Help ! turbo on my 320d (+- 195,000 k's) : started whistling about 6 months ago. Have been told not to worry - it's just clearance between turbo vanes and rotor body getting bigger due to wear ? Air is whistling. Last week the turbo boost just disappeared ! No urge at all. No bad noises, no sucking, blowing - no nothing - just no power. Can anyone send some advice and who in Jhb central can be recommended to look at / fix such a thing. BMW dealers just want to change the whole turbo for a fortune - don't have one !!
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e46 320d turbo problems
- Thread starter Huge
- Start date
Hellas
///Member
Hi hbd! Good thing you caught it before the turbo finally went. Search for turbo kit on the forum here and rebuild (service) the turbo yourself or have somebody you trust do it. It is no biggie and the dealership DEFINITELY don't have to do it.
Also see my thread here: http://www.bmwfanatics.co.za/showthread.php?tid=8765
Also see my thread here: http://www.bmwfanatics.co.za/showthread.php?tid=8765
Hellas
///Member
In short, the things you need to do is:
- Service turbo - R1500 to R3000 for a kit plus maybe R1500 labour
- NEW CRANK BREATHER VALVE. NB! R550 or so from the dealer. The old type ones clog and the oil flow to the turbo is starved.
- Decat (remove catalytic converters) - R550 to R900 depending on whether you want a replacement muffler box or a straight pipe - Any exhaust shop can do this
- Delete EGR, or at least CLEAN it. Some use all kinds of chemicals, petrol worked for me.
- Remove swirl flaps - Simply remove the blades off the spindles. You need to remove the intake manifold for this. But once you replace the breather valve, you are so far gone stripping the top part of the engine that you can just as well do this too.
- And finish off with a good oil service!
Thanks again for your help: seems there are two parts. Someone to rebuild the turbo and someone to take it out and stick it back in.
Is there anybody out there who has the contact no's for this operation ?? My knowledge stops at the point where I know well I should not try anything myself.
Anybody out there in Johannesburg who can undertake this work ? Please help soon as this car is my wife's car which she uses all day, 5 days a week for her work and I need my beer money !!
One day the turbo will cave in making it even more expensive.
My name is Hugo 083 375 4456 - 011 493 3401 - 011 252 5631 fax>mail
Is there anybody out there who has the contact no's for this operation ?? My knowledge stops at the point where I know well I should not try anything myself.
Anybody out there in Johannesburg who can undertake this work ? Please help soon as this car is my wife's car which she uses all day, 5 days a week for her work and I need my beer money !!
One day the turbo will cave in making it even more expensive.
My name is Hugo 083 375 4456 - 011 493 3401 - 011 252 5631 fax>mail
Hellas
///Member
Hi Loom. Some people in the pre-facelift 320d BMW's were on their 3rd turbo by the time they reach 120000km. With the facelift models the turbo lasted a bit longer, but failure ranged from 120000 to 150000km. Min went on 170000km and a colleague of min is on 204000km and never had a problem.
Comes down to maintenance eg regular service and slow startups and letting the turbo cool down afterwards by letting the car idle a bit. My car was almost exclusively used for long distance and it was religiously cooled down after a trip, but still it went on 170k km, so looking out for symptoms and doing some preventative maintenance will be the best defense.
Comes down to maintenance eg regular service and slow startups and letting the turbo cool down afterwards by letting the car idle a bit. My car was almost exclusively used for long distance and it was religiously cooled down after a trip, but still it went on 170k km, so looking out for symptoms and doing some preventative maintenance will be the best defense.
Thanks, Hellas. Further to your advice, can the EGR and swirl flaps simply be removed? As much as I would like to have a 320d it sounds like buying a second hand one (probably 150 000km+) is a bit risky. Perhaps it would be worthwile to specifically looks for one that already has the turbo replaced? Did you need to replace yours or was it servicable?
P
poles
Guest
Hi guys I've got a e46 320d aswell..I recently installed a downpipe and decatted the car..I've been loosong a lot of power when on inclines..do u think its cause of the downpipe and decat?also can u fit a dumpvalve or induction into the 320d?
Hi guys I've got a e46 320d aswell..I recently installed a downpipe and decatted the car..I've been loosong a lot of power when on inclines..do u think its cause of the downpipe and decat?also can u fit a dumpvalve or induction into the 320d?
Hi guys I've got a e46 320d aswell..I recently installed a downpipe and decatted the car..I've been loosong a lot of power when on inclines..do u think its cause of the downpipe and decat?also can u fit a dumpvalve or induction into the 320d?
netercol
New member
i swear nobody ever uses the search function on this forum..
yes, the swirl flaps and egr can be removed. yes the turbo is serviceable.
no, the downpipe and decat cannot cause the power loss you have. NO, you can not fit a dumpvalve to a diesel, no throttle. diesel already has a factory designed cold air induction.
yes, the swirl flaps and egr can be removed. yes the turbo is serviceable.
no, the downpipe and decat cannot cause the power loss you have. NO, you can not fit a dumpvalve to a diesel, no throttle. diesel already has a factory designed cold air induction.
Hi. Don't know where my reply went ?? But thanks again for your help. However - is there anybody out there who can suggest some outfit who can undertake this turbo fix - in Johannesburg or near. Need to know quickish as my wife needs the car for her business in which she drives all over 5 days a week all day. Don't know how long we can run the car safely without the turbo working ? Help !
netercol, please do a search on Autotrader and post 320d prices 
Joking aside, I've tried searching for 320d problems, reliability etc. but did not get much useful info. I've read about the swirl flaps been replaced with better ones but will do some more research on that and the EGR, thanks.
Hellas, thanks for the info on using the turbo not been changed as a bargaining point. I probably won't be buying soon but am trying to get as much info as possible for when the day comes.
Joking aside, I've tried searching for 320d problems, reliability etc. but did not get much useful info. I've read about the swirl flaps been replaced with better ones but will do some more research on that and the EGR, thanks.Hellas, thanks for the info on using the turbo not been changed as a bargaining point. I probably won't be buying soon but am trying to get as much info as possible for when the day comes.
Hellas
///Member
The diesel threads are interlinking a bit, but here's some more:
http://www.bmwfanatics.co.za/showthread.php?tid=11738
http://www.bmwfanatics.co.za/showthread.php?tid=11599
http://www.bmwfanatics.co.za/showthread.php?tid=8765
http://www.bmwfanatics.co.za/showthread.php?tid=11738
http://www.bmwfanatics.co.za/showthread.php?tid=11599
http://www.bmwfanatics.co.za/showthread.php?tid=8765
netercol said:
Quoting Hellas from another thread, http://www.bmwfanatics.co.za/showthread.php?tid=8817, this is what I wanted to know:
"I'm not going to go the recon route as my turbo is too far gone already"
So even after all your preventative measures the turbo still had to be replaced.
Hellas
///Member
Loom said:
@Loom: I stand corrected after my whole turbo swap ordeal. I were initially too scared to open up the turbo myself since I were afraid that if I were to mess it up then I couldn't hand it to the recon shop in return for a recon unit. (This is normally an exchange service)
I found out afterwards that though the turbo's bearing had collapsed, it was not as destructive as it normally could be. Bossman had his turbo blades break off and got them lodges in the cats, so mine was mild by comparison.
If you have light oil bypass or even stop IMMEDIATELY after you suspect a turbo failure (like me did when I saw a cloud of white smoke covering 3 lanes of traffic...) Then you should be good for a rebuild.
I'd say if you want to SERVICE the turbo, do it yourself or have it done but if you suspect turbo failure and cannot determine the extent of the damage, then take it to a recon shop for an assessment, and if need be, you can just get another one there.
hi there guys, I also own a E46 320 d, its got 203000 kms on the clock, its a 2001 face lift moddel! I also have the same problem on my car. It started at first making a whisling noise, now its loosing power but only no and then. The weird thing is its not constant and the turbo still spools up! Its as if the boost leaks out some wear! I checked the boost pipe, but could not see nor feel anything! Could it maybe be someting like a boost controle sensor or some thing or is it the turbo thats going? ''its not smoking"
