lazy turbocharger

[Guest brian lawrence]

I gather my original entry may have caused some problems due possibly to inverted commas-appologies.To recap,I have a 1998 swift royale on a peugot boxer 2.5 turbo diesel.mileage 35k.my problem is that the turbo does not start to function from a cold start until I am some 5 or 10 minutes into my journey.The engine is very sluggish & it makes no difference how high I take the revs in any gear the turbo does not kick in.As the engine warms up there is a sudden surge of power and the turbo wakes up and everything is normal for the rest of the day regardless of how many times the engine is stopped & started.The vehicle flies up hills once the turbo is performing normally and pulling power is excellent.There is no blue smoke,no funny noises other than a shrill turbo whistle from the exhaust as you wind up the revs.I have been told it could be an injector problem & nothing to do with the turbo ! Any ideas ?

[Guest Paul W]

Your last sentance was the reason I asked how you knew the turbo was not working. I had a similar problem on our Boxer 2.5 that has a TB Turbo conversion, but I knew it was not the turbo because it has a boost guage that showed boost as normal. I do not know exactly what was wrong, as a deisel specialist cured it, (only had to be removed cleaned and freed off) but apparently there is an electro/ mechanical cold start system that can stick until the engine is sufficiently warm to force it off. From then on, particularly if the engine does not get completely cold e.g. overnight, it does not get back to the position where it sticks. Sounds, to me anyway, like your problem may be the same or similar.

[Guest Derek Uzzell]

It's quite common to be able to hear the turbocharger 'spool up' and, on diesels, this happens from quite low revs. (Certainly, on our Transit-based Herald, you could easily hear the turbo begin to whistle as it started to spin.) If you lift the bonnet when the motor is warm and can hear the turbo start to spin when the engine is revved, but fail to hear the same noise when the motor is totally cold and the same procedure is followed, then I suggest your description "lazy turbocharger" is apt. I've never come across this problem, but it seems reasonable to assume that, if the turbo won't turn, then its rotating parts are sticking until sufficient heat (and 5-10 minutes of driving implies a lot of heat) causes them to unstick. A bit more background might have been useful - like did this problem suddenly occur or were there any preparatory symptoms - but, if your diagnosis is right and the turbo is refusing to spin when the motor is dead cold, then the fault logically lies with the turbocharger itself. Turbochargers are pretty rugged and simple (though not cheap!) and may be able to perform adequately for some time even if, say, a bearing-fault is causing the metal internals to contact each other sufficiently to prevent rotation until heat-expansion releases them. You could try changing the oil to the highest possible grade suitable for the motor, just in case a miracle happens, but, being realistic, I suspect you may need a replacement turbo at some stage soon. However, as Paul's advice indicates that the lack-of-power symptoms you describe can be turbo-unrelated I recommend you seek specialist advice (from TB Turbo for example) ASAP. Please let us know the outcome.

[Guest Docted]

Brian As the problem is related to cold starts it may be that the wrong grade of oil has been fitted, and you have been supplied with a thicker oil, non synthetic, which takes some time to heat up and the improve its flow. Try a change to a semi-synthetic oil of the appropriate grade where the oil is "thinner" but of the correct viscosity. This is proably cheaper in the short term and has the benefit of not doing any damage. Good luck Docted

[Guest Bill]

Might be worth fitting a boost gauge so you will know for sure whether or not it is the turbo. Before paying any fancy prices, check with an aircraft scrappy.

[Guest brian lawrence]

Thanks to everyone who answered my query about the lazy turbocharger.I have taken on board all your comments and advice and will keep you informed of my progress.Thanks again.What a great thing this forum is.