Is my turbo on its last legs (1.6Hdi)

[citroC5]

I got a new battery yesterday and the mechanic where I bought it from (it's a chain of autorepair shops that are abundant in this corner of Europe) told me that my turbo was about to pack in for good and I should get it changed ASAP. However, I'm always suspicious of mechanics from these places as I keep getting, how should I put this, erroneous advice from them. When my Volvo s60 was 7 years old and had 80k miles, one such mechanic said my clutch was on its way out (did another 80k with same clutch before I changed it out of prevention). And there are more instances but I won't go into it here.

Here's what the turbo looks like:


There's a bit of scorching above and some oil has dribbled out below, but I want to make sure I'm not being hoodwinked. No clouds of blue smoke are coming from the exhaust, though a dodgy turbo would explain the Depollution Faulty warning I get when I give the engine some beanage.

Any thoughts would be thoroughly appreciated.

[moomoo]

Does your engine have the particulate filter.
Are you sure it's not the FAP system clearing itself out?
My 2.0L HDI was placed on a Peugeot diagnostic machine (supposedly) when it began losing power...
At first they told me it was the additive tank that was empty...
They refilled it at a cost of £300 + I cant remember how much exactly..
No different..
Then they told me the particulate filter was the problem...
I had the exhaust stripped at an alternative 'Peugeot garage'...he showed me the honeycombed ceramic looking article...he said it was spotless!
The power loss on mine was due to a ripped hose somewhere near the turbo.
i paid £90 to have the car put on the diagnostic machine at the original garage... they refused to give me a refund when I explained that I'd had a new £14 hose fitted and now the car was running perfectly...and that there was nothing wrong filter as they had told me!.
Also mine went into limp mode if I remember correctly....
The mechanic who stripped the exhaust (Dean Hunter Jnr) found the problem in no time...
I wouldnt use a peugeot dealer again.

[zs&tas]

Runs drives has power and no strange noises , I would say all is good ????

[citroC5]

Does your engine have the particulate filter.
Are you sure it's not the FAP system clearing itself out?

It's a good question, but I had the particulate filter removed and cleaned last January. Then again, I do more city driving than I would like, and I know that's terrible for filters.

Runs drives has power and no strange noises , I would say all is good ????

Yes, that's logical, but I've always been a fan of preventive maintenance, and if the turbo really is on its way out, I want to sort it before I get stuck on a roadside somewhere.

[Paul-R]

...I had the particulate filter removed and cleaned last January.

Did you reset the ECU to reflect this using Diagbox or a high end generic reader? If not the ECU will still think the DPF is full.

[admiral51]

This is just a hunch, assuming the vehicle in question is the 2008 in the OP sig then i would say that the vehicle itself believes the DPF has or should be at end of life and will throw up the fault so when you take it to Citroen Dealers they replace it.
Get it on a Lexia and inform the car it has been cleaned/changed.

As for the Turbo probably not on its last legs but they do suffer from lack of regular oil changes .

Colin

[citroC5]

This is just a hunch, assuming the vehicle in question is the 2008 in the OP sig then i would say that the vehicle itself believes the DPF has or should be at end of life and will throw up the fault so when you take it to Citroen Dealers they replace it.
Get it on a Lexia and inform the car it has been cleaned/changed.

As for the Turbo probably not on its last legs but they do suffer from lack of regular oil changes .

Colin

Thanks, Colin, good to know. I think I will have to finally invest in a lexia kit. I was hoping it wouldn't be necessary, but given the car's age and mileage (closing in on 180,000 miles), and given that I intend to keep it for as long as I can, and if I replace it I'm getting a c5 X7 tourer but with a 2 litre engine, it's probably a worthwhile investment.