Loss of power - turbo dead?

Hi all

My name is Glen and I have a 23 year old Daugther Katie who has owned her Copen for just over two years. Yesterday - on her birthday, it lost a lot of power barely capable of 60mph apparently.

I connected an OBD code reader to it tonight and no codes were registered and on driving it it seemed like there was no boost (nor whistle) from the turbo. There are no loose connections to be found and I suspect the turbo has seized. Though I have always told her to keep it serviced, she prefers to spend her money on clothes and shoes! It has never used any oil, but the quality of that in the sump is an unknown.

So, is there an easy way of identifying a dead turbo? and should I need to get one, where can I get one from? Second hand preferably.

I can fit it myself having been playing with cars and bikes for 35 years or so.

Any help greatly appreciated

Cheers

Glen

 

Fantastic, many thanks. I have sent him a message.

Just for info a new one from Daihatsu is a whopping £1336!!!:-((

Cheers

Glen.

 

Yeah, there are a couple of £600 engines on the 'bay but neither has got a turbo and the bloke selling them hasn't got one either.

The guy in Poland has got one though, but don't shout about it - I want it if mine really is dead. I will be getting stuck into it tomorrow.

Cheers

Glen.

 

Hi All

The turbo is deffo dead. The bearings in the middle have failed.

Please make sure you do change your oil regularly - it is not a nice job I can tell you!

Glen.

 

Hi Andrew

Forgive me if I'm telling you stuff you already know here.

Inside the body of the Turbo is a small shaft with an impeller (like a tapered fan) on each end. One fan is driven round as very high speed by the exhaust gases, the fan one the other end then compresses the air going into the engine.

When I say very high speed, I mean 150,000 RPM. The shaft rotates on two tiny roller bearings, one on each end. These need a supply of clean oil at that kind of speed or they end up like my daughter's ones - very dead indeed. The oil is fed into the top of the turbo body, lubricates the bearings and then drains back to the sump through a pipe underneath.

There is a small volume of oil in the top of the turbo housing to feed the bearings while the turbo slows down after the engine is switched off. For this reason it's always a good idea to let the engine idle for a few seconds before switching it off and it's NEVER a good idea to rev it up before switching it off or the oil can be consumed before the turbo stops spinning.

So, you are right to err on the safe side when it comes to oil changes. The recommened oil is 5/30w.

Hope this helps a bit.

Glen.

 

Hi Neill et all

The best price I could get was £747.60 all inclusive from turbochargerrepairs.com. Genuine IHI turbo. A couple of other companies asked £834.00 plus P+P. It just goes to show how of a much of a mark up the main dealers (or should that be stealers) whack on.

It should be here on Monday, so weather permitting I will fit it on 29th.

Glen.

 

Well, time for an update.

I fitted the new turbo this afternoon and reassembled the front of the car. I changed the oil, but also wanted to warm it up then drain it again and re-fill it, just to make sure it was as clean as could be.

So, I took it out for a drive, never having actually driven it far before and was pleasently surprised at how well it goes and handles. Very much like my wifes MX5 actually.

I got home ready to drain the oil and found I had made a fundamental ommision on re-assemlby. I had forgotten to re-connect the bonnet release cable!

So now I can't open the bonnet. I have managed to get the grill off without breaking too much off it. It's dark now and after 3 hours work I'm fed up, I can't see the latch well enough to find out how to jimmy it. If anyone has done this, I would be grateful for their experiences, though it's kind of unlikely me thinks.

Ho Hum.

Glen.

 

Thanks Rex, but you can't, your really can't and believe me I tried.

As luck would have it a mate's wife has got a Copen, so I could see from hers what I needed to do. Seemed so simple to release the latch with the bonnet up, but even after making a speciel tool to reach right in there, it proved impossible with the bonnet shut. When the latch activates, the bit with the cable on disappears inside.

In the end I resorted to sawing through the bar that is riveted to the bonnet. It actually took longer to open the bonnet than it did to fit the Turbo