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 Post subject: Turbo musings
PostPosted: Fri Jan 07, 2022 1:53 pm 
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Joined: Tue Oct 16, 2007 10:54 pm
Posts: 55
Location: 05201 w/ a DRBIII
Background: I bought this thing in the summer of 2007 with 7900 miles on it. I've always put Rotella T6 and WIX filter in at the 3,xxx mile reminder interval. In October of 2007 it got a new warranty turbo (I think because a glow plug tip went through the exhaust turbine and ripped off a couple vanes) but otherwise I've been doing everything possible along the way to generally keep it running well.

Anyway, now at 162,xxx miles I'm having real turbo issues, so thought I'd post up some info for consideration. It started with not being able to floor it for long periods of time (over 4-5 seconds) without throwing a P0234 code and going into limp mode. One cold day it started up and was billowing white smoke like crazy. Drove off and 1/2-1/3 mile down the road it cleared up. Happened a couple of other random times, but not consistently. Then it started throwing both P0299 and P0234 at the same time just cruising around town. Checked all the typical suspects, MAP, vac solenoid, vac modulator, filter, hoses, all fine. The turbo vacuum actuator arm could only move up and down about 1/4" or so. Tried doing the "Italian tune-up" routine at a local rural road that goes up a mountain. With the DRB I would clear 3 limp modes on one pass up the mountain. Must have done that for 3-4 runs up the hill. Didn't fix it. Pulled hoses off enough to grab the intake impeller stud and could wiggle it and it would make a noise like a "click", and the rod still didn't have range of motion.

Now I have the thing apart (with a new upgraded Sasquatch turbo on the way) and have made a few observations. Wiggling the impeller, it can go side to side radially from housing wall to housing wall, and it has axial play as well. The bearing system is shot for sure. Took it apart and inside the bearing cartridge stunk something horrible, probably burnt oil. There is a heavy thick oil paste coating the interior compressor housing, and there is residue inside the CAC hose, all probably due to the seals failing from the bearing wear. The hard oil supply line had a "burn" spot right where it passed vertically by the exhaust manifold. I think the oil in the supply line gets cooked right there. The metal tube had a very dark rusty patch right there facing the manifold. In an attempt to fix this situation, I sandblasted the tube, powder coated it, and sleeved it with a high temperature braided sleeve.
Image

Then, I looked into why the VNT actuator wouldn't work. Took the cast exhaust housing off the cartridge, and found the area where the actuator finger, VNT fingers, and common actuation ring were was full of crud. This is an area that is a bit of a "dead end" where exhaust does not flow through, but can allow accumulation of crusty crud to build up and stop the movement of the mechanism. The VNT fingers were encased in crud. The vane side of the that assembly where the exhaust flows was relatively clean (just dry soot, expected of an exhaust surface) and clearly not the cause of the problem. No amount of high RPM runs was going to fix this. You can see the crud I'm talking about under the turbine wheel that I didn't clean off. That is in the same chamber as the VNT fingers and ring.
Image

Just for grins, I took the VNT assembly out and sandblasted the whole thing, and it's as free as a bird now. With this chamber design, it seems this sort of thing could happen again, with no remedy other than full disassembly and internal cleaning. If you took the exhaust pipe off and shot oven cleaner in there, it's still not getting into the finger chamber. I think I'm going to take the new turbo apart when I get it and high temp Cerakote those parts.
Image

Somehow, I'd like to improve upon this design while I have it all apart.

_________________
06 KJ Limited CRD
mod airbox
EHM
Mishimoto hoses
Weeks Stage1+2
Yeti stage 2 ECM
GDE ECO TCM
FTC billet TC
Transgo kit
no mech fan
Cummins lift pump
2.5" catback
OME 790/948 springs
JBA top plate and UCAs
2 upper rear insulators
Bilstein 24-139168 front 24-186704 rear
255/70R16
1.25" wheelspacers
SkidRow engine plate


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 Post subject: Re: Turbo musings
PostPosted: Fri Jan 07, 2022 2:34 pm 
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Location: Central GA
Just a thought; is your EGR valve blocked off or totally removed? :?:
Your signature does not list and you did not say.
Also, what weight oil have you been running, just curious?

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 Post subject: Re: Turbo musings
PostPosted: Fri Jan 07, 2022 4:59 pm 
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Joined: Tue Oct 16, 2007 10:54 pm
Posts: 55
Location: 05201 w/ a DRBIII
The whole EGR/FCV system has been totally gone for a long time with the Weeks 1+2.
The Rotella T6 has been 5W-40.

After the new Sasquatch turbo came in, I powder coated the compressor housing, coated the VNT/arm mechanism and actuation ring in Cerakote "micro slick" (gray color), and coated the turbine housing in oven cured high temperature Cerakote. Hopefully this helps to keep the build-up of nasties to a minimum. The high temp sleeve protection of the oil supply line has got to help some too. We'll see.

Image

Image

Image

Looking up from below for the oil line routing
Image

_________________
06 KJ Limited CRD
mod airbox
EHM
Mishimoto hoses
Weeks Stage1+2
Yeti stage 2 ECM
GDE ECO TCM
FTC billet TC
Transgo kit
no mech fan
Cummins lift pump
2.5" catback
OME 790/948 springs
JBA top plate and UCAs
2 upper rear insulators
Bilstein 24-139168 front 24-186704 rear
255/70R16
1.25" wheelspacers
SkidRow engine plate


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 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Turbo musings
PostPosted: Tue Jan 18, 2022 10:30 am 
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Joined: Tue Oct 16, 2007 10:54 pm
Posts: 55
Location: 05201 w/ a DRBIII
Also, found that the flange on the oil return line where it bolts to the turbo was not at all flat. The ears were bent down, pulling the center section (the area that you want to seal) away from the turbo surface. That needed to be hand filed to be a flat and consistent surface for any hope of sealing that flange gasket in there.

_________________
06 KJ Limited CRD
mod airbox
EHM
Mishimoto hoses
Weeks Stage1+2
Yeti stage 2 ECM
GDE ECO TCM
FTC billet TC
Transgo kit
no mech fan
Cummins lift pump
2.5" catback
OME 790/948 springs
JBA top plate and UCAs
2 upper rear insulators
Bilstein 24-139168 front 24-186704 rear
255/70R16
1.25" wheelspacers
SkidRow engine plate


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject: Re: Turbo musings
PostPosted: Wed Jan 19, 2022 1:15 am 
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Joined: Fri Oct 16, 2015 11:31 pm
Posts: 279
Uncaged, the coking up of the adjuster fingers is common on other diesels too. Early 2000's VW TDI had a similar problem. New turbos were often the prescribed fix, but for the daring there was the oven cleaner fix. You got access to the exhaust side of the turbo (both ends as I recall) and filled it with oven cleaner from a can; let it sit a while; then hose it out. You repeated this until the actuator would move freely (you could try moving the actuator some too, to help break the crud at each refill). Years ago I actually did this fix on a TDI of mine. Worked for another 30k miles or so until I sold the car.

Of course this won't do anything to help loose bearings or leaky seals in the turbo, as it sounds like you had. But I thought this "fix" was an innovative idea for the adjusting fingers sooting up.

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 Post subject: Re: Turbo musings
PostPosted: Wed Jan 26, 2022 5:22 pm 
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Joined: Tue Oct 16, 2007 10:54 pm
Posts: 55
Location: 05201 w/ a DRBIII
The clever idea of oven cleaner shot into the exhaust side of the turbo makes sense to clean the area of the vanes. The way this turbo is constructed, the finger area is in another chamber. There is a washer behind the turbine wheel that seals the finger chamber off from the exhaust chamber. It's certainly worth a try with some oven cleaner if desperate, but I would seal off the inlet flange side of the turbo, otherwise the cleaner will just flow into the manifold (and into any open exhaust valves) and won't have much time to seep into the finger chamber, which I would think you would want filled to be effective.

BTW, loved my Golf ALH!

_________________
06 KJ Limited CRD
mod airbox
EHM
Mishimoto hoses
Weeks Stage1+2
Yeti stage 2 ECM
GDE ECO TCM
FTC billet TC
Transgo kit
no mech fan
Cummins lift pump
2.5" catback
OME 790/948 springs
JBA top plate and UCAs
2 upper rear insulators
Bilstein 24-139168 front 24-186704 rear
255/70R16
1.25" wheelspacers
SkidRow engine plate


Top
 Profile  
 
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