Broken Volvo-Turbo problem

[Colonel Cadillac]

Well today, I was merging onto the highway and had the car floored, and I heard a loud pop, and what seems to have happened is the the turbo broke. The turbo plain does not go on anymore. I was able to safely drive off the highway and park in a parking lot, and am still able to drive the car, but there is basically no power and it does not seem safe for the engine. After it what seems like the turbo failed, I could not really stay above 55 MPH. Also, I think I saw some whitish smoke directly behind my car after it happened, but I could be mistaken. Did the turbo really just die? From your superior knowledge, I would really love your imput as to what happened, and especially what it potentially would cost to get fixed.

EDIT: For good information's sake, the car has 144,500 miles (rounded).

Also, I was wondering if I should drive it to the Volvo dealer with that problem, or get it towed (and if towed, does AAA do it for free?)

I'll keep my fingers crossed that it will be cheap and there is a minor problem, because my dad just spent a load fixing the A/C on it, and if it costs a load to get this fixed, he said he wants to just "junk it."

[Raghavan]

Overheatage?

[Colonel Cadillac]

I was only in the car for about 7 or so minutes before it happened, and it hadn't been used for a good 12 hours or so before, so I doubt it was over-heating.  

[Run Away]

Charge pipe blew off probably.


EDIT: White smoke? That's coolant. Blown Head Gasket is another good bet.

[280Z Turbo]

You're talking to the right guy! Sometimes a pop can be a misfire or something (I just had that in the Z today) but it certainly sounds like your turbo is shot.

It's not "unsafe" for the engine, but it can foul the plugs out as it will be running super rich.

Fear not! For it can be rebuilt. Mine was just rebuilt for $260, which included a new compressor wheel (normally a rebuild is $200).

Did you hear any metallic clanging?

Oh, it could also be a blown headgasket I suppose. Pull the spark plugs and the intake pipes for the turbo. You should see oil in the turbo piping and on the plugs if the seals are shot.

Did you lose any coolant? You would be able to smell it out of the exhaust if that was the case.

[280Z Turbo]

Charge pipe blew off probably.

I had that on the Saab, but only because I had it improperly clamped. I doubt it's that minor.

[MX793]

Could have blown a turbo.  It happens.  Saw it on a semi-regular basis when I used to work for a trucking fleet.  Although typically when you blow a turbo, you wind up with oil in the exhaust (so blue-black smoke) and all over the engine compartment.

[280Z Turbo]

Could have blown a turbo.  It happens.  Saw it on a semi-regular basis when I used to work for a trucking fleet.  Although typically when you blow a turbo, you wind up with oil in the exhaust (so blue-black smoke) and all over the engine compartment.

I believe I had grayish whiteish smoke when it happened to me. I got oil in the J-pipe and turbo intake pipe as well as down the exhaust housing, but it didn't make a mess.

[MX793]

Could have blown a turbo.  It happens.  Saw it on a semi-regular basis when I used to work for a trucking fleet.  Although typically when you blow a turbo, you wind up with oil in the exhaust (so blue-black smoke) and all over the engine compartment.

I believe I had grayish whiteish smoke when it happened to me. I got oil in the J-pipe and turbo intake pipe as well as down the exhaust housing, but it didn't make a mess.

It doesn't necessarily have to make an oily mess in the engine bay, but the symptoms and the oil in the intake and exhaust tract does lead me to believe that your turbo bit the dust.

[saxonyron]

You need one of these for your turbo...



I'll eat my shorts if it's anything but a plain old blown turbo.  144 k miles is a pretty long life cycle.  Especially suspicious is that you had it maxed out merging.  AAA will tow up to 25 or so miles free.  If you have an indie shop, go there vs the dealer.  I'd never bring an older car to the dealer.  They do things strictly by the book and would never think to rebuild the turbo.  They'll just slap a new one on and charge you $2,000 or so.  With my biturbo A6, I heard that blown turbos at the dealer were $5,000 or so - but that was for both of them.  

Good luck, but I have a feeling your Dad may be talking to the salvage yard about a rendez vous!    

[Colonel Cadillac]

On that note, the Allroad has 95K miles and has the same 2.7T engine as your old A6, do you think it should be replaced by about 120,000 miles?

[saxonyron]

On that note, the Allroad has 95K miles and has the same 2.7T engine as your old A6, do you think it should be replaced by about 120,000 miles?

I sold mine at around 120K. But the turbos were fine, and they still are (I sold it to one of my employees, so I had at least some faith in the turbos).  My life has too many moving parts, so I like to sell/trade my cars at around 100k miles, regardless of how they're doing.  Basically, at 100k things start going wrong with any car, and the uncertainty of having cars breaking down is one curve ball too many.  If you don't put a lot of miles on the Allroad and things are going well, I wouldn't say to sell it.  It's a hell of a car and replacement cost is $50K, so it might be worth the risk of incurring a repair bill.

[Champ]

I feel like going to a volvo board would be a better option than here.

or try www.saabnet.com and post it on the "other cars" board.  There is a guy who owns a shop that works on specifically volvo and saab, and he answers a ton of questions.

[sparkplug]

If I drove a Toyota Camry or BMW 3 series and had 100,000 miles on them, I'd be concerned about them but a vehicle with a turbo is probably going to require more maintenance on the engine and turbo. It's running at a higher compression and everything is generally at a greater stress load. That said, the turbo is often considered better than just getting a bigger engine. I believe that all vehicles are going to have problems and it better to trade it in when you are truly tired of it than just worried that it is going to blow. Conside the joy you get from driving and all those wonderful noises the turbo makes when it's running right and how it feels when you are pressing the gas pedal to the floor.

[BartsSVO]

www.evergreenturbo.com

Talk to Charlie. He doesn't have much of a website but he does EXCELLENT work for a good price. Most Volvos used Garret T3 turbos which are very plentiful and easy to rebuild. There are even places that sell rebuild kits for them should you have the right tools and enough faith in your mechanical skills to ensure everything goes back together properly. Remember, a turbo spins at about 80,000-100,000 rpm!!

Alot of oil in the intake would definately signal a blown turbo.If the head gasket blew, there would be an almost constant white smoke screen out behind the car. It wouldn't hurt to have a compression test done just to make sure it isn't something worse like a broken ring or piston.

[FlatBlackCaddy]

I started reading this thread and it seemed like we had a similar problem not to long ago...around june if i'm not mistaken, i'd dig up the old thread and see how it was solved back then.

[Raza]

Isn't this Volvo scrap now?