N

Navymartin

Member
Hi, I have an M Reg, 300Tdi Defender which has covered 95K miles (I have only had it for about 9 months). The turbo did whistle but at the MOT I was advised that the turbo is dangerous. They showed me the slight lateral movement with the Turbo spindle and said it would be dangerous to drive it away. They quoted about £600 to fit a new one. Is this about right or could they be conning me into fitting a new unit. I did not experience any problem prior to this, no smoke or loss of power etc. Any advice would be great, thanks. :(
 
did you ask em to strip it down?? or did they remove the pipes themselves?? as they int allowed to dissassemble anything during a MOT??
 
how much play? a turbo must have some play in it as it has iron bearings that run on a film of oil..... as said get a second opinion
 
dangerous?? to what? Not from a MOT point of view anyway. Ive seen siezed turbos, turbos that have self destructed, turbos that have had foreign objects pass through them and none of them would be classed as dangerous.

They shouldn't be looking at the turbo for a MOT. If theres no exhaust leaks and it passes the smoke test then thats all they should be bothered about.

If it runs ok and pulls ok and you think the turbo is working then leave it. Youll know when it packs in :)
 
they said it was dangerous to take away???
Are they refusing to let you remove your vehicle?
Did they, as Pikey said, dismantle without your instructions?

If so I would tell them you intend to complain to VOSA.
And get your motor outta there quick :(.
 
The only way I can see it would be dangerous is if the turbo shaft oil seals were leaking and the engine risked a "run away". BUT you would have been leaving a smoke screen that 007 would have been proud of long before that happened. As said there will always be a tiny amount of spindle play unless you are running a professional turbo with roller bearings. Ask them why they think it is dangerous.
 
This as got to be the best one yet...:D was the MOT tester a large nigerian gentleman who also told you you;d won the lottery ..;)
 
Navymartin said:
Hi, I have an M Reg, 300Tdi Defender which has covered 95K miles (I have only had it for about 9 months). The turbo did whistle but at the MOT I was advised that the turbo is dangerous. They showed me the slight lateral movement with the Turbo spindle and said it would be dangerous to drive it away. They quoted about £600 to fit a new one. Is this about right or could they be conning me into fitting a new unit. I did not experience any problem prior to this, no smoke or loss of power etc. Any advice would be great, thanks. :(
Click to expand...


Forgive me if someone else had caught this but I have not read the whole post.

You said SLIGHT lateral movement, how much exactly, they sound like a bunch of con men. The turbo will have movement when the engine is off as it's the oil film that acts as the bearing, with the engine off no oil film. They do move slightly.

WHY did they have the intake to the turbo off anyway? Were they just doing an MOT?

Take the intake pipe off, turn on the engine and look at the turbo spool up, does it spool up OK at idle (signs pointing towards the fact that all is OK as the exahust gas at idle is enough to spool it up) then have someone turn off the engine while you watch it, does it spin away happily for a bit without making any noises? If so, leave well alone and never go back to the garage.

Oh, name and shame?
 
Last edited:
As all of the above, They can not take bits of they feel like during an MOT

DId it pass the MOT ?? if the turbo was feecked it would have failed the smoke test and emissions test.

When you wobble the spindle it will move slighlty if it moves all over the place and is noisy when you turn it is knackered a second hand turbo and manifold are on ebay for about £50 a few quid for a gaket and and about an hours work if the exaust doesnt want to play will see it changed
 
that's a bit of a short reply "thanks for the advice".. after the long posts everyone took the time to write to help you...
 
I would say the very fact they bothered to say thanks was good enough at least theres some sort of end to the tale.


Lynall
 
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