Replacing my 320d Turbo (Garret GT1749V)

[Hellas]

I am in need of a replacement turbo for a facelift E46 320d.

Garret GT1749V 717478--4

I already phoned most of the big guys in CT and some of the rebuilders in JHB. I got quotes ranging from R4500 to R7000 for a rebuild and between R4500 and R15000 (the dealers...you guessed it...) for a new one, but nobody has stock available at the moment.

Hook me up please. I'll EFT and sent the courier.
Highly appreciated guys. :thumbsup:

 

[applehero]

Don't like the sound of this... Your turbo pop? Have you got the M47N2 engine?

 

[Hellas]

Yup, it's been a while now. Pulled my baby under the shed and bought a new car. Now I'm just looking to fix her up. I am looking to replace the turbo, decat, swirl flap removal and EGR delete while I'm at it.

Before commissioning I'll be doing an engine flush (still looking for a decent product), oil service (R1400 in parts from the dealer) and change out the breather valve (R600 odd from the dealer)

The turbo has been taken out, so now it's just as soon as I get time, I'll do the little jobbies. You may see updates as we go along. :wave:

EDIT: I've got the M47N or M47TU. 110kW from the facelift (2003) :thumbsup:

 

[netercol]

just a thought, is your own turbo destroyed?

 

[Hellas]

The shaft is FAIRLY loose inside. The fins are not touching and there is no loose metal shavings or anything falling from the unit. Haven't opened up the turbo yet as one shop said that they do an exchange service for a new replacement unit.
I don't want to jeopardize a saving by opening up the turbo just for the sake of poking around.
I don't feel myself qualified enough at this stage to tackle a rebuild on my own seeing that there are fine balancing etc to be done afterwards.

I have some nice write-ups on rebuilds and since a recon kit goes for R3-4k, it does make for an attractive option.

I am also not heading towards a recon unit as the price difference of say R3-4k will not make up the trouble to change the turbo AGAIN after 1000km.

 

[applehero]

Interesting... Preventative maintenance is the way to go. :thumbsup: The EGR delete could be interesting... If you use primarily 500 ppm diesel, I have a feeling the valve will be quite fouled up.

Good luck with the reconditioning. Keep us posted and don't forget the pics.

 

[netercol]

ok so now for some controversial advice

i have personally serviced the turbos off 3 diesels now already, (two owned by myself & a friends) and it really is not that big a deal, if some common sense is applied.

first thing obviously is that the turbo should be serviceable, worn but not destroyed. if the blades has touched sides ect. then its a no go, because the rotating parts are almost impossible to find.

secondly if the bearing surfaces on the shaft is badly scoured or worn, same as above.. the bearing kits avaidible are not made by garrett, garrett does not seem to actually make replacement bearings for these turbo's. thus any kit you buy will have standard bearing clearances, meaning if the shaft is worn past tolerances it is scrap.

having said the above, servicing the turbo is easy. the compressor and turbine are individually balanced, so should not go out of balance if assembled as removed. however there is a few turbo shops that can do the high speed balancing again if you want, cost me R220-00 last time i did it.

buy a reputable kit from someone like this (beware of chinese made kits, you want american made

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Garr...ptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

and the whole servicing thing could cost you no more than R1500-00

like i said, this is from my own experience , i have had no problems with doing this myself, or with turbo reliability afterwards, but as with all things your milage may differ. :dunno:

 

[Hellas]

I have 170k on now. There was a scrap yard which offered me a used turbo from a 320d that did 110k. Also not an option.

Have a look at the 'clean' side of the turbo. I does look like the vanes touched the sides. That would explain the high pitched screeching sound when I floored it in 4th gear.

 

[SDP]

Also he clearance is a bit much between the compressor housing and wheel

 

[Scouse]

Hellas,will get back to u just now,my mate owns a franchise for Garrett SA

 

[applehero]

WHOA. That looks bad... Hope mine's not like that... :mmm:

 

[Hellas]

Also he clearance is a bit much between the compressor housing and wheel

Yeah, that is pretty much the sideways play that is on the shaft. This probably points to the fact that the bearings are toast.

WHOA. That looks bad... Hope mine's not like that... :mmm:

I though I were lucky, but there are more to keeping the turbo healthy than just doing your stealership services and holding thumbs the rest of the time.

Preventative maintenance for this purpose has not been fully established, but in my opinion, regular oil services (in between 'normal' services), BUT NO TOO OFTEN, an engine flush if needed, and CHANGE THE BREATHER VALVE (I'd say every 40000km or so. The air filter is not changed during an oil service. I'll also recommend that you change the filter at every service. Pay the extra money and make sure your engine can breath nicely.

 

[netercol]

yep, it does look like that compressor has touched sides.. also i cant make out properly,looks like the one fin has a chip out on the tip? anyways, that can be balanced again, but with that much clearance between the compressor and the housing, kinda pointless, because that will never again run at optimum efficiancy.. pity.

just for interest sake, some pics.. this is the bearing from the first turbo on my 320d that let go.. this was what turned me on to the whole idea of preventative servicing a turbo.. this bearing had 220k on it! it eventually wore right through, collapsed, and the shaft wobbled at high speed and instantly grenaded.. had i just replaced it and had it rebalanced, it prolly would still be going. instead i had to source a secondhand which i serviced and had no more issues with,it ran up to 330k when i got rid of the 320d finally.

what a new bearing should look like.. this is an original garrett part

 

[applehero]

WTF?!? That's worrying.

 

[netercol]

lol.. yeah i hear you , but bear in mind that that collapsed bearing had 220000km's on it .. it was worn so paper thin that it just eventually collapsed under boost.

lesson i learned, service BEFORE this stage :clap:

 

[Hellas]

Update on replacing the blown 320d turbo:

Decatted the first box, and taken off the second cat box, but my Q is this: Do I really need to decat the second box? There were some oil coming from the rear of the exhaust which means the turbo shot the oil ALL the way trough both cats and the rear box. Other way to look at it is that at 170k, the cats are already past their due date.

Should I replace them with smaller baffler boxes or do as I'm planning here and just rip the guts of the cat out and weld the little box back together?

I will be doing a full oil service and replace ALL the filters and swapping the breather valve before adding the turbo back.

Any special lubing instructions before slapping the snail back on?

---

Well, oil pumped through means you are going to have a blockage.

So cats out. Do you replace with straight pipe or just take out the guts. I would think that you would desturb the exhaustflow somewhat due to the shape of the cat housing, but lets be honest, who is going to notice it on a diesel...

So ideal, straight pipe, or a cut out and re-weld should do you fine, save some bux...

If you can find mufflers that fit it's probably a better idea as it will behave similar to the stock setup but without a cat.

An empty cat box is ok, but the open plenum space inside it can cause things like the occasional backfire which is something you don't want with a sensitive turbocharger in the system.

I have seen the welded back cat boxes in action on another 320d and that car has been going for almost two years. I do feel that somehow you need a baffle to recreate the minor back pressure of the cats.

 

[netercol]

I do feel that somehow you need a baffle to recreate the minor back pressure of the cats.

nope, while it could be argued that backpressure on a NA might be a good thing, it definitely is not a good thing on a turbo car.. bear in mind a catalyst is not a performance device, it is simply a necessary evil..

 

[P1000]

Prime the turbo with oil before you connect the oil feed line, and crank the car for 15 seconds before first start (on a petrol this would be done without spark plugs, don't know on diesel.)

 

[Hellas]

Prime the turbo with oil before you connect the oil feed line, and crank the car for 15 seconds before first start (on a petrol this would be done without spark plugs, don't know on diesel.)

Cut the fuel for a while?

The cats when they work are self cleaning, they reach a certain temperature and then there is a flash off oxidation of the gas molecules.
I am busy ordering parts for my old turbo from Turboexchange in JNB,
it is going to cost me less than 3000 to completely refurbish and change the turbine wheel with a new Garrett item, so maybe you can do the same with your old turbo.

I handed in my old unit as an exchange service on the new one.

As far as the excess oil in the exhaust system: I will be going for a 100km drive (at night...) to burn out the oil. I thought that this might also clear the oil from the second cat box, but I have been warned about the back pressure from a blocked cat that will possibly destroy the turbo again.

 

[Hellas]

Took out the full exhaust to decat the second box too. Will probably get to the welding part this weekend.

I also dropped the intercooler radiator last night to clean/rinse it out since fine metal shavings from the turbo might still be in there. Good thing too, since this is what I found BETWEEN the intercooler radiator and the normal radiator...

I cant think how the intercooler could function at all. Keep in mind that the space between the two radiators is about 8mm or so... Leaves, dust, bugs, grasshoppers and a dead bird (how did THAT get in there?)

I read that the intercooler radiator should be rinsed out with something like petrol, NOT water. Anybody got some tips or tricks for this one?