charlie_pank Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Shopping car is a 2004 Honda Accord turbo diesel. It has 160,000 miles on the clock, although it got a new short-engine at 100,000. It still pulls fine, makes a bit of black smoke, but doesn't seem to use any oil, so I've put it down to unburned fuel. The thing that's bothering me is the whistle that the turbo makes. The rest of the car is absolutely fine and I'm happy to keep driving it for the foreseeable future. In my mind I have this idea that it's time for a recon turbo, as the whistling suggests to me that the turbo bearing is on its way out and 160k is far enough for any turbo... Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Walker Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 It will certainly be cheaper to have it overhauled before it fails. If it fails it could take the engine and the catylst. Overhauls are around £500. Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie_pank Posted January 2, 2013 Author Share Posted January 2, 2013 I got a recon for the old shopping car (Pug 306) for about £350 on exchange, then fitted myself, but it's still a fair wedge, so wanted to know what the expected lifetime is and if there's any way to tell it's on the way out... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Owen Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 I will follow this thread with interest, our 2004 accord is just about to hit 150,000 and all feels fine. So how long do we think the turbo will last ? Had 100% reliability up until Christmas when the alternator finally went ☹️, I don't suppose thats too bad for 150k but not cheap these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie_pank Posted January 2, 2013 Author Share Posted January 2, 2013 Does it whistle? Does it produce any smoke? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klunk Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 The turbo on my passat tdi went at just over 200,000 miles and I'm ashamed to say it was my fault for not checking the oil level . Main symptom was a noticeable whistle which happened soon after the oil light came on. Didn't notice it smoking though. That said, when the turbo went on my dad's BMW there was a lot of smoke but I think that was slightly more catastrophic! I think I paid about £350 for an exchange unit including fitting. I won't make that mistake again . Regards, Giles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Walker Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 The bearing in the turbo will be a plain metal shell bearing , the impellor shaft runs in a film of pressurized oil ( hydrodynamic wedge) these can last a very long time if the lubrication is good and oil kept clean. If its pushing out loads of black smoke this is unburnt diesel fuel and this will coke up the turbo impellor and shorten its life. Have a look at the airfilter , and try adding a 200:1 mix of 2 stroke oil to the diesel for a few hundred miles and see if the smoke reduces. When the turbo is about to fail it can become abnormally noisy and is usually accompanied by blue smoke in the exhaust, failure is usually very quick at this stage. Mileage is no indication, some turbos fail at less than 30k some can last 500k. If you know that it has become abnormally noisy I would change it soonest before it fails or sell . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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