STICK OR TWIST- Time to make a difficult decision on my TDI 90
- Thread starter Mbzpar
- Start date
mhj786
Member
Thought I'd mention a great place just outside of Birmingham that remanufactures turbos onsite. I was very sceptical when my wife's BMW X3 Twin Turbo started puffing blue smoke, BMW wanted 2 arms and 3 legs for the smaller of the two turbos replaced and refitted (ie £3,500), so was considering scrapping the car, which was otherwise in excellent condition for age. But a friend of mine with Audi A4 Twin turbo mentioned this place after he used them to remanufacture both turbos. I drove up to them (limping the 40miles or so to get to them) stopping to top off the oil on route to replace the oil I was burning. They looked at the car for 5 minutes and said we can remanufacture all the parts needed to bring you turbo back up to 100% factory original condition. Agreed a price for the disassembly of engine to get to turbo, professional rebuild of bearing, professional rebalancing of the turbo on the latest VSR machine (this is crucial and they are experts as these parts spin at upto 250K rev a minute so if not balanced perfectly it is game over!) I was then astounded they offered me a no quibble 2 year guarantee on the rebuilt turbo and 2 years on the warranty on Labour. So better warranty then buying a new factory original turbo from BMW. Suffice I paid £800 of this... 4 years on the car is still pulling strong with additional 50K miles added. So was it the right choice to repair? Absolutely! I am pretty confident if you were to call them about your turbo it should be less less than £1,000 all in to remanufacture your turbo and refit. As all remanufacturing is done onsite they can guarantee the item. They also offer a 'Free Turbo' inspection service. So you can't loose. They have over 500+ Turbos in stock ready to be exchanged if you want a ultra quick turnaround. PM me of you want further details.
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Sounds like just the kind of place that should be recommended on here and is really good to know.
I had my alternator fully reconditioned by a company also funnily enough just outside Birmingham a while back when the pulley sheered off and I was so pleased with the companies services (Rotating Electrics) that I mentioned them as a means to help others in the future if they were ever in the same situation.
A recommendation thread was actually set up that I will try to find that you could add the companies name and details too as it sounds like it could be really useful to many others ?
Edit
I've just had a look and it's quite appropriately entitled 'Recommendations'
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mhj786
Member
Hi @A2Z I am new to the A2OC and picked up a broken A2 in August this year. @A2Steve and @Bargepower very kindly sorted me out a donor rear axle as mine was toast and bent like a banana and I have been really impressed with tremendous support from this forum in fixing the A2 up back up to it's former glory. Always happy to recommend positive experiences with good companies that go the extra mile. Look forward to your recommendation thread. For turbo's I would not hesitate to contact 'Best Turbos' (sorry if I was not meant to mention names!) However, after such a positive experience and reading that someone was going to have to folk out a whopping £1,500 for repair bill I had to step in. These guys offer a free turbo evaluation, so nothing to loose, but everything to gain with expert opinion on what is wrong with the turbo with no obligation to have any works carried out with them. Please check out their facebook review page 4.9/5 from 500+ reviews.
I have checked this list of turbos they rebuild and Audi A2 1.4 turbo's is on their list, remember will be with a 2 year warranty on remanufactured turbo and 2 year labour warranty as well! You can see for yourselves how much they charge for the rebuild!
I have checked this list of turbos they rebuild and Audi A2 1.4 turbo's is on their list, remember will be with a 2 year warranty on remanufactured turbo and 2 year labour warranty as well! You can see for yourselves how much they charge for the rebuild!
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Benandeddy
Member
I'd also like to register my interest if you decide to sell. Amazing spec. Don't scrap it!
Little Dog
A2OC Donor
You say " Sadly the turbo seems to have gone". If the turbo had gone there would be no seems, the car would run appallingly with lots of smoke or not run at all.
What symptoms have you got? Your problem may be no more than sticky variable vane actuation.
The car has a market value in working condition. The car would not increase in value above the market value for having a turbo fixed, it is worth considerably less though with an unknown turbo fault. The way I value repairs is to look at the lease costs of a small car. A Fiesta can be had for around £150 per month so there would be a 10 month pay back. I also want to be in pocket so to spend £1500 on my car I would be looking for the repair to give me a couple of years trouble free motoring. Back to my first point though, I'm not convinced you need to spend £1500.
What symptoms have you got? Your problem may be no more than sticky variable vane actuation.
The car has a market value in working condition. The car would not increase in value above the market value for having a turbo fixed, it is worth considerably less though with an unknown turbo fault. The way I value repairs is to look at the lease costs of a small car. A Fiesta can be had for around £150 per month so there would be a 10 month pay back. I also want to be in pocket so to spend £1500 on my car I would be looking for the repair to give me a couple of years trouble free motoring. Back to my first point though, I'm not convinced you need to spend £1500.
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2work
Well Known Member
Morning all,
I really hope that Paul @Mbzpar can find somewhere with reasonable rates to get this terrific sounding vehicle back to daily use. As a very happy returning customer, I too would be contacting WOM about repair as they may even have a good turbo ready to fit and their rates are quite reasonable.
Fully appreciate Paul has asked for opinions on what course of action to take but could we please try to see if we can assist him with keeping A2 on the road and not register interest in its purchase in the General Forum.
Any interest in this vehicle, should it be decided that it’s for sale, should be added to a specific sale thread within the Market Forum.
Kind regards
Tom
I really hope that Paul @Mbzpar can find somewhere with reasonable rates to get this terrific sounding vehicle back to daily use. As a very happy returning customer, I too would be contacting WOM about repair as they may even have a good turbo ready to fit and their rates are quite reasonable.
Fully appreciate Paul has asked for opinions on what course of action to take but could we please try to see if we can assist him with keeping A2 on the road and not register interest in its purchase in the General Forum.
Any interest in this vehicle, should it be decided that it’s for sale, should be added to a specific sale thread within the Market Forum.
Kind regards
Tom
Turbo snail heaven.
Thanks Phil. Still looking for a garage to want to undertake the repair on a car so old. No one local seems to want the work....even the garage I took it to (who blindly quoted £1500) just handed me the keys when I popped back to discuss options. Reached out to WOM but not heard anything back...will call them rather than email. Really do not want to drive the vehicle any distance currently as do not wish to cause any further harm to the vehicle from use that may condem it's fate. It has just driven 10 miles since the turbo failure, during the last 2 miles the engine management light came on. The car drives not well currently as you would expect. It is in limp mode and simply does not rev high, so building up momentum is an issue. Turbo system has been pressure checked and garage has confirmed turbo failure (unsure of any further specifics or nature of failure). Not seeing lots of smoke from the exhaust but there is a smell coming from.gbe exhaust...possibly due to pressing the accelerator and not a great deal happening
Thanks for your support on my dilemma folks. Just want to update on the current situation.
Prior to turbo failure, was looking to replace my A2 with a BMW Z4. Picked up a lovely Z4 today. I love the A2s (had 3 and no doubt more in the future) but I have an itch to own and sample other manufactures as a second family car before I leave this mortal coil (BMW, Alphas etc)....think it's called a midlife crisis! Was hoping to hand the A2 keys to my 16 year old but sadly insurance costs (aluminium construction?) prohibited this from becoming his first car which is a crying shame given the Uni boot loading potential. My plan (prior to turbo failure) was to perfect the OEM spec of the vehicle and list on this forum for its journey to continue knowing that I had done the car well during my ownership. I was just about there. I did the one thing an A2 owner should never do. I got the car all sorted, cleaned and serviced about 2 weeks ago and stood proudly looking at it saying "now that is near perfect now". This spoken phrase clearly jinxed the turbo and I have gone from hero to zero. I, unlike many on the forum, am not mechanically minded. A car service is my limit...much better getting humans back to good health than cars. I am feeling frustrated that I cannot find a local garage to rectify before selling on. My plan of action is as follows as the current impasse is getting me down and preventing me from enjoying ownership of the Z4 so far:-
1/ Final local garage to discuss the repair with is https://www.aceturbo.co.uk/turboFitting.php. emailed them but will call them in the morning. If they can assist, I will get the car repaired prior to selling on the forum.
2/ If finding a local garage to do a repair is still difficult (do not want added cost of transporting the vehicle) I will list it on the 'for sale forum' on here over the weekend as I need to resolve the situation. I will list the vehicle for a fair price given the spec but leave a nice margin so that whoever buys still has a good buy once they have undertaken the turbo repair. Current issue aside it is a special example on an A2.
3/ If the vehicle remains unsold after one week on the forum (sometimes happens....I had the best 100k 1.6FSI I have seen for sale a few years back that no one wanted for £1,500) then I will list on eBay.
4/ Not the best time of year to sell a vehicle, but if it remains unsold then sadly I will have to break it for parts that I can remove to recoup money before sending what remains to the scrapyard. I hope it does not come to this as it is way, way premature.
For those that have expressed an interest in purchasing the vehicle as is, keep a weather eye on the 'for sale section' of the forum over the weekend where it may likely be for sale in accordance to the usual forum etiquette.
Thanks again folks for reading and contributing to this thread.
Paul
Prior to turbo failure, was looking to replace my A2 with a BMW Z4. Picked up a lovely Z4 today. I love the A2s (had 3 and no doubt more in the future) but I have an itch to own and sample other manufactures as a second family car before I leave this mortal coil (BMW, Alphas etc)....think it's called a midlife crisis! Was hoping to hand the A2 keys to my 16 year old but sadly insurance costs (aluminium construction?) prohibited this from becoming his first car which is a crying shame given the Uni boot loading potential. My plan (prior to turbo failure) was to perfect the OEM spec of the vehicle and list on this forum for its journey to continue knowing that I had done the car well during my ownership. I was just about there. I did the one thing an A2 owner should never do. I got the car all sorted, cleaned and serviced about 2 weeks ago and stood proudly looking at it saying "now that is near perfect now". This spoken phrase clearly jinxed the turbo and I have gone from hero to zero. I, unlike many on the forum, am not mechanically minded. A car service is my limit...much better getting humans back to good health than cars. I am feeling frustrated that I cannot find a local garage to rectify before selling on. My plan of action is as follows as the current impasse is getting me down and preventing me from enjoying ownership of the Z4 so far:-
1/ Final local garage to discuss the repair with is https://www.aceturbo.co.uk/turboFitting.php. emailed them but will call them in the morning. If they can assist, I will get the car repaired prior to selling on the forum.
2/ If finding a local garage to do a repair is still difficult (do not want added cost of transporting the vehicle) I will list it on the 'for sale forum' on here over the weekend as I need to resolve the situation. I will list the vehicle for a fair price given the spec but leave a nice margin so that whoever buys still has a good buy once they have undertaken the turbo repair. Current issue aside it is a special example on an A2.
3/ If the vehicle remains unsold after one week on the forum (sometimes happens....I had the best 100k 1.6FSI I have seen for sale a few years back that no one wanted for £1,500) then I will list on eBay.
4/ Not the best time of year to sell a vehicle, but if it remains unsold then sadly I will have to break it for parts that I can remove to recoup money before sending what remains to the scrapyard. I hope it does not come to this as it is way, way premature.
For those that have expressed an interest in purchasing the vehicle as is, keep a weather eye on the 'for sale section' of the forum over the weekend where it may likely be for sale in accordance to the usual forum etiquette.
Thanks again folks for reading and contributing to this thread.
Paul
Ritchtea
Member
Mine is MOT'd but not right, getting me to work and back every day but iv changed my route to ovoid the 1.5mile hill that kills it every time. It will rev well for a short burst, but above 2.2k under load it goes into limp mode. Im treating it like walking on eggshells as iv Just spent £600 on the MOT, so with Xmas coming it's got to plod on "as is" until at least February!!! Doing wonders for my nerves!!!!
Sorry to hear you are in a similar position. Fear that by driving it you are playing Russian roulette with the catalytic converter. If that clogs up the repair bill could really soar.
