Re: Audi 5kcstqw Turbo Problem

[Brett Dikeman <brett@pdikeman.ne.mediaone.net>]

At 10:37 PM -0400 6/19/99, John wrote:
>I took off the hose the other day.  And to my surprise their were no holes.
>But I did find some drops of oil and some residue.  Which I understand not
>to be a good sign.   Some body told me that the turbo is going and I need to
>get a new one is this true.   What are my options.  Thanks again.

Whoever you talked to doesn't know what they're talking about.  This 
is probably one of the most common question from type 44 turbo 
owners; they pull the hose off, and "look at all that oil!"

A mist of oil, with no oil in the folds of the hose, means that your 
5000's  turbo is in -better- condition than most.  It is considered 
"normal" for there to be oil in the intake system.  Most people have 
much more than a mist; most have oil sitting in the folds of the IC 
hose(which is what ultimately causes the demise of the hose, which 
almost always fails on the bottom side.)

That said, rebuilding the turbocharger is usually recommended by 
automotive-applications turbo manufacturers around 100,000 miles. 
Having it rebuilt isn't that expensive(max you'll end up paying, if 
it is -really- in bad shape, is $400 for seals, bearings, and 
re-balancing) versus a new unit which would run you upwards of $1k, I 
would guess.  You might notice some new pep(quicker spoolup) in the 
car afterwards.  I would say this is something to consider around 
150k, just to save yourself the hassle of having the thing go; you'll 
be golden until you sell the car, most likely.

If you notice smoke during normal running, and any more than the 
-occasional(blue moon)- small poof of smoke at startup, check for oil 
in the folds, clean it out, run it a day or two, and check again; 
this will tell you how much oil the turbo is leaking.  Keep a 
watchful eye on oil consumption.  The important thing isn't really 
-quantity-, but -change- in how the car is acting.

Brett

------
Brett Dikeman
brett@pdikeman.ne.mediaone.net
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