Turbo dead on 3200

[timkee330ci]

So my little sad story continue like this:
The car was with dealer to fix the engine oil pressure error light. Changing the sensor and wiring doesnt correct the problem.
The tech offered to tighten the screw that hold the turbo hoses, because there's a whining noise when engine rev up above 3000rpm.
Today I am told that tightening the hoses doesnt solve the whining noise problem. The left turbo is dead. I am told that it does not free spin.

So my question is, does it normally free spin? Does it require external supply of lubrication? I am told it's sealed, no lubrication is needed. But i remembering reading it's lubricated by engine oil.
The car has gave me the feeling of being underpowered.
It has only 21xxxkm on it.
Why does the left turbo just quit???? but not the right one? Previous owner is a lady barrister whom i believe wouldnt over boost the turbo for an extended period!

I am so shocked by the bad news. Any idea??

 

[davy83]

Hi Timkee, i have just replaced both Turbos on my 3200 with only 38k miles on the clock, one side was much worse than the other. Turbo should spin for sure. They can be refurbished, they are Japanese IHK turbos. The turbos are both water cooled and oil lubricated, its possible you have had problems with either the cooling or lubrication, you were getting low oil pressure warnings? There is more bad news, to remove them you have a choice of removing the front subframe to get in from below or taking the complete engine out, either way its a lot of work, and if a garage is doing it will cost a lot more than the turbos in labour. when replacing my turbos i replaced all the hoses, air, oil and water because they are so hard to get to after its all back together again.

 

[timkee330ci]

What was the symptoms of the turbo being dead? Any engine light? Limp mode?
The dealer said they took the turbo out to check it, and it doesnt free spin. But the same day when i visited them at 1830, it's all put back into one place, is it possible????
There were no engine light on mine except the oil pressure problem
Any chance to check the turbo from the top? Is it accessible from the top with the intake removed? I am starting to doubt what the dealer told me!!!

 

[BennyD]

Take it to a reputable Maserati independent. He wouldn't have been able to take the turbo off and put it back in that short a time. What he could have done was take off the intake pipe and spun the compressor by hand and deduced that it was stuck/ sticking. The compressor and turbine should spin very freely by hand and as previously mentioned, they are lubricated by engine oil and cooled by water (and engine oil). The whining is quite common from turbos and, IIRC, comes mostly from the compressor blade tips going supersonic under load. If one turbo is kn4ckered it could account for a perceived lack of performance. However, as a 4200 owner I don't know for sure what a lack of power due to nadgered turbos feels like, but I dont need to!

 

[dem maser]

Turbos never go wrong...they last....not heard of failing turbos...

Bmw turbo goes a lot

 

[alfatwo]

Take it to a reputable Maserati independent. He wouldn't have been able to take the turbo off and put it back in that short a time. What he could have done was take off the intake pipe and spun the compressor by hand and deduced that it was stuck/ sticking. The compressor and turbine should spin very freely by hand and as previously mentioned, they are lubricated by engine oil and cooled by water (and engine oil). The whining is quite common from turbos and, IIRC, comes mostly from the compressor blade tips going supersonic under load. If one turbo is kn4ckered it could account for a perceived lack of performance. However, as a 4200 owner I don't know for sure what a lack of power due to nadgered turbos feels like, but I dont need to!

Benny,Just keep a lookout for water in the oil,signs of imminent 4200 engine failure (water pump housing bearings) usually happens around 70K, after that your on borrowed time!

Should have bought a 3200

 

[BennyD]

Mines likely to blow up before then due to driving abuse so I'm not that worried. When it happens I'll try and fit a 4.7 not a 3.2! However, I've accidentally taken mine into the red sector, out the other side and on a couple of occasions bounced the needle of the binnacle light adjustment knob, so they seem to be mechanically robust. Try that in a 3200 with or without knackered turbos and you will be brushing up shrapnel for a week.

 

[timkee330ci]

Thank you for the input guys. Is it safe to drive the car away from the dealer to another indy? I will drive slowly below turbo engage rpm.

Will there be engine light to indicate the turbo is shot? Fuel trim should have gone crazy if the intake manifold pressure doesnt match the fuel injection? Any thoughts please?

 

[Almichie]

A quiet turbo is a happy turbo.... Whining (like a police siren) is a sign of bearing wear. You'll get whistling from a turbo (the air passing over the tips does indeed reach the speed of sound). The turbos are driven from the exhaust gases and are bolted directly to the exhaust manifold.

Do you have any spoke from the exhaust? If not you'll be fine for a few miles, if you do don't drive it. Smoke is a sign of worn bearing/seal.

 

[timkee330ci]

Thanks Almichie. What are spokes in exhaust?
My exhaust gas looks clean without much smoke.

 

[BennyD]

Thanks Almichie. What are spokes in exhaust?
My exhaust gas looks clean without much smoke.

That's a typo, it should read; Do you have any smoke from the exhaust?

 

[CatmanV2]

Typo. He means smoke in exhaust.

C

 

[Danny]

They can be refurbished, they are Japanese IHK turbos.

Although a lot of turbo specialists claim they can be refurbished, the reality is that they can't be, simply because there are no spare parts available for them.

 

[BennyD]

Best getting a hybrid turbo made by either, IIRC, Turbo Technics or Turbo Dynamics. They modify the standard blowers to produce more boost at the same rpm whilst reducing turbo lag. Hybrids can make a big difference to the drivability of any given vehicle and it would still be cheaper than getting news turbos from Maserati.

 

[conaero]

If your having massive issues you might want to consider contacting David Askew and buy a new engine and turbos complete.

He would do it exchange for 2-3 k might me the cheapest and best option in the long run especially if your having oil issue too.

 

[Parisien]

Although a lot of turbo specialists claim they can be refurbished, the reality is that they can't be, simply because there are no spare parts available for them.

Didn't the Madrid member investigate this........they are a generic make, not sure what else they are found on....or if parts available


P

 

[RW3200]

Thank you for the input guys. Is it safe to drive the car away from the dealer to another indy? I will drive slowly below turbo engage rpm.

Will there be engine light to indicate the turbo is shot? Fuel trim should have gone crazy if the intake manifold pressure doesnt match the fuel injection? Any thoughts please?

I would not be tempted to drive the car until I knew exactly what the problem is. In my experience turbos are a simple concept but can suck when they don't suck if you get what I mean.
Unfortunately the turbos are active from the time you start the car so until I knew what the problem was I'd be extremely cautious.
As for advice, like others have already said, get the car to a trusted indy of which many are recommended by fellow members (I can personally recommend Bill McGrath), and get an idea of what work could be needed rather than the 'try this' attitude you seem to have got with your dealer..

Good luck with it, hope its a relatively simple fix.
Ru

 

[beau]

i had a ford galaxy turbo diesel in work, whining, low on power, i turned the turbo by hand and it was stiff and wouldnt spin freely, quoted for a turbo, he didnt want it so we left it.

we done a service on it, which included an engine oil flush, and gave it back to him, when we saw it again he said his issues had improved, this was approx 40,000 miles later, i removed the pipes again out of interest and spun the turbo, it span freely!

 

[alfatwo]

You can get Japanese IHI turbo's rebuilt over here,the 3200 version are very similar the the early Nissan Skylines

 

[CatmanV2]

The alternate list has them as IHI units.

C