When to replace turbo

[MisterHolaMan]

My Forester is now over 100k miles, and I think the turbo is going out on it. Before I couldn't hear it, but now I can hear it, and for some reason the car is taking more oil. Does anybody know how long a turbo usually lasts, and symptoms of it going out?

 

[HDi fun]

If it starts to chuck out smoke from the exhaust on acceleration or on overrun then there might be problems. It might, however, simply be that the EGR or PCV system is clogged.

Turbos are pretty reliable if they're allowed to cool down for a minute or two after driving by keeping the engine idling.

 

[MisterHolaMan]

Oh good, I don't have those problems then. The oil issue must be since it's a flat four then...

 

[HDi fun]

If the turbo noise is just a hiss then nothing at all to worry about - maybe you've just become aware of it.

Check all the intake hoses and joints for security and integrity.

If you're turbo has failed you'd have a massive loss of torque and power. The car would be virtually undriveable.

Try a decent fuel additive firstly - see if that clears the EGR PCV - it could simply be that excess exhaust gas is being recycled into the intake tract.

Forte Gas Treatment is high recommended. Stick the whole bottle in the tank. Now fill with decent petrol (Esso, BP etc. not supermarket).

Check oil level is OK and all other service items are up to date, then go for a drive. Let engine warm up normally and then give it some therapy

Hold on to lower gears, trying using 2nd all the way to the red line and keep it at that speed for a minute or two.

Get third and drive again round to the red line.

Half an hour or so of firm driving can cure all manner of ills.

Do, of course, pay full attention to the road whilst doing this. Don't go taking needless risks.

 

[MisterHolaMan]

Yeah, it's nothing other than paranoia and oil levels.

 

[HDi fun]

Oil levels can drop more rapidly in wamer weather simply due to evaporation. Full polyolester synthetics are much more resistant to this than blended oils.

If your turbo was casuing problems you'd have horrendous smoke from the exhaust.

Blocked PCVs can cause crankcase pressures to rise, thus forcing oil past the piston rings.

How much is it using every 1000 miles, for example?

 

[MisterHolaMan]

Then it's my idiot dad's fault, he doesn't know anything about oil. I let him use the car for a trip, and he also changed the oil. He doesn't know anything about oil, so he gets crude, pathetic idiot. He'll never use my car again.:evil:

 

[pgarner]

mm that might be the problem the crude will not torrarate the high temps of the turbo. would be advisable to change the oil back to recommended spec but buy some cheapish stuff and throw in some engine flush run for a day or so then change again for decent oil. if your lucky there will be no long term damage.
might also be worth pulling the oil lines for the turbo and checking they arnt blocked

 

[MisterHolaMan]

If I'm lucky, ha! If my dad ruined my car, so help me god... :evil:

 

[HDi fun]

Dad's can be like this.

Much as I want the food I eat and feed to my family to be as close to mother nature as possible, I want the lubricants and fuels fed to my car to be as synthetic as possible.

Mineral oils are next to useless with turbocharged cars, they just will not stand up to the temperatures involved. Nor will they stay in grade for any length of time.

You could look to AMSOIL as a supplier of top quality oils. They don't make a bad product in my opinion.