Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) Turbo broke, replace with OEM or aftermarket?

[RNelson]

I was headed home yesterday from a trip up north in Wyoming with my 5th wheel. At Glendo, I heard a loud pop. It almost sounded like I blew a tire. I got out and checked and all the tires looked good. I opened the hood and didn't see anything wrong. I got back on the road and the first hill I came to there was a noticeable loss of power, high EGTs and lots of black smoke. I down shifted and kept down shifting. Had to drop it all the way into 2nd gear to get up that first hill out of Glendo. Noticed on my gauges that I had 0 psi turbo boost. Limped home back to Colorado creeping up the hills. What should have been a 4 hour trip turned into 6. 5 hours.



I have 165k miles on my truck. I've made several mods (Edge EZ chip, AFE air intake, 4" exhaust, EDM 1. 5 injectors, Air Dog Fuel/Air Separator) over the past few years. I also had to have the engine rebuilt as I had one of those faulty Venezulan blocks that ended up cracking. I have a PacBrake that I haven't installed yet. With all this in mind would you all recommend replacing it with another OEM turbo unit or upgrade to an aftermarket one? I'm leaning towards going with the OEM to keep it simple with the PacBrake install.

 

[jgillott]

Are you sure that you had a turbo failure? It almost sounds like you may have popped an intercooler boot off. I did it quite a few times with the standard boots on my heavily modified former 2001 before I upgraded to aftermarked PDR boots. The first time it happened to me sounded quite similar to what you described.

 

[JR]

I agree check all your boots and the intercooler to make sure it didn't blow apart somewhere. Have you checked your turbo wheel to see if it is still intact?

 

[RNelson]

Wow you guys are life savers! I checked and sure enough one of the intercooler clamps had popped off. Slid it back on and tightened it up. Took it for a test ride and I now have turbo boost again!!!! Wife is extra happy about me not having to dump more money into the truck. Just wish I would have known to look for it when it happened. Would have saved me a lot of drive time yesterday.

 

[jgillott]

Wow you guys are life savers! I checked and sure enough one of the intercooler clamps had popped off. Slid it back on and tightened it up. Took it for a test ride and I now have turbo boost again!!!! Wife is extra happy about me not having to dump more money into the truck. Just wish I would have known to look for it when it happened. Would have saved me a lot of drive time yesterday.

Excellent News!! I'm happy it worked out for you.

 

[JR]

Good to hear Mr. Nelson. Were you camping up at Glendo Resevoir? Spent many weekends there in the summer in my child hood years water skiing and knee boarding. Good times!

Keep an eye on that clamp, it may be weakened from coming apart. It would be a good idea to buy a spare or two to keep in your glove box in case you need one out on the road.

 

[RNelson]

Good to hear Mr. Nelson. Were you camping up at Glendo Resevoir? Spent many weekends there in the summer in my child hood years water skiing and knee boarding. Good times!



Keep an eye on that clamp, it may be weakened from coming apart. It would be a good idea to buy a spare or two to keep in your glove box in case you need one out on the road.

Actually we were at the Douglas KOA. Stayed up there as we were playing in a couples golf tournament. Are you from the Glendo area? I grew up in the Chugwater and Wheatland area.

 

[JR]

I grew up in the Laramie/ Centennial area (Snowy Mountain Range). Have family in Douglas and we would meet them at Glendo and camp/ski during the weekends. I also have family in Wheatland, my grandparents moved there after they retired and sold their ranch in Boulder, WY near Pinedale. I'm actually making a trip out to Laramie to visit family next month. We are leaving July 7 and will be out there for at least a week if not longer. Not sure if your familiar with the WyColo lodge, (on the WY/CO border) but my mother owns a cabin within about 10 miles or so of it and thats where we will be spending the majority of our time at. Its beautiful country up there, 9k feet in elevation, very remote. I wish I could afford the time to get out that way more often.