Help! Jeep CRD Turbo Problems

Tyler E. · **Posted:** Mon Nov 28, 2011 8:00 am

I have had my jeep since it was new and didn't encounter a problem until 3 months ago until the first turbo "blew" (there was a loud pop noise then a bad grinding/ whining sound) so i limped it back to the house and started to look at it the first thing i had to remove was the air box, when i opened it up the filter was soaked with oil (i'm not sure if this is normal) but i did find out that oil was coming out of the turbo so not knowing much about a CRD i took it to my trusted diesel mechanic after ordering a new turbo, he installed and when we got it back we noticed that it made a louder whining noise but not a grinding noise and figured it had not been right since we bought the car and also it was not putting out black smoke while accelerating as much as it had before, but anyways it was fine for about 3 months until today when it "blew" again. The only thing i can come up with is that maybe the turbo isn't getting oil which would explain the louder whining noise on the second turbo, but if it was that i would not think it would have lasted 3 months of everyday driving.

What are the chances of buying a bad turbo vs having other major problems

Any thoughts are appreciated

racertracer · **Posted:** Mon Nov 28, 2011 8:55 am

Tyler E. wrote:

I have had my jeep since it was new and didn't encounter a problem until 3 months ago until the first turbo "blew" (there was a loud pop noise then a bad grinding/ whining sound) so i limped it back to the house and started to look at it the first thing i had to remove was the air box, when i opened it up the filter was soaked with oil (i'm not sure if this is normal) but i did find out that oil was coming out of the turbo so not knowing much about a CRD i took it to my trusted diesel mechanic after ordering a new turbo, he installed and when we got it back we noticed that it made a louder whining noise but not a grinding noise and figured it had not been right since we bought the car and also it was not putting out black smoke while accelerating as much as it had before, but anyways it was fine for about 3 months until today when it "blew" again. The only thing i can come up with is that maybe the turbo isn't getting oil which would explain the louder whining noise on the second turbo, but if it was that i would not think it would have lasted 3 months of everyday driving.

What are the chances of buying a bad turbo vs having other major problems

Any thoughts are appreciated

Did you remove any broken pieces that may have dropped in the oil pan from the failed turbo before you installed the new one.

i would have drained the oil twice and used a small magnet.

yrkcrd · **Posted:** Mon Nov 28, 2011 9:48 am

Any checked, and/ or replaced the oil feed line for the turbo, cleaned out all of the boost hoses.

What kind of oil are you running? Synthetic is a must in these engines.

Tyler E. · **Posted:** Mon Nov 28, 2011 9:54 am

I'm not sure what the mechanic did but when I said that it was "blown" I’m not sure if a bearing was just locked up or something else major, all I know is that it was making a terrible racket and could barely get above 35mph. This is why I think that something else major is going on especially since this is the second turbo to go.

And for the oil, i use the high dollar synthetic

Tyler E. · **Posted:** Mon Nov 28, 2011 9:26 pm

ok, so i took off the turbo and found that the spindle on the inside would spin freely but moves from side to side so i think it is another bearing. This turbo whined louder than the original since the install so i'm beginning to think it has something to do with oil flow or i just got a bad turbo.

We bought the turbo from turbo pros out of California, it was rebuilt and has a 1 year warranty, so it might just be a bad turbo from the get go since it didn't sound right since it was replaced.

racertracer · **Posted:** Tue Nov 29, 2011 4:01 am

Tyler E. wrote:

ok, so i took off the turbo and found that the spindle on the inside would spin freely but moves from side to side so i think it is another bearing. This turbo whined louder than the original since the install so i'm beginning to think it has something to do with oil flow or i just got a bad turbo.

We bought the turbo from turbo pros out of California, it was rebuilt and has a 1 year warranty, so it might just be a bad turbo from the get go since it didn't sound right since it was replaced.

X2

yrkcrd · **Posted:** Tue Nov 29, 2011 10:21 am

Tyler E. wrote:

ok, so i took off the turbo and found that the spindle on the inside would spin freely but moves from side to side so i think it is another bearing. This turbo whined louder than the original since the install so i'm beginning to think it has something to do with oil flow or i just got a bad turbo.

We bought the turbo from turbo pros out of California, it was rebuilt and has a 1 year warranty, so it might just be a bad turbo from the get go since it didn't sound right since it was replaced.

A "little" tiny bit of side to side play is normal as the bearing is what is called a journal bearing.

It essentially has a small void between the bearing itself and the housing and uses oil as the bearing itself.

So a little bit of play will be normal as this is the oil, but not an excessive amount.

I don't think that Garrett publishes any actual run out spec, or at least none that I have run across.

geordi · **Posted:** Tue Nov 29, 2011 12:42 pm

Garrett's answer is that these turbos CANNOT be rebuilt.

That said, I just replaced the main bearing in my spare turbo b/c it had developed side-to-side play (only a tiny bit) and had managed to just start contacting the housing. This is NOT something you want to have happen. Side to side play is not acceptable.

The bearing is a type of brass tube, and the center shaft is steel. If there is a lubrication problem, the bearing will be worn out and that is where the play will develop from.

I have not as yet has the time to re-install the repaired turbo, but I do know that if I hear any unusual noise from it - Its coming back out immediately. Loud noises from the turbo (at least in my experience) especially at idle are NOT NORMAL.

Tyler E. · **Posted:** Tue Nov 29, 2011 8:22 pm

yes, mine has enough side to side play to hit the housing and i can see where the fins have rubbed, which must be causing the horrible noise it was making.

geordi · **Posted:** Tue Nov 29, 2011 9:03 pm

That turbo is done then.

Obviously any contact to the housing is bad, but what it also indicates is that the center shaft has moved enough to also allow oil leaking while running. THIS CANNOT BE ALLOWED TO CONTINUE! The oil leak will be under FULL PRESSURE, and could very likely lead to your pistons starving for oil. If this happens... You will be on the road to buying a new engine.

If you have the ability to get a replacement from the place that you got this refurb unit from... Do it, but only as a temporary measure. I would suggest that you start saving money to get one of the Green Diesel turbo kits, he has a batch being customized for our engines currently.

Tyler E. · **Posted:** Thu Dec 01, 2011 10:08 pm

Here is the turbo a piece of the bolt on top of the fins is broken off and you can barely see in the picture but the fins are ground down

Now for a new problem one of the bolt studs on the exhaust manifold broke off half way out

Bad turbo + Broken bolt= Bad day

And by the way does anyone carry the manifold online?

geordi · **Posted:** Thu Dec 01, 2011 11:43 pm

Yuck, that sucks.

As for the manifold, you are in luck... Now. (Obviously not then!) I have one available from my original engine, and all the studs are intact. Hows $200 shipped sound? They apparently list for $300, but good luck on the availability.

As far as the turbo, that actually doesn't look too bad. Take the compressor housing off (10mm bolts around the back edge of that snail) and lets have a good look at that wheel. What you think might be "broken off" of a bolt... Isn't. The entire compressor wheel IS the nut, the missing piece is where they cut it to balance the wheel.

You will need to unbolt the vacuum actuator as well. Try to avoid unclipping the arm or changing its calibration (that little painted nut on the shaft) b/c that is part of the calibration for the turbo. Before you pop the snail apart, scribe a line across the seam with a sharpie so you have a witness mark to re-assemble it properly.

As far as the compressor wheel - It is a REVERSE THREAD onto the center shaft, and if you wrap a rag around it and the turbine wheel, you can unspin the compressor wheel to have a good look or rebuild the cartridge. Grab some more pics of the wheel itself and the inside of the snail, and I can give you more info about whether a rebuild might be possible. You might just get out of this for only a couple hundred, rather than $1200+. It depends on how much the housing / wheel contacted.

Tyler E. · **Posted:** Fri Dec 02, 2011 8:23 am

What is the possibility of either cutting off the stud and tapping a new one in or grinding a little bit of the turbo flange down so that the nut will screw all the way on (right now it screws about half way on) the flange seems plenty thick to grind down a little bit.

Just looking for another possibility before i go spending more money

GreenDieselEngineering · **Joined:** Sun Jun 07, 2009 5:10 pm **Posts:** 1111

You should be able to unthread the stud with a tool and just use a new double ended threaded stud. No need to replace the entire exhaust manifold. The turbo definitely looks shot.

Tyler E. · **Posted:** Fri Dec 02, 2011 9:30 pm

Thanks for the idea of replacing the stud saved a lot of time and money and i didn't even have to take the manifold off.

EZ-Outs, penetrating oil and an impact gun works wonders!!!

geordi · **Posted:** Fri Dec 02, 2011 10:14 pm

Keith: *(&%$(%*%Q(@$&^$%@#&^!#!!!!! (Translated: DRAT! I was all set to get rid of that spare manifold I have)

Yea... I'm happy for you (really) that you were able to get the buggered stud out. Advance Auto has replacements that are based on grade-8 bolts, so this shouldn't happen again on that stud. Thread it in finger-tight, then lock down the nut wrench-tight... But don't be a gorilla, mmmkay?

I disagree with Keith about the turbo FOR NOW, simply b/c my own scraped turbo looked worse down-the-throat and right now I believe it could be a good candidate for re-installation after having been rebuilt. I will reserve judgement on yours until I see what the rest of that wheel looks like, and the inside of the snail where it contacted.

If there is a big gouge where it contacted, and parts of the wheel are gone... Then I know someone who has a full center cartridge that they could sell you, to go with the outer housings, again depending on damage. I was contemplating that cartridge, but as of right now, I do not need it and do not expect to in the future.

Tyler E. · **Posted:** Sat Dec 03, 2011 9:48 am

I don't think i am going to rebuild the turbo right now since is is covered under warranty and they are going to ship me a new one but if they don't ask for the old one back i might as well rebuild it.

geordi · **Posted:** Sun Dec 04, 2011 12:56 am

Whose warranty? Mopar?

If it is a Mopar or equivalent vehicle warranty, then don't let them tell you anything different about the turbo - There is NO CORE CHARGE on that, Garrett doesn't want the old ones back and they will only supply new turbos. You should be able to request in writing that you want all dead parts returned to you, including the turbo.

Glad its covered, that is a nice thing to have. If you do get it back, the rebuild kit I bought was from BAE systems and was like $70 with shipping. Not too bad for a gamble, I'd say.

Tyler E. · **Posted:** Sun Dec 04, 2011 9:45 am

I bought the turbo from turbo pros out of California and my mechanic put the second one on so the warranty is from turbo pros not the dealer and i am doing the work myself this time due to $$$ and the fact that the warranty doesn't cover labor.

Help! Jeep CRD Turbo Problems

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