4th Turbo on X

[NASCAR Mike]

My 2005 X with 22k miles looks like it will need it's 4th turbo.

The variable vanes keep getting stuck and along with low boost the check engine light comes on. Last month the Ford dealer took the turbo apart, cleaned it and reassembled.

Everything work fine until a few days ago. I accelerated after stopping from a red light and the turbo didn't whistle as loud as it should. The check engine light came on.

What the heck is going on here? When I do drive the truck I will get on it meaning I don't drive like a grandma.

The truck stays in a semi-conditioned garage at night. I drive it at least once a week for about 60 miles (30 miles to work and 30 back) and at least 4 times a year to NY which adds 700 miles to the odometer. We also use it for our bi monthly visit to WalMart (about 60 miles round trip) to stock up on supplies (4 kids eat A LOT!)

Am I not driving the truck enough or is there something wrong with the turbo? Could the HPOP be the problem by not providing enough oil to the turbo? Oil is changed every 5k miles and at 20k miles I went to Rotella synthetic.

Will the CCV mod help in that it won't allow oil into the turbo thus preventing coking on the variable vanes?

How do you stop the variable vanes from rusting? The mechanic told me he put antiseize on the variable vanes to prevent rust.

The only mods are Walker BTM muffler, Accufab elbow and 07 finned diff cover. I use diesel kleen (gray bottle in summer, white in winter) with every fillup. I have never used a computer programmer of any kind.

Any suggestions?

 

[CHPMustang]

I'd try the CCV mod to eliminate the possibility of the oil fumes coking the vanes.

Dang a 4th turbo,that's crazy

 

[powerstroker24]

Well when you say 4th turbo are they replacing the turbo or center housing? Basically what I usually see with sticking vanes is the chra(center housing rotating assembly) rusts and pitts on the unison ring side. Usually it is caused from not being driven often enough/frequently enough. The new chra's which should be getting put on your truck next time is actually improved to prevent this as it is not flat on the surface where the unison ring rides,it has a slight v-cut in it. Cleaning of a rusted/pitted chra is not recommended by ford and the newest tsb specifically states this. Based on your year and mileage I would presume this is the case with your truck. I have to be honest in saying that "coking" is a cop out and out of the well over 100 turbo's ive either replaced,cleaned,or replaced the chra(depending on what ford had us doing at the time) coking was not the issue. Also antisieze is a retarded idea as the vanes are directly exposed to 1200 degree+ exhaust temps and ford specifically recommends against the use of antisieze. Bring your truck in and ask to speak with the mechanic. If he keeps pulling p0299 codes and keeps messing with your turbo,make sure that he is aware of the wire chaffing issue of the ebp sensor at the degas/coolant bottle area(some 05's have the ebp sensor at the degas bottle and some have it up front by thermostat). Basically the ebp wires chaffing/shorting could create simular symptoms. If that is not the issue I would ask that they replace the chra as this is the proper procedure up to date. If they havent it could be because of theyre warranty numbers they are trying to keep down,not fords saying that they cant fix your truck. Hope I could help.

 

[NASCAR Mike]

3rd turbo was cleaned and reinstalled. Mechanic said he used antiseize on the variable vanes to keep them from sticking. That rebuild lasted about a month and then it was replaced with a 4th turbo completely, not center housing.

I haven't had any problems since (6 months and counting). I wonder if the last trubo they installed had the upgraded CHRA.

Is there a way I can check if I have the upgraded CHRA?

 

[NASCAR Mike]

P0299 code again.

Thankfully I have the 7year/75k warranty but this is getting ridiculous.

Any long term fixes for this?

 

[6.0PSD777]

Your not using it enough, the same thing happened to my friends 04 X. He went through 2 turbo's until they put one in off an 07 6.0 which has the extra vane i was told to allow soot to pass through. Knock on wood he hasn't had an issue since. Letting these engines sit is not real good for the turbo.

 

[JRJ04]

yea you really do have to drive those things and frequently get on it to "flex" the vanes so things don't get hung up.

 

[DaveBen]

Drive it like you stole it.

Dave

 

[NASCAR Mike]

He went through 2 turbo's until they put one in off an 07 6.0 which has the extra vane i was told to allow soot to pass through. .

Does the 07 6.0 have an extra vane in the turbo? I have never heard of this.

I understand the the center housing ring assembly (CHRA) now has a groove or v-cut in it to help prevent rust.

Can anyone confirm this?

 

[NASCAR Mike]

UPDATE:

After getting the 4th turbo installed on my Excursion the mechanic told me to get a free flowing exhaust. He said this would help reduce the backpresure and allow more of the junk get out the tailpipe instread of coking up the turbo vanes.

Taking his advice I installed a 4" MBRP exhaust with cat delete. Not only does the truck sound great and have more power, it has been over one year and no problems. I am only at 38k miles so it still is not driven much.

Maybe this is the fix or am I just lucky?