ghohouston
Veteran Member
Just a tip, i pulled my turbo today to clean the vanes, again, for probably the 4th or 5th time this year. Kept getting 4th and 5th gear limp mode. I'd clean the vanes/turbo properly, everything would be good for a few weeks, then back to limp mode. I have been taking the car up over 4k rpms multiple times a day, and they were still sticking. My car does burn a good bit of oil, so i attributed that as my cause of the sticking vanes. Note that before today, i never saw any buildup other than really just normal looking carbon on the vanes.
So, i pull my turbo today, seperate the housings, and find only a small section with a hardened substance on the vnt ring/vanes. This section, when the turbo is mounted on the car, is roughly between the 10 p.m. and 10 a.m. position. My light bulb immediately went off. My valve cover has been leaking more than a little bit lately. I had not installed my new one yet due to a stripped bolt head. The oil had been making its way through the tiny air gap between the vnt lever and backing plate, into the exhaust housing, and to the vanes. Never would i have thought that small of a space would allow oil to enter the exhaust housing, but figured i would share, in case anyone is ever in the same boat i have been in, and verified proper function of all other components, but still or repeatedly getting limp mode.
So, i pull my turbo today, seperate the housings, and find only a small section with a hardened substance on the vnt ring/vanes. This section, when the turbo is mounted on the car, is roughly between the 10 p.m. and 10 a.m. position. My light bulb immediately went off. My valve cover has been leaking more than a little bit lately. I had not installed my new one yet due to a stripped bolt head. The oil had been making its way through the tiny air gap between the vnt lever and backing plate, into the exhaust housing, and to the vanes. Never would i have thought that small of a space would allow oil to enter the exhaust housing, but figured i would share, in case anyone is ever in the same boat i have been in, and verified proper function of all other components, but still or repeatedly getting limp mode.