Turbocharger Maintenance And Repair | How To Repair Turbocharger? | Turbo Parts And Its Components

Turbocharger maintenance and repair is related with the components of a turbo. First of all we need to understand what are the components it has and what is needed to repair the turbo if gets damaged. Understanding it is vital to have a better longevity and lower the maintenance of turbo cars. So here are the tips on repairing the turbo and its components.

What is the maintenance on a turbocharger?

First we need to understand what are the problems of the turbocharger in the engine then the maintenance will be discussed.

The turbo in an engine can get chocked also because there can be carbon deposit also.
Some turbo charger contains VGT(Variable Geometry Turbocharger) which moves freely and have nozzle to pass the air inside when the RPM is above 2000. It can also get chocked.
There is a high temperature in side the turbo it becomes so high that the seals which are used for joints gets melted and due to which the fitting gets too tight. Opening these joint become tough job due to which some mechanic do not service it properly. Eventually turbo gets choked.
There comes play in the turbo blades and in its fitting. The turbine blades gets loosened from the central fitting due to wear and tear. Because of this play there becomes a gap between the blades. The engine oil then starts coming out from the seal.

The engine oil flows with a high pressure in the turbo and due to play in the turbo blades the oil leakage starts.
This oil leakage causes the engine oil level goes down. And this is an a bad condition of oil being leaked.
The leakage causes white smoke to come out from the turbo to the exhaust. There are two opening of the turbo one in the exhaust side and another is towards engine. If the oil leak from the exhaust side then the white smoke comes out.
If the oil leaks from the engine side then the oil will burn and black smoke will come out from the exhaust. So black smoke is also a sign of turbo failure.

How To Fix Turbo Problems?

So these problem of turbo can be fixed when we first find out what kind of complication is there. We have to diagnose first that which component is damaged or problematic.

If there is problem in VGT then it should be cleaned first. It sometime gets chocked due to carbon deposit then the turbo should be cleaned properly. The suction of it needs to be safely opened and its components should be placed carefully after the removal.

Opening it and cleaning is necessary because if this part gets chocked then turbo will not be able to work. The pickup will drop and engine smoke will come out.
Use high pressure air to make it clean and let the carbon come out.
Intake turbine body and exhaust turbine body are two parts of a turbocharger. The exhaust side of the turbo is called as core of the turbo.
Secondly there can be a problem of oil leakage from the core due to wear and tear. So in this case the turbo needs to get dismantled and check for the blades leakage.
There is a portion in the turbo from where the engine oil travels so if there is any wear out in its parts then there are oil leakage occur. If there are oil leakage from the turbine then the bush and the shaft of it is replaced.

Can a turbocharger be repaired?

Yes it can be repaired. Turbo helps to make air available for the burning of the fuel inside and piston need not to work harder for air intake. So its parts can be repaired also. There are different type of Turbochargers. Due to play inside the core its parts can be restored but the work has to be done very carefully.

Sometimes when the parts are not available then we can even replace the core itself. This is also a part only and we need not to replace entire turbo.

Late service or skipping the service schedule can cause this type of problem. Older engine oil for a long time cause oil to get thicker, sticky and dark in color. Due to this oil starts loosing its property of cooling down the engine temperature. So all this cause the turbo to break down.

Carbon chocked can stop VGT from working in the turbo. The main problem with the turbo comes when there is cut on the bushes.

What are the 5 main components of a turbocharger?

The main components of a turbo are-

Turbine wheel– Accept exhaust gases
Housing of the Turbine– Where turbine is placed.
Compressor wheel– Accepts incoming air and send to the engine.
Main Housing-This is a central part that contains the wheel, shaft, lubrication system.
Oil Circulation System– Where the engine oil circulates and cool the temperature of turbo.
Wastegate– Maintains the air pressure if pressure gets high then it gets opened and let it pass.
Actuator-Help in opening and closing the Wastegate.

How often should a turbocharger be serviced?

A turbocharged engine should be serviced according to the schedule. Even it should be serviced before that time schedule. Because we now know what problems a turbo can face. How we should maintain it and what are the main components of a turbo. So It is an advise that the turbo car should get properly serviced and even before the time schedule. Example if the service schedule tells to get service done after every 10000km but if your car has run on highways more or even continuously then the service should have been done at 8000km itself. Because the turbo has to work more on the continuous running and it gets hotter. Due to continuously running the temperature goes too high that even the oil can not handle it and the turbo gets damaged.

Turbocharger Maintenance And Repair cost

The maintenance and repair cost depends on the part of a turbo. Also it depends on what component has gone bad or got damaged. But still in some initial problems the cost of repairing it can be around 10000 to 15000 INR. If you need to change the entire turbo then it can cause 50000 to 80000 rp cost.