Time for that pickup truck then.
Tempting. It really is but I've ear-marked my bonus money for the Cadillac's carburetors plus I'm now hell-bent that I want to get 300,000 miles out of the Mondeo !!!!
O.K, so on Tuesday night I started randomly taking bits off around the turbo . . . got about 45 mins in when I realised the turbo is cast into the exhaust manifold meaning the whole thing has to come off and that, in order to get that massive lump out, a whole load of other stuff needs to be removed to make way . . . . .
F-U-C-K T-H-A-T, thought I. She'll go to the scrap yard before I do all that.
I reckoned I could split the turbo in situ (what did I have to lose ?) so pushed on.
Long story (very long story) short, yes, it's possible to do this and yes, it's quicker, it's an utter ball ache to say the least.
I cracked open the turbo expecting to find gunk galore on the "actuator ring" (that's my name for it) which drives the 11 "variable vane thingy-me-bobs" (again, my name for them).
But no.
No gunk. Worse, probably . . . it was dry and sooty in there and the ring (when operated by hand) was stiff and difficult to turn.
At least there's an obvious issue, so I pumped the fekker full of WD40 to shift the soot. Also cleaned the exhaust side of the "whirrly bit" (my name for it).
Unfortunately the "actuator ring", once lubricated is prone to dropping out and taking with it the 3 "tiny little cotton-reel roller-bearing wotsits" (my name) . . . These wotsits space the ring away from the face of the casting correctly so are fairly critical.
I lost one, then found it, then lost another while re-assembling (and found it again).
In the end I used bearing grease to effectively stick them in place while I reassembled it. The theory worked and I got it all back together and started her up without any immediate codes, flashing warning lights or explosions.
The cost :
The "outlay" was pennies in WD40, a washer from stock to replace one I lost and about 3 hours time.
The verdict :
A definite improvement in low-speed response, better overall response and generally an increase in power - that said it's not as good as it was a year ago (but I must remember her age and mileage).
I purposely tested her in high load conditions, changing into 6th gear at 40mph and stamping on the accelerator . . . . she fought for about 5 seconds before going into limp-mode (fair enough, as it was a unlikely demand). I then did a much more likely test, changing into 6th at 50mph and applying about 75% throttle. This time she managed it without issue.
I put 250 miles on her yesterday without incident.
I don't think this has cured the problem (clearly the turbo is very worn) but it's certainly improved the situation . . . . whether it's improved it enough to get me another 12,000 I can't say.
No photos as it was utterly p!ssing down with rain Tuesday night and I was just concentrating on getting it done.
