Glowing turbo!

[ALPINE]

erm.... just came in, and had a little race with another audi... popped my bonnet and the turbo was bright orange!

Why?? didnt think they was ment to get that hot?

 

[quattrojames]

Lol my Delta HF turbo used to glow red hot

 

[Blue_Thunder]

They can glow a bit. Do a search on Youtube for 'glowing turbo'.

But could be a symptom of running lean.

 

[Broken Byzan]

or lack of oil pressure especially as you now have a noisey eng. Try a diesel flush matey. I will explain properly on Sat, but you effectivly drain the oil,fill the the eng with diesel, let it sit overnight(full) drian next day and fill with a tesco/ own brand cheapy oil after a few hours draining. Run it up till warmed up properly then re drain and fill with preoper stuff and change the filter etc AUDITURBO had a similar prob but opted to change the oil pump instead

 

[aragorn]

you can actually run the engine with Derv as a lubricant to clear out ***** from its insides. I've done it on a mates 16v vauxhall engine. Most off the shelf "engine flush" products are basically diesel or kerosine in a can, using neat stuff is just a lot more concentrated. You could probably do a 50:50 mix with derv and cheap oil if you were concerned about it though.

We drained the engine oil, stuck in a few litres of red, fired it up and ran it for 10 minutes at 2krpm, then shut it down drain and refill with normal oil, the derv was proper black when it came out and it did seem to quieten the engine down a good bit. We changed the replacement oil after a further 500miles and that also came out black!

IMO though if its glowing you didnt let the turbo cool properly before shutting it off, letting the car idle isnt enough, infact all it does is introduce more heat into a confined area. What your much better doing if you've been ragging it is to drive the car gently for the last 5-10mins of the journey to allow the heat to be properly dissapated before shutting it off.

 

[Broken Byzan]

He has a noisey car too, so i bet they are related.

I would be worried about the non lube effect on an already worn engine etc. Also the same as ring seal and diesel causing hydraulicing etc.
Much safer to just fill overnight IMHO

 

[A4Chris]

or lack of oil pressure especially as you now have a noisey eng. Try a diesel flush matey. I will explain properly on Sat, but you effectivly drain the oil,fill the the eng with diesel, let it sit overnight(full) drian next day and fill with a tesco/ own brand cheapy oil after a few hours draining. Run it up till warmed up properly then re drain and fill with preoper stuff and change the filter etc AUDITURBO had a similar prob but opted to change the oil pump instead

Might give this a go at next oil change (on my 140,000 miler). If I do though I reckon I'll opt for the leaving it sitting overnight option rather than starting it up. With that in mind, should I fill up with diesel to max mark on dipstick or keep going until diesel is around camshafts etc???

P.S - sorry - getting away from the 'glowing red turbo' theme here.

 

[Siena]

From the way the engine sounds, I wouldn't be caning it.

Mark, it's not a rattle as in low oil pressure, sounds more like a deep-bowelled rumbling and groaning.

If there's excessive freeplay in the big-end bearings, high rpm's the quickest way to stuff a rod through the block.

 

[Siena]

I've used diesel as an engine flush for over 15 years, running the motor with neat diesel, after draining the oil completely.

Never caused any problems.

 

[Broken Byzan]

Ahh ok, certainly couldnt do G any harm Siena eh? lol

I wouldnt cane it either as from hindsight thats what killed the AEB i used to have. What do you think it is mate, as i havnt heard it? I guess it could be cam chain tensioner, as when the A3 one went, it made the car sound like diesel

 

[ALPINE]

yes... it sounds like a diesel
thats it mate spot on!

 

[Broken Byzan]

get you cam phone on it and video it matey?

 

[PaulJC84]

How often should people to a diesel flush after 100k or so? I have never heard of this before.

So you drain oil, fill with the same amount of diesel that you would with oil. Either leave sitting or run for a minute and then drain. Then fill with oil, drain. Change oil filter and then fill with oil again, job done?

Does this just clean the system out?

 

[Siena]

Soupie, if you change your oil regularly, you shouldn't have to flush it.

I've never had to flush any of my cars, just customer's.

Some have had oil like tar, it was that thick.

 

[aragorn]

So you drain oil, fill with the same amount of diesel that you would with oil. Either leave sitting or run for a minute and then drain. Then fill with oil, drain. Change oil filter and then fill with oil again, job done?

Does this just clean the system out?

As siena says its not a regular thing unless you've got problems with oil gunk.

Drain the oil, refill with derv to the max line and run the engine for 10mins at 2krpm, dont let it idle, as the oil pump probably wont be spinning fast enough to generate the required pressure with the thin oil, and dont rev it hard or let the turbo spool up. Its probably worthwhile having the engine warm before you start, as it will help draining the old oil off and help the cleaning process a bit. Then drain and refill with fresh oil and a new filter.

I would suggest using very cheap oil after the diesel flush and changing it after a further 500miles as a lot of crap seems to make its way into the new oil pretty quickly after it too.

Diesel is effectively a light oil. Its a lot more solventy than normal engine oil though, and has additional cleaning crap added to it too to clean the fuel system, so it does a good job inside the engine too! The reduced "lubricancy" isnt really an issue for the bearings, as they dont actually run metal to metal, they "float" on a film of oil generated by the pressure of the oil pump. It MAY cause slightly more bore wear than normal oil, but then for the time its in there its insignificant.

 

[TFSI]

They actually go white hot and transparent just before they melt down the side of your engine Red Hot is normal after working hard Just think what your chips would cause to happen long term More boost=more turbo Rpm

 

[docurley]

Turbo red could be a dead CAT blocking flow.

Engine could have been like mine and needs a Oil pump.

 

[Oranoco]

My S2 turbo often glows cherry red, especially after a few hard laps on track. It's cool after dark as it glows and look quite earie. lol

 

[PaulJC84]

Soupie, if you change your oil regularly, you shouldn't have to flush it.

I've never had to flush any of my cars, just customer's.

Some have had oil like tar, it was that thick.

Ok well thanks for the info, if I ever get any gunking issues in the future I can use that. I change my oil every 5k however so hopefully should be fine.

 

[Oranoco]

Reminds me I've gotto do my oil and filter swap tomorrow.