klms and still going strong