my bro in laws alhambra has just died, he's been told it's the turbo and he's looking at a £850+ bill to fix it.

i don't know a thing about these cars so does this sound about right?

he's done a bit of digging around and he's found some info that says re-manufactured turbos have a tendancy to blow and shred everything in their way (sounds a bit suspect info, but like i say i don't know the car). not what he wants to read having had this qoute.

so, any advice guys?
i think i'm right in saying this engine is shared by a few makes, golf possibly?

basically he's after taking it to the best place for the best price, so any pointers to dealers or garages local to gravesend?

cheers,
Paul

 

Has the turbo definately blown ??
A mate has one of these and he had a faulty Maf sensor ,which when replaced ,about 100 quid I think ,his turbo was fine again .
I think he said they are prone to getting clogged up .

Hes a mechanic ,so he changed Maf himself .It did register on the computer as turbo replacement time but he knew of the problem and as said did not need new turbo .

Dont want to get your hoes up ,but its worth investigating .
Good Luck .

Let us know if you get it sorted .

 

They have variable vane turbos on these which I guess are quite expensive.
Worth getting it checked to make sure it's not just the vane arm that's stuck.
Reading through some stuff on the net it seems the MAF or split hoses is a common cause of this type of fault on these cars.
A good diesel specialist would be a better bet than a main dealer.
If it is the turbo and he could try this lot first before spending out on a new one

Midland Turbo

 

thanks guys, he's just relayed to me what he's been told. it's in a local garage (which i thought was skoda garage, but hey-ho) and that's what they've said to him, turbo.

not sure what checks they've done or if they're aware of the maf issue. i think my sis was just driving along and had a sudden loss of power, does that give any more indication to the problem?

how would be the best approach to them trying a maf do you reckon? or is there some way to check it?

 

I guess the best way to prove or disprove the MAF is to put a new one in and try it. This might be a problem if the dealer doesn't keep them in stock (which I guess they won't).
He really needs to get them to explain what they've looked at and why the think its the turbo. Might be that they've inspected it and found excessive play or a seizure, if the garage is confident a new turbo will fix it then it's just a case of finding out why it's so expensive.
They might just be pricing it up with the cost of a new turbo from a dealer, using an exchange re-con unit will save heaps on this cost.

 

good advice, thanks buddy
it's the recon jobbies he's read horror stories about, not sure how true this is. personaly i can't see a problem with a recon, but this is based on bugger all technical knowledge

i think we might take a drive down to the garage tomorrow and suss it out.

thanks again

 

I would take it to a reliable local mechanic to be honest ,see if he will investigate the Maf .


I have a seat toledo tdi ,which has the same intermittent fault .I was told last year that it needed a new turbo !!
1200 quid .No thanks .Under hard acceleration it would get to 2800-3300 revs then back off .However it does not do it all the time ,which is why i live with it .Fuel economy is fine etc .
When the service is due I will not take it to the main dealer again ,I will take it to an independent and get him to change the Maf whilst he is at it ,probably the lad I mentioned in the first post .

If its intermittent like mine I would think the Maf might sort it .Mine pulls like a train most of the time,its usually building up speed joining a motorway when it does it not ideal !!!!)
It used to coincide with the engine warning light coming on ,but this hasnt been on for a while .

My thoughts are its a common problem and the stealers may just be replacing Maf sensors instead of the turbo .
If you go for the new turbo mark the old one and the Maf to see which they change !!!!!!

 

got a gt18v here
if you need one pm me if its any help
not sure if seat use this one or another .
gazza

 

turbo bearings have gone the garage actually got the thumbs up for giving proper diagnosis from another guy who looked at it, so it's good to know they're on the level for future bits.

the mobile guy will undercut the garage but still a high bill.

so sorry mate, doesn't really give any clues to your problem i'm afraid!

 

No worries .
At least hes not getting swindled.