Smoke and low power - turbo replacement

[Joe 16 Sport]

I'm 99.9% sure I have a bad turbo, and need some advice. Has anyone done the swap in their garage? I have a good amount of knowledge and tools, but is it a crazy difficult job that should only be done by a pro? I *think* its the front turbo, but I need to get under it tomorrow and really find out for sure.

Are any of the aftermarket units better than others? I thought this looked decent quality and is more than half the price of OEM (if there are any in stock).

New Factory Turbochargers Replacement Turbo For Ford Explorer Flex Taurus & Lincoln 3.5L EcoBoost Left TUR-102978-FTN

This is a complete, 100% brand new Factory Turbochargers brand turbocharger. This is an exact replacement for the OEM Garrett MGT1549LS turbocharger that was originally equipped on the Ford 3.5L EcoBoost twin-turbo V6. This complete turbocharger assembly includes the pneumatic wastegate...

turbochargersdirect.com

Most shops around me are 2-3 weeks out, so its going to just be sitting anyways. Thought maybe try to save a grand and do it myself.

 

[peterk9]

It is not less than 1/2 price compared to this site. Levittown is also a forum vendor offering a discount to members.

Turbocharger & Components for 2016 Ford Explorer | Levittown Ford Parts

parts.levittownfordparts.com

Peter

 

[Livernois]

Sorry to hear of this. We've had customers that replaced their own turbos at home in the garage, but we've also had people try to tackle it at home and end up bringing their vehicle in for service. So it really depends on the person and their mechanical experience. Be sure to check your oil feed lines also as they have screen in them that car get clogged. We prefer to run the OEM Ford replacement units on stock turbo type of builds or would do our upgraded versions on more heavily modified builds.

 

[Joe 16 Sport]

Thanks guys. I ended up being able to do a cold start this morning and listen / watch better. It didnt start to smoke until it was running for ~ 15-30 seconds. I actually am not 100% sure its the turbo now. It seemed like way more white smoke out of the exhaust, and it was not blue colored at all and didnt have a terrible smell like burning oil does. The bearing noise I was hearing also seemed to be more towards the top / middle of the motor, not underneath.

I'm fearing head gaskets, but is there ANY way a failing / failed water pump could allow coolant into the combustion chamber? Maybe it was mixing into the oil and thinning it out, pushing past the rings and then being burned? I dropped it at a local shop, because I dont have the time to do a ton of diagnostics at home. Hopefully they have some decent news soon.

 

[KillJoy]

Thanks guys. I ended up being able to do a cold start this morning and listen / watch better. It didnt start to smoke until it was running for ~ 15-30 seconds. I actually am not 100% sure its the turbo now. It seemed like way more white smoke out of the exhaust, and it was not blue colored at all and didnt have a terrible smell like burning oil does. The bearing noise I was hearing also seemed to be more towards the top / middle of the motor, not underneath.

I'm fearing head gaskets, but is there ANY way a failing / failed water pump could allow coolant into the combustion chamber? Maybe it was mixing into the oil and thinning it out, pushing past the rings and then being burned? I dropped it at a local shop, because I dont have the time to do a ton of diagnostics at home. Hopefully they have some decent news soon.

does the smoke have a strong smell? Coolant in exhaust will smell sweet while oil will smell like oil obviously but sometimes can smell like a rich running condition. The PCV can also cause something like this, I know its weird but I have a bmw that when the pcv was unhooked it would smoke out the exhaust. Had a friends PT Cruiser turbo smoke heavily out the exhaust cause the pcv was plugged up

 

[Joe 16 Sport]

It smelled more sweet, definitely didnt seem too strong or fuel heavy. I would be very surprised it the PCV was teh sole cause, as there is definitely a worn bearing squeak / noise that started at the same time.

 

[mguy13sport]

Check the oil for coolant. The internal waterpump is always a threat for disaster.

The turbos are coolant fed as well so could be leaking into the exhaust. I would thoroughly inspect the turbo housing and all lines. The rear turbo is much easier to see with the passenger tire off.

Ive replaced the front turbo on my Explorer with basic hand tools. The rear turbo is way more complex to work on because it is buried. You need to drop the subframe or take the passenger axle out.

 

[KillJoy]

It smelled more sweet, definitely didnt seem too strong or fuel heavy. I would be very surprised it the PCV was teh sole cause, as there is definitely a worn bearing squeak / noise that started at the same time.

Check the oil for coolant. The internal waterpump is always a threat for disaster.

The turbos are coolant fed as well so could be leaking into the exhaust. I would thoroughly inspect the turbo housing and all lines. The rear turbo is much easier to see with the passenger tire off.

Ive replaced the front turbo on my Explorer with basic hand tools. The rear turbo is way more complex to work on because it is buried. You need to drop the subframe or take the passenger axle out.

If it smelled sweet then you can rule out oil for the most part, mguy here is 100% correct. I would drain the oil and check the filter, sometimes the oil in the pan will seem fine on the dipstick but a lot of the sludge gets stuck in the filters