John W

Hi,
my 07 tt had its big service on Friday (38k miles, plugs etc), and they told me the linkage for the vgt actuator on the right turbo is heavily corroded, and was dislodged (not sure I believe the last bit as it drove just fine). Their suggestion is that the turbo needs replacing, at a cost of 4100 gbp.

The actuator works, it's just the linkage itself ( the bit with the ball joints apparently).
I've not been under the car to look myself yet, although I do have a photo they gave me.
They said from experience it's not easy to remove the bits from the turbo itself, hence replace the whole unit.

So, the questions are,
how easy is it to get at this linkage with the car up on a ramp ?
how much of a nightmare is it to remove the turbo ?
can I do this with the engine in the car ?
are spares available, or possible to get it overhauled ?

If I can remove it myself (assuming it needs to be) I am happy to do so, but have no idea if there are any gotchas. Hence the questions before I start.

Any pictures, or comments gratefully received.

Many thanks,
John.
p's the pic below shows the ball joint that they mentioned.

nzskater

Share the photo they gave you if possible. If you have no reason to distrust them, probably best to believe them. But I'd look to source a second hand or alternatively sourced OEM unit.

therock88

Seems hard to believe the actuator rod is corroded? But if it is, they have ball end sockets and literally pop on. You remove the whole actuator to change plugs....3 Torx (a littlee tricky to get to). Probably some pics in my spark plug DIY ....search here and 6speed for "TheRock's DIY".

If the rod has issues I would try cleaning it and/or applying silicon grease to the ball ends...

Good luck,
Dc

John W

Thanks guys, pic now attached to first thread.

To be far they said various bits were corroded, but they are on all cars of this age regardless of mileage.
What the service manager said in conversation was that the ball joint was worn bad corroded, and had become dislodged. I queried this as surely this would mean under or over boost, and maybe error codes, of which there were none.

I will go search for your plugs diy, thanks. That is exactly what I was hoping for, to see how to get at them 😊

My real issup is replacing the whole turbo for a simple linkage. Being mechanically competent I would like to have a look see for myself, and do what is needed rather than wholesale parts swaps.

Any comments on the picture ?

Cheers
John.

therock88

That one does look pretty rough...Appears they must use some pretty harsh salt/chem on the roads there for that?

Again, you may try cleaning...Also, have a look HERE...a good shot of all the pieces and one for sale with good pics..$350 seems better that $4K

Here is link to my DIY's HERE

Also...the rods are available as part number 997 123 123 70 Cyl 1-3 & 997 123 124 70 Cyl 4-6

DC

CincyScott

Yeah, that's pretty crispy. Mine doesn't see winter weather and doesn't look like that. I guess we all have that to look forward to one day.

John W

Yeah they salt the roads in the winter, and the original owner used it daily.
I've looked at others and they are all similar, so mine is not the exception.

Just looked at your diy. Very helpful, thanks.

I'm tempted to go buy the drop link anyway, and swap it out. Then decide based on what I see / feel.
are any of the other bits available, like the bell crank and other end, that have the ***** on them ?

Is there a parts diagram for the turbo parts ?
The diagrams I have only shows the whole turbo unit, not any parts.

Thanks again.

heliflyer

Had a similar problem with mine..
Jacked the car up and got underneath - cleaned everything up with brass wire brushes, coated everything liberally with rust oleum ceramic grease and put it all back together.
No problems since. If the car is going to be left for any length of time I also get under and give all the linkages a good spray with AC50.

therock88

Here is a Parts Diagram for you OP.

DC

John W

Thanks for the parts list, mine doesnt show the individual parts, just 1 and 2 for the two turbos. It's for 2007 though, so maybe an early version ?

Heliflyer thanks for that, makes me feel a lot better that this is a simple fix and not a bunch of money. That's a job for next weekend then 😏

Now onto the tpms sensors 😋

MadScience

Yes, that looks rough compared to a new car, but I don't see anything that suggests failure or pre-emptive replacement on a daily driver.

I'd pull, inspect and clean/lube before considering a replacement. Do check to see if that spot requires a hight temp lube, and use whatever is appropriate.

therock88

You are welcome. I just looked it up with PET and exported that part to PDF for you, so should all be there and accurate.

DC

TT Surgeon

The turbo is easily removable and rebuildable, way less than 4k. Many reputable places in the states can do it. I like turbokraft (Chris Carroll) out of Arizona.
C

Kevin

John, a few added thoughts.

If the actuator linkage rod has come dislodged. One can clean and reinstall on the VNT turbine housing vane.

However, the first thing that I would check is the movement of the VNT nozzle ring drive lever. The actuator linkage rod attaches to VNT nozzle ring drive lever. It either moves freely or it doesn't. If it doesn't you need free up the VNT nozzle ring drive lever. If it is frozen, the corrosion will deem the part to the scrap bin. You cannot repair the VNT turbine and very few shop have spare turbine housings. This is why they are quoting you the new replacement turbocharger.

Another thing that one must consider is a binding VNT nozzle ring. The VNT nozzle ring and blades are not rotating and have welded in place OR a high heat situation has warped the components in a way that the clearance required to move has been reduced. It is not repairable. If the nozzle ring has bound and is not moving, the actuator linkage rod will pop off.

heliflyer

Yes - it does need a high temp lubricant-
This stuff works well:
http://www.tooled-up.com/manproduct/...-500ml/198523/