Lubricating the Turbo actuator ball joints
 

2012 TTS
I have read that the ball joints on the turbo actuators can become corroded and lose functionality over time and so I wanted to get under the car and lubricate mine. The ball joints are not easy to access and the can of lubricant spray that is recommended by Porsche has only a short small diameter nozzle.


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I had a piece of small diameter silicone tubing (fuel tubing for small radio controlled aircraft engines) and a piece of wire that I taped to the tubing and was able to direct the lube directly at the ball joint and deliver a couple of drops without making a huge mess. I would give the joint a shot then move the actuator a few times to pull in the lube and repeat a couple of times.
Then I put a piece of a paper towel on the end of some long forceps and cleaned up the excess around the joints.
Hope this helps someone :)

Bill

Thanks for sharing your idea! :thumbup:

Might have to do this on my .1

What are the symptoms of them seizing up? Any straight forward test that could be performed while driving?

I was going to say that you could observe the boost pressure readout but that may not be true as I think the readout is theoretical and not actual. If the linkage isnt working correctly I would assume that you would not get the boost/horsepower that you should. Others here know more about this than me.
Under the car you can push on the ball joint and the linkage should operate smoothly n both directions. The passenger side linkage moves up from its resting position, the driver side moves down.
Bill.

Of the service bulletin:

There is the possibility that turbochargers may have been installed on which the ball joints on the adjustment mechanism for variable turbine geometry can become corroded.

As a result, the adjustment mechanism can become stiff as vehicle mileage increases, thereby resulting in a delayed response from the turbochargers

I had a corroded one before, it was stuck solid and the turbo on that side wouldn't make boost. Now they get lubed upon every oil change.

Any easy to find lubricant that we can use? I've never seen anything locally that looks suitable.

After reading this thread I sprayed mine with some WD40 just to get some sort of lube on them. Hoping they'll be okay for now.

WD solvent will flash off instantly and leave very little high pressure/temp lube which is required for the ball and socket. This area of the turbo can see 970C max before the ECU shuts down thing (high limiter)

Good information! I typically don't use it as a grease but more so as a rust breakdown lol but as long as they hold out until I figure out what turbo's I'd like to go with I'll be happy

Which lube would you recommend Kevin?

The factory recommended lubricant is shown in the opening message. WSP5040. I had to buy it through a dealer and it was $65 for the 400ml spray can.
bill

I was lucky I got a good deal from this guy on ebay .12 euro + shipping for a can. If anyone is in Europe, he has one can left : https://www.ebay.de/sch/i.html?_from...SPRAY&_sacat=0

Anyone tried antiseize for this purpose? Seems like the job is primarily hi-temp anti-corrosion and secondarily some lubrication of the joint. Seems like a good nickel or copper antiseize would work fine in that application - - works on brakes...

Great post. Where did you source the WSP 5040 from?