We took our T4 based campervan out for a run on Saturday, and after an hour the turbo appeared to stop working. This happened 3 years ago, when it was under warranty, and the dealer said it was the catalytic converter, which they replaced FOC. They said the turbo unit itself never breaks down.
Now we are wondering if it is the cat again- expensive- or could it be something simple? Has anyone any ideas, please, as this time we are paying!!
The van still runs well, and in fact I found I was creeping close to 70 on the way home on the motorway. We usually try to stick to 60ish for fuel economy.
What makes you think the turbocharger is not working? The turbocharger operates under high load conditions such as climbing hills or hard acceleration. When cruising it is not needed as the fuel pump limits the fuel injected.
I have never seen a catalytic converter fitted to a diesel. Are you sure it has one?
We have a VW Golf auto diesel and it runs as smooth as silk.
If its van then you should hear/ or feel the turbo kick in you may hear a whine and feel the van pull more, usually under strain like fast accelleration, without it your van will feel very slow and sluggish, moreso than a non-turbo as the engine is designed for the turbo, the turbo does work on the motorway, i.e. it doesnt stop working, it just isnt noticable because of the constant speed, turbos do break eventually and need overhauling to replace bearings etc but on a deisel,this is very high mialage, not like a petrol where the turbo is for the extra power.
As for the cat, if this is at fault, and yes you can get cats on a deisel, but they are of a differant (more expensive) kind beacuse they are supposed to last a lot longer than a petrol cat then the engine management system will pick up bad exhaust emmisions and cut the power to the engine to bring it down, although you usually get a light on the dash to warn of engine fault.
if its a newer van with Engine Management take it to your dealer, who will either be able to listen and tell you what it is or run a diagnostic (usually about £30)
hope this helps
Yes, going uphill on the motorway did feel sluggish, no guts at all, not at all the usual performance, and we were reluctant to try and overtake in this situation. We definitely missed the whine we are used to. Remember we were only out for a run, so had no water in the tanks, clothes, food or drink in the lockers, or bikes on the back!
Spoke to the dealer, who is talking about the "air mass flow meter" (??)
The same happened with my passat, it lost most of its power and the dealer changed the air flow mete, about £100 fitted. it helped a lot and reduced the black smoke. however, a few months later the turbo went and it needed changed. dealer quoted £600, more than the value of the car, went to the scrap yard and found one for less than £100. car is now perfect and drives like new.
in your situation i would suggest changing the air flow meter. because the turbo is designed to last more than 3 years, especially on such a reliable make of car. (my passat is 10 years old)
heres a tip for you all, drive in 2nd gear for 2 miles at 30MPH. before you take your car/van/moterhome fo the MOT, not petrol. give it some stick.it will clear out most of the sh!t from the engine.
Hi mini camper, before going to the expense of fitting new parts try checking the air pipes and the pipes to the turbo as an air leak ( caused by a crack) in any of these can stop the turbo from working or give the map sensor false information causing overfuelling or under fuelling which will cause a loss of power. I have come across this problem several times before on vw turbo diesels.I f you cant see a leak you can spray some easy start around the pipes when the engine is running and if the engine note changes you will know that there is a leak in that area.Hope this helps.
------------- I started with nothing and still have most of it left!
Air pipes, air pipes, Yep check the pipework between the turbo and the inlet manifold.
Quite often garages don't use sturdy enough pipe clips, and they work loose. Although mines not a VW, I found suitable pipe clips here http://www.marcleleisure.co.uk/Sund001/TurboPipeClamps01.htm
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Topic: T4 turbo not working- please help
