Turbo died finally? Vid inside. Please help

hmm. thats very interesting. I didnt think our elevation was significant at all. thats good to know! thanks for that.


ive got a bit of an emotional attachment to this car I guess. done a few custom things to it, and I hate change so ill probably keep dumping money into er to keep it alive forever as economically stupid as that may be.... gotta pay to play I guess! ive done 140,000km on it so far with relatively no maintenance so its time I pay my dues I must admit. fix er up and squeeze another 200,000km out of her before the next $3000 rebuild comes along.

selling it and buying someone elses lemon that has its small quirks that annoy me, as well as its own major parts also approaching the end of their life just isnt worth the stress. at least I know the maintenance and abuse (or lack of) that my current car has seen. its been good to me so I may as well be good back to it and give it some lovin, and a few thousand dollars.

now that I know about Frans and his TDI post with parts/prices I will be doing most of my shopping through him. his prices really seem too good to be true. might catch a break once in a while buying from him compared to locally. kinda mad at myself for not ordering through him initially, but time is an issue. 5 days response time and 2 weeks shipping is too long for the bind im in right now. hopefully the next part I can get from him. I feel like my fueling system is next to go.

(post was made before you replied Fouillard13, I knew it )

Driving the vehicle you prefer may never make economic sense at the end of its life. Having the vehicle live beyond it's own means or yours is up to you.

My B4 Passat has been in that position almost 8 years now. But I prefer it over many new vehicle options. When it gets to this place, are you seeing it creating extra value? Profiting from using it still instead of getting something else?

Will I replace a bad turbo even if it costs me more than the car is "worth"? Yes.

Will I do a timing belt job? Yes because that is maintenance, albeit a long one that people want to turn into some special expensive cost despite it being for 100k (60k for me) miles.


Priorities change, and not everyone can wrench like they used to, or now suddenly they can. Dumping a car because it needs maintenance and a turbo that's lived it's life is silly in my non humble opinion.

Dump it because you want something new and pay the price.

haha im a quick replier.. doesnt help im stuck at home on the computer all day!

youre totally right. its just easier to keep this one going. less stress although more money. grey hairs and a heart attack at the age of 25... I dont need anymore stress in my life!! I must love it though and am a sucker for punishment as I bought a VW TDI, thats for sure.

now its just to decide whether you run stuff till it blows and take a risk, or change it out beforehand... hmmm. my 80,000 mile timing belt has 81,000 miles right now!!!

I’d suggest you bite the bullet and get that belt done before doing anything else. Would suck to do a bunch of work for a bunch of money just to have that let go on you.

what exactly does it take out? lets the piston his the valves and basically just wrecks the valves and needs a head rebuild? doesnt hurt the pistons or rods?

its on the list to be done. I plan on only doing 5000km at the most before im ready to bite that bullet... wish me luck!! are those kits good for 80, or 100,000 miles?

If parts of the valve fall into the cylinder you can also get piston and cylinder damage along with the head damage. Just depends. Don't let it happen. It is better to be proactive with maintenance so as not to stop you in your tracks like you are now. It also helps to have a $500 car around to change over to when maintenance is required or you have issues. Get your brother to help find one for you.

timing belt is going to get done ASAP... if the turbo ever gets done that is!


we (he) picked up another Jeep liberty yesterday for $400. had a VERY bad ball joint, drove it an hour home just fine and hes been cruising around all day in it today. all new ball joints in it is $80 and hell probably get 10,000km out of it!!!!

flee said:

A plate that thin would never seal on its own. Did you sandwich it with the EGR?
Either way it could have loosened up and started leaking.

Click to expand...

Ding ding ding we got a winner!!!

Turns out my turbo is fine and my homemade egr plate failed. I had a funny feeling that happened as the sound sure seemed to be coming from there. I could also smell exhaust gasses in the car as I was driving.... same thing as 2014 when that lower egr tube first failed. What a relief. Apparently the proper plates are 7mm thick whereas my plate was like .7mm!!! I’ll have some pics shortly. Cars pretty much ready to go!

Total blessing in disguise. Now I can get a Frans turbo which is a way smarter move and with the money I saved on this repair I’ll either buy a timing belt, or go party with girls in Calgary all weekend hmmmm.




















Jk. I’ll get the timing belt kit!!

LOL, glad it was simple and cheap! Don't bother getting a turbo until you need one, It'll let you know, maybe without warning though (the impeller on mine blew apart randomly while shifting into second under fairly normal acceleration). But if you have boost and not losing oil, don't worry about it.


The belt is likely good for 160k kms, but the water pump/rollers may not be. I limit mine to 120-140 just to be safe, so yeah, get it done...

It looks like you had a stroke of luck.
Did you inspect the cam?
Is the rest of the non engine related maintenance caught up?
Put a TB kit in it.

Change all the fluids such as transmission differential, brakes, and power steering. This will pay off in the long run.

yeah but I imagine with 330,000 km, at 1000M altitude, and plenty of towing the last 100,000km. the turbo doesnt have a ton of life left anyways.


cam wasnt inspected, but you can hear it popping through the intake tube when removed. I knew that about 10,000km ago. thats next on the list along with a head refresh and timing belt kit.


clutch was just replaced, but the other fluids havnt been touched in 15 years. those are also on the "to do asap" list. I will see if he can do those real quick before releasing the car to me.


thanks for the tips!

cars done, im getting it back tomorrow. he didnt have time to change any fluids, and its taking too long as it is so ill leave that for next time.


price seems too good to be true... for the block off plate, I assume 1-2 hours of his time diagnosing and messing around, AND a new OEM thermostat + install is $105 CAD.... so about $70 USD for all that. how can that be? either way, im not complaining! more money for the next bill I guess.

are any of the fluids easily changed? Id imagine I can tackle the diff myself. not sure how to do the other stuff though but im sure its not complicated and im pretty mechanically inclined. I rebuild 2 and 4 stroke dirtbike motors all the time so im sure I can do a fluid change in the car. or does it require special tools and a bunch of weird techniques? or is it as easy as removing a drain plug and topping back off?

I’m back. 324,000 km and I went into limp mode today. Turbo overboost it’s saying. Got a guy that’s gonna look tonight but this was the straw that broke the camels back

Funny enough, an hour after it went into limp mode, my buddy messages me saying “Roberts mom has a 05 tdi with 180,000 km that he wants $2000 for... how much can I sell it for”. SOLD! I told him to buy it and I’ll give him $2500. Tdi. Standard. Leather. Needs a timing belt, but then again so does mine... as well as a cam, and head work, and a turbo, and probably injectors soon.

So, I’m glad to say I’m gonna get mine outta limp mode, sell it for cheap, and buy the 05 with 150,000 less km for about what I’ll sell mine for. I bought my 04 with 170,000 for $5500! So $2500 is a steal for the exact same car. Throw a skid plate on it and maybe take my frost heater and be done with it.

So when were you going to inspect the car? Are you and the seller frIends with Robert or his mom? Either Robert and his mom are ignorant of the value of the car, just want to get rid of it or know there are issues that make the car only worth 2000, maybe less. There are many ways for someone to be unhappy. This would include the middleman who buys and then you pass on the car because of condition.

Inspect the car before any money changes hands. Maybe buy directly from Robert's mom and throw your buddy a finders fee. You know these people. Do something you can live with and nobody will be pissed.

they just dont know what the car is worth, and also hurting for money right now. my buddy is gonna go look at the car today while im out of town. when im back in town im gonna go see too. there are no other potential buyers so theres no rush. im gonna install a skid plate and swap my frost heater over as well as do a timing belt, which I will help use to bring the price down as its a legitimate concern.

as far as my POS with 324,000km... the guy said its my vanes sticking in the turbo. hes going to oven cleaner it tonight and go from there for $80.