03 XC90 Bad Turbo

tballjohn · Post by **tballjohn** » 04 Apr 2010, 13:05

Last week I had billowing white smoke from the exhaust of my 2003 XC90 T-6, with 116k miles (tranny seems ok, go figure). Thought it was head gasket. Mechanic said it was a failed turbo (not sure which one yet) and wasn't sure why smoke wasn't blue. They want to replace both along with a host of other "stuff" to the tune of $5,900. I changed the oil pretty regularly, but am not the original owner, so I don't know the complete history. Are there many other options other than replacing with two new turbos (rebuilt, used, etc.)? What else might have been damaged or fowled and may need to be replaced (what about plugs, O-2 sensor, etc.)? I still owe on the vehicle, so I can't walk away. Any options to at least get it running again. Thanks! John

Post by **vegasjetskier** » 04 Apr 2010, 19:28

tballjohn wrote:Last week I had billowing white smoke from the exhaust of my 2003 XC90 T-6, with 116k miles (tranny seems ok, go figure). Thought it was head gasket. Mechanic said it was a failed turbo (not sure which one yet) and wasn't sure why smoke wasn't blue. They want to replace both along with a host of other "stuff" to the tune of $5,900. I changed the oil pretty regularly, but am not the original owner, so I don't know the complete history. Are there many other options other than replacing with two new turbos (rebuilt, used, etc.)? What else might have been damaged or fowled and may need to be replaced (what about plugs, O-2 sensor, etc.)? I still owe on the vehicle, so I can't walk away. Any options to at least get it running again. Thanks! John

Normally white smoke indicates that water (as in coolant) is entering the combustion chamber, not oil (the smoke would be blue). This might be caused by a bad turbo (because they're water cooled) but could also be caused by a bad head gasket or a cracked head. Bad plugs or an O2 sensor won't cause the white smoke. Also, if one turbo is bad, why do they want to replace both of them? What diagnostics did the mechanic do to determine it was the turbo that was bad? You might want to try getting a second opinion.

Post by **JDS60R** » 04 Apr 2010, 20:23

Agree
$5900 is out of line even for 2 turbos and an engine. You could get a guaranteed used motor with turbo's installed for less than that.

tballjohn · Post by **tballjohn** » 06 Apr 2010, 07:18

Some of what i suspected as well. I am getting a second opinion and will go from there. Any good instructions out there to remove/replace myself?

Post by **melanie** » 04 Apr 2013, 13:31

I was wondering if you ever fixed the problem with the billowing white smoke? We just replaced one of the turbos on our 04 volvo xc90 and the smoke is still billowing out? There's no coolant in the oil so it doesn't seem like it would be the head gasket?