New D22 Owner

[Merk]

Hi all,

I Recently picked up a 2004 D22 STR 3.0Di with around 210000ks on the clock. I took a bit of a risk and bought without service history, however after a lengthy test drive and a bit of haggling, I was quite convinced it had been well looked after and was the right price.

It came with slightly bigger all-terrains, a Flexiglass canopy, TJM bullbar, Electronic rust prevention system, Cibbie Spotties and a Boost guage. At this stage I've also added a gme uhf and replaced the current spotties with my HID Cibbies.

My primary uses will be beach trips (Local/Fraser trips), towing the boat, occasional offroad play and using as a daily driver. I have a few mods planned once funds allow which I hope will make it a great car for my uses:
Turbo Timer, 2" lift, 32" Muddies, EGR Mod and Catch Can (Still not entirely convinced about these), Extractors/exhaust, make a set of draws, add a dual battery system and add a fridge.

I can hear a slight whine from my turbo when under boost, which I'm quite sure is just the turbo spooling up. None the less, I'm going to get the turbo checked out as soon as I can, and have budgeted for the possible replacement after reading many of the stories on here.

Here's a couple of pics just after I picked it up. Will also attempt to upload a small video of my turbo whine to see if anyone can immediately say if it's fine or not.

Cheers,
Mark

 

[nathand22]

Gday Mark, welcome to the forum.

Have you thought of adding a intercooler to your list of mods?
there is a few advantages in installing one, not only will you get a slight performance gain, but it will save your ass if the turbo does let go.

 

[Old.Tony]

Welcome to the forum!

+1 on the intercooler. Particularly if it's front-mounted where it won't get a lot of heat-soak from the engine beneath it.

After 210,000km the turbo could easily have suffered. As you might be aware, early shutdowns (before the turbo has cooled sufficiently) cause the oil to cook in the bearings. You can prevent that with either diligence, a turbo timer or an EGT-controlled turbo timer.

That said, 210,000km also means the charge air hoses (between the turbo and the inlet manifold) would be quite aged and may have cracked, split or be pinched under the hose clamps.

You might also need to check your EGR tube. If it has a hole in it you could hear that sort of noise too.

 

[goldy]

G'day Mark

Welcome to the forum.

My Nav is a brother to yours, but 155K on the clock.

In early Jan this year my turbo found its way into the head. Out of action for 3 weeks and now $6750 lighter.

An intercooler would have caught most or all of the bits.

I was told that there was no apparent reason for the failure. I have a timer now and am looking at IC options

Good luck with your new purchase. I hope you get a lot of enjoyable service from it.

Goldy

 

[Merk]

Thanks for the advice guys. I am also considering the intercooler option. Would like to do this asap but if my turbo looks to be problematic, I would probably prefer to replace this first.

That's definitely a bit worrying hearing your story goldy. Did you happen to notice any whine before hand?

 

[RLI]

G,day mate,

Welcome aboard, fear no beer and try to stay away from being queer. The only stick you should have in your hand out bush "Low range" other wise the old members get jealous.

PS, Enjoy the forum

Regards,

RLI

 

[goldy]

Mark, there was no warning. It just sounded and felt like it popped out of gear.

I guess I was lucky it did stop, the "bits" might have buggered the rest of the motor and not just the head.

Don't be too worried, I think that I was just unlucky to have let one go without any reason. Should buy a lottery ticket ???

Anyway, it goes great now. Just like Before.

Goldy

 

[Merk]

Well I've got the car booked in at MTQ for a good look over tomorrow, so we'll see how that goes.

Here's a dodgy video that kind of shows the sound. You should be able to hear the whine very faintly as I accelerate from about 9 seconds.

<embed width="600" height="361" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullscreen="true" allowNetworking="all" wmode="transparent" src="http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf" flashvars="file=http%3A%2F%2Fvid1058.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Ft415%2Fmerk28%2FIMG_1467.mp4">

Thanks for any help,

Mark

 

[Merk]

Thanks guys. I uploaded a video but it says it's awaiting approval.

In the meantime here's a youtube clip I found with a turbo making basically the same sound whining sound:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JwD9VlvqQE

Cheers

 

[Merk]

Whoops, stuffed up the video.

This afternoon I pulled off the turbo inlet pipe and found a nice puddle of oil just before the compressor wheel. There also appears to be oil leaking from the back of the inlet side of the turbo (See Pics). I'm hoping the oil in the inlet is simply from the PCV valve and can be fixed with a catch can, but the exterior oil leak and whine are still worrying.

I haven't checked the turbo shaft for play yet as I'm a little hesitant to take of the main inlet without having a new gasket.

Here's a link to the Photobucket account with the video and pics and mentioned: http://s1058.photobucket.com/albums/t415/merk28/


Cheers

 

[Old.Tony]

Hey Merk, had to approve that post because of the external link - done. You won't need to do it soon (just a few more posts - or go vote on some pics in the gallery).

A small amount of oil in the inlet pipe is normal and a catch can will reduce - may not eliminate - the amount you see there.

The oil at the back is a little more concerning. If you have oil leaking from the high-pressure hosing between the turbo and the intake manifold (charge air hose) then you'd have a boost leak - fix the leak, the oil stops flowing. Leaks there can be caused by splits in the hose, dirt on the flange as the hose is put on, or overtightening the hose which causes the hose to pinch.

I had a listen to the video you made, and even at 400% volume I can't pick the sound out, but that'll be my laptop. The Youtube vid you picked has a whine that descends after the throttle is released, not sure what that one is.

The easy way to check your turbo bearings without disassembling it is to pop the air hose off the front and try turning the compressor over. It should turn smoothly - no gritty feel. You should inspect as best as you can the metal surface around the compressor for signs of rubbing.

I'd also recommend taking off one of the charge air hoses and looking in the oil film that you'll find in there for metal particles, which is a sure sign that the compressor wheel has been impacting the housing.

Usually a turbocharger that is on the verge of self-destruction will shriek like a banshee, it will sound something like fingernails on a chalkboard.

 

[nathand22]

Mark, I would check the small allan key bolts in the back of the turbo. You can see two of them in your first photo, and there will be two more directly opposite to the two you can see.
I had one fall out and make a hell of a racket, the turbo also had oil all around the same spot as your one.

 

[Merk]

Thanks Tony and Nathan. Went out and checked those bolts and you were right, the bottom two were completely loose. Was a mission getting the far one tight again but got it eventually and the whine has definitely quietened. There is now a different and quieter sound there which I'm hoping is simply another leak in one of the hoses (they do look pretty tightly done up and deformed a bit.

Thanks alot for the advice

 

[nathand22]

Thanks Tony and Nathan. Went out and checked those bolts and you were right, the bottom two were completely loose. Was a mission getting the far one tight again but got it eventually and the whine has definitely quietened. There is now a different and quieter sound there which I'm hoping is simply another leak in one of the hoses (they do look pretty tightly done up and deformed a bit.

Thanks alot for the advice

No probs Mark. Hope all goes well with the D22.

 

[Old.Tony]

I'll have to remember the "loose nuts in a D22" issue. Particularly on the roads!!

Glad to hear you found the issue. I would still take a look inside the hoses for metal fragments/powder just in case there was any contact with the compressor housing. This could off-balance the compressor wheel and under full load cause it to self-destruct.

 

[joshman]

All this talk of compressor wheels and rubbing on the casing made me remember something I saw while cleaning out my intake last weekend, what look like small piece of metal had been "flung" into the turbo housing, on the engine side of the turbo housing. They had an impact look about them, with score marks and a Small chunk of metal.now I'm a bit worried! I'll grab a photo this weekend and post it in a new thread.

 

[scottybobcat]

Welcome to the forum

 

[Merk]

Took the car down to MTQ today and they said the turbo looks to be in good condition and the whine is most likely a leak in exhaust manifold or EGR system. Now just to find the leak!

 

[WALL4BY]

Hey welcome to the forum