Smoking, oil leak and turbo

[bazwold]

My car has started putting out a lot of smoke - it took the 2 mile journey home for it to start clearing. Also noticed a wet patch under the car which is oil of some sort . It is coming from the turbo it seems, heres a pic of the underside of the turbo-



I had the turbo replaced the year before last , I do about 8-9000 miles a year these days. Surely the turbo cant have gone again? Im in trouble if it is the turbo, the wifes just ordered a new kitchen

[bazwold]

May not be the turbo after all. Its using/losing coolant but cant tell where from though. Is a failed head gasket the only answer to this?
My local independent did something with the expansion tank (block tester?) and said nothing was showing nand has advised me to let the problem develope a bit more and keep the coolant topped up.

As I got nearer home from the garage the car flt like it was stumbling/hesitating at low revs, no idea if this is connected.

[bazwold]

Guys, i could really do with some advice here - please

Im confused about the symptons. Was losing water- not a great deal- which seems to have steadied now, having put any in for a couple of days. Wondering whether its a seperate problem.

The symptons are:-

Smoke from the exhaust, couple of engineers at work had a quick look and felt that it was smoke and not steam.

It smokes mostly if started after the car has been parked up.

Took the plugs out and they were black apart from the very tip.

The temp gauge never rises above the middle and has never overheated.

I do not have the latest (No 6 ?) PCV kit fitted yet.

Turbo is almost 2 yrs old and has done approx 15,000 miles.

Its had regular Mobil 1 and genuine filter changes . Is the turbo watercooled in any way on the 9 5?.
How would I do a compression check? The D.I has to come off so no turning the engine?
I cant work out if its the turbo,engine or somehow the head/head gasket.

[paolo]

Originally Posted by bazwold

Guys, i could really do with some advice here - please

Its had regular Mobil 1 and genuine filter changes . Is the turbo watercooled in any way on the 9 5?.
How would I do a compression check? The D.I has to come off so no turning the engine?
I cant work out if its the turbo,engine or somehow the head/head gasket.

1)Yes the turbo is water cooled
2) Yes you will have to remove DI and take out a spark plug to screw compression tester in - if it's cylinder compression you mean
P

[paolo]

Also - you should see water in oil if head gasket has gone (mayo like)

What type of smoke is it?
Blueish? - if so could be turbo. A lot of turbo's do go again if they went due to oil strainer pick up problems (Ie sump not dropped and cleaned).

P

[bazwold]

No, theres no mayo in the filler or the expansion tank, the sump was dropped and cleaned on its major 60,000 (66,000?) mile service.
It now has 86,000 miles on the clock and has had oil/filter changes every 3 - 5000 miles.
If it was the head/gasket why doesnt the temp gauge never above midway?

Ive asked the mechanic who fitted the turbo if it has a warranty - he wasnt even sure if it was a new unit or reconditioned which was news to me.
Brand new would have been 2 yrs (if full dealer service history since fitting), a recon unit 1 yr so Im out of luck either way if its the turbo.

Dont really want to let the problem develope in case it makes it worse.

[underachiever]

i have a similar issue with mine, i have an oill leak directly on to the exhaust pipe which causes white smoke, at least thats wat my mechanic told me, he changed the o-ring and that reduced a lot of the smoke it still smokes a bit when i havent driven the car for a couple of days but its not as bad as before. dont kno if this might help much .

[bazwold]

The garage called me today to say theyve found the problem.
Apparently its a water leak on (in?) the turbo, something they said theyve never seen happen on one of these before,.
They are going to see if anything can be done with it. 23 months and 15000 miles old - Iam not impressed.

[Chris 9-5]

If saab fitted this and you paid over say £600 then its new and should be warranted - what did your receipt say?

[bazwold]

The garage that fitted it are an independent, Im still trying to find out if they fitted a brand new unit or a recon.
The turbo itself was £500 plus labour ,vat, oil+filter,coolant, recovery to their garage etc near on a grand.

I distinctly remember them telling me at the time it was 2 yrs warranty (which should point to a new unit) but the receipt doesnt mention the warranty. The 2 yrs is up next month.
As I mentioned they said the 2 yr warranty on a new Saab unit was subject to the car having a service history since fitting (didnt realise that at the time).
I do all the basics myself so its not looking good.