So my turbo fell off...

[March Hare 8498]

Thats right I was driving the other night and my 02 Beetle was feeling a little more sluggish than usual. it sounded fine and drove like normal. No check engine light or warning that something was actually going wrong with it. So I got it into boost just a little bit and it got a little louder. I came to a stop and just barely touched the gas and nothing but open header. So loud. I got it to westside today because of the extended warranty and Jeramy the service advisor pulled it into the shop. He told me that it sounded nothing more than a simple exhaust leak. I had looked at the problem last night and noticed that the turbo had literally separated from the manifold. The only thing supporting it was the downpipe. Does anyone know what might have caused this? I am kinda baffled that 2 months after I buy a car with an excellent carfax report would do something like this? I looked and saw that the timing belt, water pump, and the head gasket were replaced about 9K miles ago. could the tech that did this have accidentally forgotten to torque the turbo to the manifold? what else could have caused this? I have never heard of this happening on a 1.8T before.

[March Hare 8498]

So Jeramy just got back to me. I looked over my entire exhaust system last night. He just told me that the flex pipe infront of the cat is torn. And now that that is the case instead of the warranty coverig the problem I have to fork out over a grand to replace the cat/downpipe. So what should I do here? Tell westside to go to hell and fix the problem myself and get a 2.5 or 3" downpipe? Or have them fix the problem? Right now I'm leaning towards telling them to eat a dick.

[Casper]

you should probably go to the dealer and show them how to eat a penis

[Bryce]

Hahahahahahaha! I can tell you exactly what happened. When they re-installed the turbo, they didn't replace the stretch bolts between the turbo and the manifold. Ask me how I know.

[March Hare 8498]

No offence to anyone that works at VW. I asked them to look at the bolts holding the turbo to the manifold and they didn't even touch them. They took it for a spin and said it was just an exhaust leak. The car is not building boost at all. I'm sorry if I seem a little pissed cuz a dealer tried to get out of warranty work. And thank you for the info. I'm guessing the same thing happened to you Bryce?

[Bryce]

Dude, I'm telling you, the bolts weren't replaced when the turbo was reattached after the head-gasket. I had the same damn thing happen last year after we swapped the head for the AEB head. If your turbo has fallen off, simply put new bolts on. If you need help, I can give you a step by step on the easiest way to get to them on a Turbo S.

[March Hare 8498]

That would be awesome. And also I need to buy a new set of bolts. Should I go back to westside to do this?

[Crispy222]

Don't forget a new gasket

If you can have the car down for a few days, try Blunttech, ECS tuning, or MJM.

[Bryce]

That would be awesome. And also I need to buy a new set of bolts. Should I go back to westside to do this?

It's your choice really, but like Crispy said, I would recommend Blunttech.

[March Hare 8498]

K thanks guys. The car is my only mode of transport so on Friday I have a 3" cattless downpipe coming and a O2 sensor spacer. So I am going to do this all at once and get it done. anybody have a lift I can borrow?

[Crispy222]

K thanks guys. The car is my only mode of transport so on Friday I have a 3" cattless downpipe coming and a O2 sensor spacer. So I am going to do this all at once and get it done. anybody have a lift I can borrow?

Plenty of these sitting around here. I'll be there in 97 hours in current traffic.

Jack stands and cardboard is your friend. Get close.

[Bryce]

I would HIGHLY recommend having a friend to lift the turbo up from underneath the car.

[March Hare 8498]

Ya its going to be a me and a couple of friends. My downpipe is going to be here between Friday and tuesday. Figured I would make a day out of it when all the parts get here. Took a picture of the manifold and bolts yesterday before I left westside. I'll post it here in just a little bit.

[veedubmechanic]

Welcome to owning a 1.8t
New bolts oem only
New washers oem only
New oem gasket
Torqued to 28nm

Done

[Average Jetta]

It's your choice really, but like Crispy said, I would recommend Blunttech.

Personally, I would stay away from the dealership. I have been in the automotive service industry for some time, and after a while people just stop caring about customers cars. You have already caused them a headache, and they refused warranty work (techs and service writers do not make any commission on warranty work). Buy aftermarket parts, install yourself, and have the piece of mind that it was done right. Sadly, a lot of people working in the service departments of dealerships are no more qualified to be working on a car than the customer. ASE certification is a joke.