Exhaust Manifold / Turbo Upgrade or replacement 2007 V10 Touareg

Jesus Is Lord

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Joined
Jan 24, 2014
Location
Hersey, MI
TDI
2005 Passat TDI Wagon 144,000 2003 Eurovan VR6 2007 Touareg V10 TDI 158,000
I purchased a 2007 Volkswagen Touareg with a V10 TDI. The camshafts and lifters were quite worn, so those are getting replaced. After further inspection, I found both exhaust manifolds were cracked on the cylinders furthest to the rear of the vehicle. I am considering replacing both turbos, as one is getting a little loose, but still would work good for a while at least.

Question, what do you think about welding / or replacing the exhaust manifolds? They seem quite common to crack, so it may be more prudent to install updated, or modified components.

Do you know if the 2.5 TDI exhaust manifolds with (I am not sure what turbos) would fit in the Touareg?

Thanks
Levi
 

Dsmart

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Dec 3, 2008
Location
Sudbury
TDI
2004 Jetta TDI Wagon
There is a guy somewhere in Europe who was making tubular manifolds but I was never able to get ahold of him. I had cracked exhaust manifolds on mine but ended up buying used ones as the new ones were just to $$ at the time. For the cost of the labour involved new ones are probably the way to go. Really tough to weld these although some have had success.
 

Fourdiesel

Veteran Member
Joined
May 19, 2003
Location
SW Wash. USA
TDI
'04 Touareg V10 TDI
I purchased a 2007 Volkswagen Touareg with a V10 TDI. The camshafts and lifters were quite worn, so those are getting replaced. After further inspection, I found both exhaust manifolds were cracked on the cylinders furthest to the rear of the vehicle. I am considering replacing both turbos, as one is getting a little loose, but still would work good for a while at least.

Question, what do you think about welding / or replacing the exhaust manifolds? They seem quite common to crack, so it may be more prudent to install updated, or modified components.

Do you know if the 2.5 TDI exhaust manifolds with (I am not sure what turbos) would fit in the Touareg?


Thanks
Levi
I am almost certain that the exhaust manifold (s) from a 2.5 TDI CANNOT be made to work on the V10. On either bank.
Once the original exhaust manifolds are off it MIGHT be possible to find a really good welding shop that can weld the cracks and not warp the castings too much - but success is not assured.
If one of the turbos is 'loose' [I assume in a radial direction] it has failed for all intents and purposes. You don't need the risk later on of the rotor rubbing where it shouldn't and failing under high load. Very unpleasant. And if one turbo is loose the other is probably not far behind. Take the opportunity to get the turbos rebuilt while the engine is out for the other stuff.
 

Jesus Is Lord

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 24, 2014
Location
Hersey, MI
TDI
2005 Passat TDI Wagon 144,000 2003 Eurovan VR6 2007 Touareg V10 TDI 158,000
There is a guy somewhere in Europe who was making tubular manifolds but I was never able to get ahold of him. I had cracked exhaust manifolds on mine but ended up buying used ones as the new ones were just to $$ at the time. For the cost of the labour involved new ones are probably the way to go. Really tough to weld these although some have had success.
Thank you for the reply. I will look into new ones, although I know there cost is very high. I know of at least three good welders that I will hopefully call and ask about it.
 

Jesus Is Lord

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 24, 2014
Location
Hersey, MI
TDI
2005 Passat TDI Wagon 144,000 2003 Eurovan VR6 2007 Touareg V10 TDI 158,000
I am almost certain that the exhaust manifold (s) from a 2.5 TDI CANNOT be made to work on the V10. On either bank.
Once the original exhaust manifolds are off it MIGHT be possible to find a really good welding shop that can weld the cracks and not warp the castings too much - but success is not assured.
If one of the turbos is 'loose' [I assume in a radial direction] it has failed for all intents and purposes. You don't need the risk later on of the rotor rubbing where it shouldn't and failing under high load. Very unpleasant. And if one turbo is loose the other is probably not far behind. Take the opportunity to get the turbos rebuilt while the engine is out for the other stuff.
Thank you also for the reply.

I agree, the 2.5 TDI manifolds will probably not work, at least without extensive modification.

Welding is an option, I just don't know if it would be likely to crack again.

The turbo is a little loose in the radial direction. Hopefully both turbos will either get rebuilt and upgraded or replaced with stock turbos.
 

Fourdiesel

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Joined
May 19, 2003
Location
SW Wash. USA
TDI
'04 Touareg V10 TDI
I'd recommend rebuilding with stock components. IMO pushing the boost doesn't give enough benefit to warrant the extra effort.
As with any turbo - the rule of thumb is that if you can 'feel' ANY radial movement, the bearings need to be replaced and the shaft measured for wear. As long as there is no rubbing or wear on the vanes there is no need to replace anything else.
 

Jesus Is Lord

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2005 Passat TDI Wagon 144,000 2003 Eurovan VR6 2007 Touareg V10 TDI 158,000
I'd recommend rebuilding with stock components. IMO pushing the boost doesn't give enough benefit to warrant the extra effort.
As with any turbo - the rule of thumb is that if you can 'feel' ANY radial movement, the bearings need to be replaced and the shaft measured for wear. As long as there is no rubbing or wear on the vanes there is no need to replace anything else.
Thank you.

I was under the impression that getting it rebuilt to a hybrid turbo with bigger thrust bearings would increase turbo life and boost (with a tune). Would you agree or no?
 

Blownvette

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1990 Corvette with V10TDI ,2004 (2)V10TDI’s
Thank you.
I was under the impression that getting it rebuilt to a hybrid turbo with bigger thrust bearings would increase turbo life and boost (with a tune). Would you agree or no?
That may be true on other VW tdi’s but the Touareg should be replaced with stock new, or rebuilt stock turbos unless you are looking to experiment with the unknown.

There is more flexibility to put in different types of turbos if you are not restricted to the space available in the Touareg and are more easily able to swap turbos... in my case I would not consider anything but stock turbos in the Touareg. The available tunes are sufficient for the platform.

At close to 6000 pounds too much power will find the weak spots quickly in the drivetrain. I have both my 2004 Touaregs tuned and they are monsters. I am doing a stage two tune on the one that just had new stock turbos installed only because I don’t drive it much and want it to feel different than my other 2004.

I had a 100k miles on stock turbo with a tune without issues. The turbos were replaced due to a cracked manifold and a engine out refresh. I expect 100k and 10 years before I have to do anything else to the engine.
 

Fourdiesel

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Joined
May 19, 2003
Location
SW Wash. USA
TDI
'04 Touareg V10 TDI
Thank you.

I was under the impression that getting it rebuilt to a hybrid turbo with bigger thrust bearings would increase turbo life and boost (with a tune). Would you agree or no?
Disagree. I haven't heard anything at all about turbo thrust bearing failures in this engine/turbo combination. As long as the correct SYNTHETIC oil is always used so that the bearings remain lubricated the life of these units is indefinite.
On the other hand, if there is a tune, and the tuner doesn't know exactly what he is doing, it is possible to tune in such a way that the compressor wheel stalls aerodynamically. GUARANTEED FAIL! FAST!
As Blownvette said - most turbos are replaced not because they failed but because the engine was out for other issues and there was a bit of play in the shaft - is as a precaution since it a big PITA to replace them if one does break.
 

Jesus Is Lord

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2005 Passat TDI Wagon 144,000 2003 Eurovan VR6 2007 Touareg V10 TDI 158,000
Thank you both for the replies. I will definitely look into getting stock turbos.

I thought it would be an advantage to get hybrid turbos, but if the stock turbos will get the job done reliably, then there would be no need to change them.

I will do some research before I make a final decision. Hopefully, a 400 hp tune will be possible, but that may be too much.
 

Jesus Is Lord

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Joined
Jan 24, 2014
Location
Hersey, MI
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2005 Passat TDI Wagon 144,000 2003 Eurovan VR6 2007 Touareg V10 TDI 158,000
Update for you guys.

I have new camshafts, lifters, and bearings installed from Frank Irving. I had both turbochargers rebuilt to factory specifications, and am installing alot of new seals and misc parts.

Have a great evening.
Thank you for all of your help.
 
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