320d Turbo Break - in ?

[Brendon.Myburgh]

Hi all

im the newb here, however have been looking as a guest for about the past 2 weeks at all the different & very interesting threads. I have learnt quite a bit so far & hope to continue learning from others' much more knowledgable "knowledge" if that makes sense.

Im just a desk jockey ( working in IT ) so i definately dont know all the ins & outs of this fantastic brand of car. I know enough to keep myself going but not nearly as much as i would like to know

anyway - i bought my fathers 320d m sport 2006 model in dec with 76k km on it & naturally my old man looked after the car impeccibly but had to say good bye to it due to the financial strangulation of the recession. its personal so i wont go there but my heart goes out to him..... so.....

with the balance of the m/plan up till the end of feb i have been making much use out of it to make sure the vehicle will stand me in good stead till i decide to replace her

now where it begins... i sent it in 2 weeks ago for what sounded like a slipping belt on a pulley wheel & the actuator on the turbo made a funny double clicking sound.

luckily for me - my neighbour ( german gent ) works at BMW rosslyn & spoke to one of the engine specialsists & advised me that its not normal for the actuator to make such a noise & took videos etc to show his collegue

long story short - the dealer eventually obliged after some arguments but not fighting that they would replace the turbo only if they got permission from factory to go-ahead & after 2 weeks of waiting i eventually got my baby back yesterday afternoon

what i would like to know is as i have heard it from other forums & mechanics ( not backyard split arse though ).....

is there a breaking-in period for the turbo or can one start lashing it from the start. im not that kind of guy though ( im a bit of a softy driver or rather i enjoy driving my car at normal pace ), but every now & then a little heavy right foot for short bursts just reminds me of how happy it makes me to drive this car ( bear in mind i upgraded from a 2009 corrolla 1.4 professonal ( k@k to say the least )) so its a major step up for me as anyone would agree

thanks
brendon

 

[P1000]

Turbo would not really need any running in. If it did, it would be run in by the time you get around the first corner. But no, there are no components that really need seating and it gets spooling to ridiculous rpm even when you are trying to drive like a granny...

 

[Brendon.Myburgh]

hehehe, thanks for the advice

i just wasnt sure because i was hearing conflicting stories hence my asking

one person says it does & another says it doesnt

i did have the same frame of mind as you, but some folk did put doubt in my mind

 

[Brendon.Myburgh]

posted twice so 2nd post deleted

 

[moranor@axis]

you should let it warm up before you start driving thou and also not turn the car off before letting it idle a bit when parking. this will make the turbo last longer

 

[DonovanPorter]

welcome :thumbsup: , post some pics of your car

 

[Brendon.Myburgh]

welcome :thumbsup: , post some pics of your car

pic posted

 

[Sankekur]

Isn't it hard to see where you are going with that massive bow on the windscreen :mmm:

+1 To what moranor said, idle the car for a couple of minutes before you drive it, then when you are about a km from your destination drive it gently and when you reach your destination idle the car again for a couple of minutes before switching the engine off.

Edit: Oh, and great looking car and welcome to the forum :wave:

 

[moranor@axis]

awesome car i love that colour you should think of darkening your rims thou i think im a bit blind

 

[George Smooth]

The turbos will be in the best condition possible when installed so no run is needed in that department. What you should do is give it horns immediately after the engine has warmed up and notice performance. If over time you notice power drop it means something is not sealing properly in terms of the boost pipes. Also if you notice the car is laggier than before there might also be a boost leak.
When changing turbos or any component in the intake track the biggest worry for guys that tune cars are leaks which will decrease turbo life significantly.

 

[zaleonardz]

Howdy,

Seriously nice car, wish you many miles.

For the record, P1000 and netercol our our resident diesel experts here, so their advice is always good.

Agreed, no run in needed, they actually did you a fav, if you look after that turbo, you can get 150,000 out of it without a problem.

P1000 has a 530d with something like 270 or something on the clock with the original turbo (correct me if I am wrong here P1000)

I have been driving turbo cars for a good couple of years, and never had an issue.

Let it warm up for a while before you push it (so that the oil can heat up to normal temp) and most importantly let it cool down when you turn it off, build this into your driving routine, its easy.

Pick a point on your route to work in the morning thats like 2 to 4 km away from home, for me its the highway onramp, I keep it under boost until I hit the highway offramp.

Same is on the way back, when I get off the highway, I keep it under boost until I get home. If I have been pushing hard, I will go do an extra trip around the block and coast the last little bit home.

Thats it, do that, and your turbo will last a long time.

 

[P1000]

P1000 has a 530d with something like 270 or something on the clock with the original turbo (correct me if I am wrong here P1000)

:thumbsup:
(277 would be closer)

And previous owners did not wait for it to warm up before driving relatively enthusiastically, but neither did they thrash it. No regard for idling afterwards either... But the diesels need to be driven relatively hard every now and then, in order to work the VNT mechanism and scrape off carbon buildup before there is too much. So it is a good idea to push her to about 3000rpm at least once per trip... (I believe that is why yours failed, Leonard)

 

[Brendon.Myburgh]

sheowee - That is impressive to say the absolute least - 270K km on one turbo. It really is a 1st that ive heard.

Well i stay in a security estate in PTA & when pulling out in the morning i will drive the car just above idle + - 1000rpm up to the exits of the estate which takes about 2 minutes so i would assume the temp would be round about the 35 - 40 deg/c mark. from there on its a fairly straight road where i can coast it in 5th at about 70km/h which still leaves the revs low & its straight & level so the turbo is hardly working.

by the time i hit the highway the car is mst definately at operating temp which i assume is 90*/c. Although im not sure as that was the case with all my petrol cars. im not sure if diesel operates at different temps.

one thing that annoys me about BMW is that there is no temp guage

anyway so coming home inveriably there is traffic queing outside the estate & then the 2 min drive back till home so in my mind ive hopefully got it cooled down quite a bit before i turn the car off.

wifey gets hacked off when we stop at the shops & i park & let the car idle for about 2min before getting out. tough luck is my answer to her.

funny - there has been the odd occasion where i havent let it idle for all too long & it felt like the car had a a rougher than usual shutdown ( not as smooth if that makes sense ) but when letting it idle for a while its by far a much smoother shutdown

thank you all for your valuable info

 

[zaleonardz]

Well, if you have been driving it mildly, you dont need to let it idle for 2 minutes really.

Its the guys that are coming off the highway having boosted the crap out of their cars for the last 100km, drive like nut jobs from the highway to home, pull up to the driveway, turn the car off and go inside, those are the guys that pop turbo's.

They started installing temp gauges in the new BMW's again... thank god.

P1000, the turbo on my 730d never actually went, I still dont know what was wrong there, it had boost when you start it for the first time, drive an hour, turn it off, then no boost. Climb into her 6 hours later, and I have boost again

I still recon that was a solenoid on some control valve or something getting stuck.... but who cares, BMW wanted to replace it, I was not going to argue as I was not paying

And once warmed up, my diesel lives far on the other side of 3,000rpm all day every day

Anyway....

Grats again on the car Brendon :thumbsup: