Turbo Death Howl. options?

We'll it just happened. The cars been smoking a bit lately so i was wondering if the turbo was on the way out, then just now while i was getting on the freeway it popped an over boost code and started howling like a dieing cat.
The car is an 04 Jetta with a bew. The po put a Garrett 778445-0001 GT1749V and had it tuned. Anyone know if that thing can be rebuilt? Any chance a VNT- 17 is close enough in size to work with the tune. Or should i just bite the bullet and buy the same turbo?

Before giving up on the turbo I'd look for a boost leak. Loose pipes (intercooler entrance and at the EGR valve are top contenders), cracked intercooler, or a broken EGR cooler pipe (look for soot between the engine and the firewall). You may also have a failing flex pipe in the exhaust.

VNT-17 is a great option. It would probably work with the tune, but you'd have to find out more about what's in the car. Re-tuning, if necessary, shouldn't be a problem.

Well i pulled a few section of charge pipe, and the intercooler to find a bunch of oil. I cleaned it out and put it back together hoping the turbo might last the week. But, it didn't. I got on the interstate this morning to start my morning commute, about 10 minutes in the death howl came back and then a smoke screen James Bond would have been proud of started pouring out my exhaust. I have to admit it was pretty spectacular. In any case im pretty sure the turbo is finished. Now im debating between a new Garrett or getting the ecu flashed back and going stock. Anyone know if Kerma or Malone have a back to stock tune? There's nothing on their web site.

Yes they can go back to stock, but I'm pretty sure you'll have to pay again to have it returned.

New VNT-17 and new stock replacement turbos cost about the same.

Before you go much further on that engine you might want to run a quick compression check... if you have that much smoke chances are the turbo seal let go enough to inject liquid oil into the intake. When that happens it only takes a couple of tablespoons to bend a rod or two.

Hopefully not, but if it's happened it might help you decide how much to dig into your actual turbo issue without factoring in the requirement for bottom end work as well.

Unfortunately, turbos can leave a trail of destruction when they pop.

Vince Waldon said:

Before you go much further on that engine you might want to run a quick compression check... if you have that much smoke chances are the turbo seal let go enough to inject liquid oil into the intake. When that happens it only takes a couple of tablespoons to bend a rod or two.
Hopefully not, but if it's happened it might help you decide how much to dig into your actual turbo issue without factoring in the requirement for bottom end work as well.
Unfortunately, turbos can leave a trail of destruction when they pop.

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Thanks Vance,
I didn't even think about that. From the way that thing was smoking I'm sure there was a significant amount of oil in the intake.
I was eyeing a compression tester at Harbor Freight the other day but I try not to buy diagnostic tools there. My general rule is to never buy anything with a gauge, a screen or that goes click at Harbor Freight. Anyone had a different experience? It would be handy to be able to pick one up tonight and do a quick check.

Yup, I'm with you... and HF and the like are a mixed bag, but the good news is that in this case you're more interested in finding one or two cylinders that are significantly lower than the rest... as opposed to a very accurate absolute number that you can take to the bank.

In situations like this, I think it's fair to say many folks do OK with the HF compression gauge.

IndigoBlueWagon said:

New VNT-17 and new stock replacement turbos cost about the same.

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I have a buddy that has a used BorgWarner bv39a that he'll sell to me on the cheap.
For close to the same money I can either buy a new VNT-17 and hope that it works with the backyard tune that came with the car. Or I can get the used BW from my buddy and load a stage 1 tune from Malone.
Normally I wouldn't trust a used turbo but in this case I know its history and can verify that it has less than 3000 miles on it.

If it makes you feel better, I've used harbor freights diesel compression tester. Other than the Schrader valve that came with it failed, it's worked no issues.

A GT1749V is an ALH VNT15. If its already plumbed for it then I would go back to a VNT15.

Nero Morg said:

If it makes you feel better, I've used harbor freights diesel compression tester. Other than the Schrader valve that came with it failed, it's worked no issues.

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Thanks, that does make me feel better.
I picked up a compression tester on the way home from work. The results were:
1- 360 psi
2- 370 psi
3- 355 psi
4- 355 psi
The numbers are a little low but i did the test on a cold engine, and (depending on who you ask) they're still within the wear limit.
I think Ive decided to go back to the stock turbo and get a stage 1 Malone tune. Mostly because i have my suspicions about the tune thats on the car. It would regularly boost up to 24 psi during regular driving. I suspect that may have contributed to the turbos early death.

If it truly had a Vnt15 (vnt1749v) on it, 24psi is WAY TOO MUCH for it. Just make sure you specify to the tuner that you have a 3bar map installed (if you actually do) otherwise you'll run into other issues. Good luck, and motor on.

I had bad luck with the Harbor Freight compression testers. I returned 4 of them. They would stop reading anything at all. May have been the valve.