Ok, my wife's 2000 2.7T is in the shop and we were told the turbo went out. Before I decide on whether to trade it in or pay for the repairs, I need to know what other issues may befall the car (and my pocket) so I can make an informed decision. Unfortunately the warranty we paid $2700 for doesn't cover it. Here are my questions:

1. After it has been repaired, is it known to fail again?
2. Are there other components that fail as a result of the turbo going out?
3. Is it even worth it to fix?

My wife is leaning towards getting rid of the car, which we just bought about two months ago! If I could get some feedback from the experts here I'll know which route to take. I really like the car and would rather fix it and move on than trade it in, but if this is just the beginning of a string of expensive repairs I'd like to know now so I can cut my losses. Thanks in advance for the help!

 

damn... i ust picked one up... did the turbo seized or was there fin damage that dropped pieces into the engine???

If the turbo is just dead replace it w/ a bigger one! keep in mind that i needs to match the other turbo...

 

Big Tone,

It is unfortunate that your Turbo died on you. More info is needed about the car's history before one can decide what the next step is.
In general a well maintained car's virgin turbo can last at least 100K. My last two turbos lasted 135k and 145k before rebulit. How many miles is on the car when you bought it? Were maintenance records available? Has the turbo been worked on?

If the turbo rebuilt/replacement was done properly and the car is maintained the way it should be there should not be any problem of it failing again for a while. Turbo going out does not cause any other components to go out other than maybe the catalytic converter being hit by gunk and smoke thrown up by the broken turbo.

Were the turbo making noise? Lots of smoke? Don't trust the shop completely. Tell us more on the symptons and problems.

PM me if you need faster response.

eCarToys

 

miles?
do you trust your mechanic?
was it any wierd sound?
loss of power?
other problems?
--------------------
if you will replace turbo , do both sides, you wont regrate it, if your mechaninc will do it ask him about warranty on parts and labor.
good luck.

 

The car has less than 50k miles on it and appeared to be in excellent condition. There weren't any maintenance records available when we bought it. There was no prior warning to it going out. One day when my wife was on her way to work she started getting a lot of smoke coming out of the exhaust. I drove it home from where she was and noticed there was a loss of power. The Audi dealer told us the turbo went out and so did the place where we bought the car.

From everything we could tell the car was well-maintained and being it has so few miles on it I didn't think much could have gone wrong with it so I wasn't too concerned about not having the records. The Audi dealer also said the tie rod needed to be replaced, but the place where we bought the car said the turbo is the only problem. At this point I don't know who or what to believe.

 

Miles? Approx. 48k
Do I trust my mechanic? No.
Was there any weird sound? Not that I could tell.
Loss of power? Yes, along with a lot of smoke.
Other problems? One place says the tie rod needs replacing along with something else I can't remember right now (I'll find out andreport back), the other place claims only the turbo needs repairing.

 

ok, about tie rod.....Jack up the car and check the rubber on both tie rods and try to shake the wheel, you 'll be able to see if the wheel sits tight or not.
turbos....sounds like it really went out on you... i only hope that its not the engine itself only turbo, how is the idling? even when turbo is broken the car should idle ok....what else....try to get as many opinions localy as you can.This is a very low miles car.....stock Audi turbos goes more than 100xxx miles 100%....yours was probably changed before.... i have 2.7t 6speed manual, with 89xxx miles, everything stock , went to audi dealer, they said turbos are stock no record on replacement...if you have Tip your turbos should be better then manual car, something was done to your car before, driving without oil/coolant, etc.

 

With less than 50K and the turbo goes out in smokes, that tells me something is not treating the turbo right. If it is the original turbo oil starvation had occured. With no maintenance record this is a big no no. If someone had worked on the turbo or turbo area then they may have contaminated the intake port and caused the turbo to wear out prematurely.

From what you were describing with no tell tale noise from the turbo and then poofed up it goes, it sounds like the first scenario - oil starvation that leads to burn out.

Tie rods ends are cheap and easy to fix. You can get the reengineered upgraded full metal Meyle Tie Rods ends from my store for $72.78 a pair shipped. My concern is with what caused the turbo to burn out prematurely. The first scenario is definitely not good as it might lead to more engine problems. It is going to be a tough call but with low miles on the a car like yours I would fix it.

eCarToys

 

if you decide to repear the car ,replace both turbos,do not make a mistake doing only one.

 

don't agree with that mate that's like having a flat tyre change all the tyres, turbos cost money change as and when required and keep good service records on the engine "oil & oil filter changes"