Difficulty of removing turbo on 98 S70 GLT

VolvoS70Driver · Post by **VolvoS70Driver** » 11 Mar 2016, 13:52

I really did search the forum and the repair database but couldn't find a thread talking about removing the turbo (for repair/rework/fix oil leaks,
etc).

I got all the top side stuff off cleaning out the pcv system and such and I know the turbo is a big culprit in my continued oil usage. Problem is the car is outside on jack stands so bottom side room is limited.

Is it fairly prohibitive to try and remove the turbo? I'm guessing yes but figured I would ask those with experience at it.

Thanks...

Post by **tryingbe** » 11 Mar 2016, 14:10

Took me less than 2 hours last time. DRAIN THE COOLANT first. Undo oil feed at the block, undo the rubber coolant hoses, undo the bolts/nuts for the support backet and downpipe, undo the 4 nuts at the exhaust manifold and the turbo come out the top with all the metal tubes still attach to it.

Though, the turbo is usually not the cause of the oil usage issue. PCV system and rubber valve steam seal is more likely your issue.

bugs11 · Post by **bugs11** » 11 Mar 2016, 14:44

I removed the turbo out of my 96 850 when I did the head gasket last fall, it was covered with sludge from years of the rear exhaust cam seal leaking. Getting it out wasn't too bad, access to some of the banjo bolts is limited though. Putting it back in was a little trickier, getting one of the coolant lines hooked back up to the block was basically a blind feel. I think I ended up using a mirror to see where I needed to be. I replaced the heater core coolant hoses at the time since I had the turbo out and one of the hoses had developed an aneurysm. Check the CBV while you have it out. And you'll need new copper crush washers for the banjo bolts.

I'm sure RobertDIY has a video out there on R&R of a turbo unit.

VolvoS70Driver · Post by **VolvoS70Driver** » 11 Mar 2016, 15:14

That's making me think I might just tempt it. Looking, I saw this that didn't quite look normal. This is looking down where I think the turbo attaches to the manifold. Looks like the lower stud is broken off?

Then looked at the coolant line on the other side and saw this. Looking like its about to blow.

And finally, just as I figured I would inspect some other things in the vicinity, I found this !!

Now I'm not sure what to do.

The oil is clean so the oil is blowing into the cooling system somewhere. My first guess would be the head gasket but I'm not intimate with the cooling system on these things so someone else may be able to tell me different. Turbo possibly?

Maybe time to button it back up and sell though I am honest to a fault and would have to tell a potential buyer what I am aware of. Or I could start parting it out on eBay.

FastYellow · Post by **FastYellow** » 11 Mar 2016, 19:26

That appears to be a head gasket problem more than a turbo problem

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 12 Mar 2016, 16:47

It could also be a radiator problem. The oil coolers have been known to break and leak. Check both the engine oil cooler and the transmission cooler before you go yanking the head.

It is very difficult for the oil and coolant to mix in the turbo since they are actually distinct passages in the housing and there is no seal between them. For the oil and coolant to mix it would have to be due to a cracked housing which I think I have heard of happening once and I'm not so sure that the diagnosis was correct on that one. It is so rare for the turbo housing to crack that it approaches the "never happens" category.

...Lee

Post by **rspi** » 12 Mar 2016, 20:36

Probably a bad radiator.

Post by **abscate** » 13 Mar 2016, 06:25

I moved all my fleet from Dino to syn when we bought the BMW in 2009. Three are high mileage and everything runs a lot cleaner inside. I think they build the synthetic molecules with little scrubbing bubbles attached. If I can get that published it means it's true.

VolvoS70Driver · Post by **VolvoS70Driver** » 13 Mar 2016, 11:52

Ugh. I think I would rather pull the head. So ran out and checked the transmission fluid and indeed, it is above the full mark and while not looking like a major coolant contamination, it is a bit cloudy. I had no tranny problems before all this (keeping in mind what started this was moisture in the distributor cap that ended up being a cam seal completely unseated) so big coincidence if I have lucked up (relatively speaking) and found this radiator issue before too much damage was done.

So based on the above video links (Thanks very much by the way, very informative) I am having engine oil intruding into the coolant system and perhaps coolant intruding into the transmission fluid (still inconclusive on that). Is it likely I have both starting to occur at the same time?

So I guess that means a new radiator as I'm sure there is no practical way to repair that kind of damage. And from the very little searching I have done so far, it seems best to go OEM on the radiator.

Thinking that I may change all coolant hoses at the same time but noticed the heater core hoses seem to be 'integrated' somehow into the connections in the firewall. Is that a simple replace or something that requires pulling out half the dash?

Figure I am also going to go ahead and pull the turbo as after I took the main heat shield off, it was like, "right there" and I already broke most of the exhaust nuts loose and there is at least one stud broken and maybe two so just thinking it would be prudent to fix all that whether I rebuild the turbo or not.

Post by **abscate** » 13 Mar 2016, 12:21

That could be just ATF fluid in your coolant making that milkshake, but since the fix for both is the same, new radiator, the beauty is you will cover both birds by burying the bushes in stone.

You do want the turbo bolted in well to the exhaust, so get those broken studs fixed. You don't need to rebuild the turbo unless you have obvious symptoms in the bearings or a cracked housing

Don't worry about the heater hoses - they last forever if they are OEM>