[SRHeer]

Last year my son was driving my 91 Jetta with AAZ 1.9TD when deciding to ford a gully washer - well he found out that water is not too compressible in comparison to metal engine rods. Now with newer rods/pistons and rings I am not seeing any boost out of the K14 that was on it when he crossed that bridge. So I was just wondering if ingested water through turbo into intake usually messes turbos up or not? Where is a good place to buy and or have one rebuilt? Or does anyone have a good used one for sale? Like I would think I would want a T2 or K14, I am assuming the T3 would be then next larger in that series but what about the K14 and up? Which would you recommend for this engine? One reason I really think that my turbo is shot is that I have taken the turbo's intake and exhaust hoses off and yes turbo is spinning but when revving up engine it won't suck in a piece of cardboard in held close to the inlet and there is hardly any felt boost from its outlet???

 

[Fluid]

Unfortunately, yes. The turbo is spinning at least 10,000 rpm even at idle. If it hits something like a paper towel or a signifigant amount of water, the turbo wheel usually touches the housing or the bearing gets ground up. Even if the damage isn't immediate, it builds up since the turbo has to be balanced. A damaged wheel will throw it out of balance and over time it will wobble until it finally snaps. Since a diesel can run on engine oil, if it's leaking engine oil it can lead to a runaway and totally destroy the engine. Have you inspected it for damage? A rebuild for journal bearing turbos almost never includes wheels, just bearings and seals.

And don't stick your finger near the wheel unless you don't like your fingers! The cardboard test isn't as good as just getting a cheap boost gauge and tapping the intake and driving. That's the best way to measure boost.

IMO, get a new turbo but the next larger one might not be the right size and will change the engine characteristics. Check out the vwdiesel.net , they deal with the older TD engines alot and would have a better idea of what turbo works. Good luck!

 

[blupearl]

2nd, get a boost gauge. At idle you're not building much boost. Better to replace a turbo then an engine.

 

[luke33]

If there was that much water, probably but best to at least remove and inspect.