PD blowing Turbo hose off

Okay, this was my first TB job on a PD engine. It is an '04 with 121k miles on it... ran fine, no issues! I've known this guy and his wife all of my adult life...

I did everything according to the Bentley Manual and the Sticky(s) here in the club.

I used the proper tools, etc. Set cam and crank with those tools. TB, roller, tensioner, coolant pump, etc., went on fine.

Engine starts, idles, torsion is at -0.5 (same spot before the TB job).

Anyway, on test drive (no WOT), before I shifted to second gear it blew the turbo hose off at the pan cake pipe on the small end. Simple, maybe I just didn't install the clip properly. Reattached the hose then took it for another test drive, blew the hose off at the turbo............

I have checked for obstructions .... nothing!

So, what's going on?

When it was apart you get oil between the hose and the pipe?

Try cleaning it all off with brake cleaner and then using hairspray to put the connections together. Just like the grips on the handlebars of a bike the hairspray dries and makes the rubber stick better.

Yeah, but the PD engine (BEW) uses Horse-shoe style clips and O-rings. But, yes, everything is pretty oily!

I did the hairspray thingy on my ALH in the Vanagon ... worked great! Did it in a parking lot in Maine after a Tune at the TDI feast last September.

AndyBees said:

Yeah, but the PD engine (BEW) uses Horse-shoe style clips and O-rings. But, yes, everything is pretty oily!

I did the hairspray thingy on my ALH in the Vanagon ... worked great! Did it in a parking lot in Maine after a Tune at the TDI feast last September.

Click to expand...

Oh huh. Magic stuff.

Sometimes those sort of clips have one side cut at an angle so you can click the tubes together without removing the spring clip from the female connector.

Got the ramped side facing the proper way?

Yeah, they have a hook that fits a certain way in the plastic. Also, I never removed the end that connects to the Turbo during the TB job ....... very puzzling!

I'm sitting here waiting on the engine to cool down. I plan to clean everything with brake cleaner and put it back together. I did pop the TB cover to make sure the tensioner was still spot-on! Just fine there. The engine fires up just fine. Idles just fine and the Measuring Blocks in VCDS show all functions to be within spec.

No DTCs either.

Well, I cleaned everything with brake cleaner. Also, looks as if I may not be getting them to lock together properly. I'm not sure what was going on at the Turbo end. I took a file and cut the two notchs in the metal pipe a little deeper... I cannot pull it apart now.

I'm going take this thing for a test drive ......

Results will be posted tomorrow! Good night!

Worked just fine.........

I had all sorts of issues with the stock setup after it was taken apart- changing all the orings to a slightly larger one did the trick for me. I've also read that simply replacing them with new versions of the 'stock' part works well. I used NAPA oring 1108 (thermostat oring of some sort), but had to lube them and squeeze the sections together with pliers. 30+psi with no problems (also installed set screws at the intake connection).

i hate those clip-style IC connections... total junk and totally annoying IMO. regular hose clamps and plain beaded-end pipes is cheaper, easier, and stronger. makes no sense to me...

Gforce1108, I thought about new O-rings but "time" is an issue with my circumstances. I took the job as a favor for the guy. I'm trying to get ready for a road trip to Alaska. So, I set aside a couple of days to work on his car (other items besides TB). The set screw is a good idea.

Yeah, I agree with you burpod. The set-up is junk. Leaks oil at all those joints.

Wow! Driving that thing for about 11 miles with the Turbo hose off made an oily mess. I suspect with no back pressure, the Turbo seal on the compressor side really dumps the oil. When I first torn it down for the TB job, there was very little oil in the bottom of the InterCooler.

Oh, well, it was a whole new experience for me! ..... and, I like the pep of the PD engine. That is the first one I've driven! ... Do I see a PD BEW in a future Vanagon? Maybe!

Necro-thread but this happened to me today. Driving a 180k mile PD and the hose blew off the turbo. Reinstalled it, it blew off again. Reinstalled it, and I could pull it off by hand The two tabs on the hose were completely worn off, so there was nothing for the clip to grab. I think they just wore away over the miles and picked that moment to let go.

I got to my dealership (Flow VW in Charlottesville) and... incredibly... they had a new one in stock. I fixed it in the parking lot with a pair of Robo-grip pliers (for the spring clamp at the other end) and was on my way, $125 or so poorer but FIXED, like, within two hours of it happening. They didn't have a new clip in stock and there was some wear on that one so they are getting me a new one.

If I hadn't been able to get a new hose I would have removed the clip and secured the hose flange to the turbo with screws at the openings, as a stop-gap measure. Maybe added some safety wire or something.

When it happened, the car smoked a lot until the CEL came on and then I could feel a change in the way the car ran and the smoke stopped. Next time I started it, the CEL was still there but the smoke was back for a few minutes, then it stopped. Clearly the ECU concludes that the turbo system is faulty and changes the fuelling to adapt. I'm surprised it took as long as it did.

Talk about a loss of power. It had MAYBE the power of our old Rabbit diesel, which was I think 52? I could do 75+ on the highway but accelerating from a stop was pretty painful.

I had to replace the small hose between the IC and the pancake pipe because the barbs had worn down. I find it easier to work at it from the front of the vehicle, in front of the tire.

When I installed my upgraded turbo my c-clip pancake end blew out on the first near full throttle test. I was afraid my new turbo may have died... it didn't. I went home re-assembled the pipe and it blew out again. At that point I searched for a suggestion and an easy resolution, screw it. Two screws and problem solved. Some comments regarding the fact that the hose is expensive were noticed. Ten minutes and ten cents worth of screws, and it will never blow off again. Believe me I tried to get it to disjoint but it did not. What did not make sense to me is the tune did not change and that hose had never blown apart before...

Vespa mod for hose clips

Continual (10+ years worth) of pressure and release with each shift can 'inflate' and deflate the hose enough that the retention nub on the hose end wears at the clip contact point.
I've bent the clip to more of a 'wasp-waist' where it fits in the tube slot to catch on the formed metal nubs. This allows the clip to engage a bit more of the nub length and make it less likely to jump than when the clip held just the center peak of the nub.

it's less the expansion and contraction than it is the rocking of the engine back and forth on it's mounts ... when under pressure the barbs are pushed against the clips and the soft aluminum barbs sacrifice themselves to the hard stainless clip as this slight rotation takes place ... and this takes place on the same rotational plane as engine torque ... as mentioned above two small allen screws threaded into the spot previously occupied by the barbs then carefully shaped into a wedge via a grinder or dremel will provide a lifetime of worry free holding

The screw mod did not work on my upper EGR hose after many, many attempts. The joint was always leaking oil. I finally broke down and replaced the hose. I also added some extra support at the pipe connection on the other side of the hose. The Aluminum sleeve on the hose is just too soft and too thin to properly support any type of screw, IMO.

bummer JB... if you get the screws off plane the hose can sit crooked in the ASV ... not sure if that was your issue though ... screw modded quite a few so far with no leakage