Turbo Resonator Replacement Advice

Chasmic11

2004 140" HRC 2500
Hi All,

I just got San Diego Mercedes Bends to look at my 85K 04' 140" HC and the diagnosis is that the turbo resonator needs replacing.
Around $1400.00 parts
$600 Labor
:cry:

Turbo is really chirpy/whiney in low gears during acceleration. I try to just ease it around 1st and 2nd gears and just give it enough pedal to move into a higher gear. Sound goes away at highway speeds or is drowned out by other sounds, but I think the chirpy turbo sound is gone at 45mph+ speeds. Other than noise, the van drives fine. No perceptible loss of power, transmission smooth and otherwise drives normal. But turbo does indeed sound sickly.

The turbo has been making this noise for about a month. I would like to drive the van home to Denver next week, about 1000 miles, and have Linden work on it there. I will talk to Linden tomorrow, but I want to believe I could save significant $ by going this route. Unless the turbo fails in Nowheresville Utah and then it just got ugly. Is there anyway to evaluate the risk of turbo failure while driving the van another 1K as is? I know it's probably at best a roll of the dice, but I am looking for any feedback from other more experienced owners and see what other people might do. Maybe drive the van off a pier into the Pacific, light the van on fire, consult my horoscope, start praying now,.........

Thanks in advance.

Chas
 

glas1700

Member
A new turbo resonator, purchased from a dealer's parts dept, costs ~$50 and takes about 15 minutes to replace. You can buy a Dorman replacement resonator from Rock Auto for under $30 and it will probably outlast the factory version.

What's included in the other $1350? Are you sure that the service quote is only for a turbo resonator. It appears from the prices that were quoted that your turbocharger is failing, not just the resonator.

Byron
07 Navion
 

220629

Well-known member
$1400 for a Turbo? That would be a bargain. Something is wrong here.
That's what I was thinking given it's a dealer quote. vic


Hi All,

I just got San Diego Mercedes Benz...

Turbo is really chirpy/whiney in low gears during acceleration.

...
I'll assime you mean turbo charger and not turbo resonator. Failed TR's aren't typically known for making noise when they fail.

Does the van drive OK otherwise? What codes are you you getting? You really should check for an exhaust leak on the header connections or the turbo to manifold connection. The leaks aren't always easy to identify. I thought my turbo was going bad. Turned out to be a bad #5 exhaust stud. Some info is here.

https://sprinter-source.com/forums/showthread.php?p=161657#post161657

Maybe drive the van off a pier into the Pacific, light the van on fire, consult my horoscope, start praying now,.........
...

Chas
You could use any of those, but calling Doktor A for consultation probably makes the most sense. Good luck. vic
 

Chasmic11

2004 140" HRC 2500
Stop the presses. My bad. I meant entire turbo replacement, the quote is to replace the whole unit. Thanks for the feedback already, I am reading up on the turbo archive posts.

Chas
 

sailquik

Well-known member
Chas,
Spend < $200 for a Scan Gauge II or similar OBD-II performance monitoring tool.
Then drive your Sprinter and see what the MAP (Manifold Absolute Pressure)
is.
A "chirpy" (hmmm not real descriptive but I get the idea) turbocharger could
be about to fail, but it also could be that a hose or the turbo resonator (a small
plastic intake muffler designed to quiet the turbo charger output hi freq noise) is leaking.
But if you have no loss of performance and no LHM, then the turbo is turning, and
by checking the MAP you could see if you are getting the correct turbo air compression.
At idle in San Diego, the MAP should be around 15 PSIA.
At 2000 RPMs on level ground the MAP should be in the 20-26 PSIA range.
At full acceleration up a hill the MAP should go to >33 PSIA.
If your turbo is putting out these bost levels, it's still doing it's job.
Might want to disconnect the output hose from the cool (compressor) side of the
turbo and see it you can detect any noises or if the turbo rotor and fan are somehow
rubbing on the turbo casing.
The $$ that was quoted seems strange in either of the scenarios.
If it's the turbo resonator, as suggested, the cost would be in the $100-200 range.
If it's the entire turbocharger, the cost would be well above what they quoted unless
they planned to install a rebuilt turbocharger or something.
With the Scan Gauge II you can monitor what your turbo is doing all the time you are
driving the Sprinter, so you will be able to tell is there is something abnormal going
on.
Roger
 
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Chasmic11

2004 140" HRC 2500
Hi all,

I have ordered my ScanGauge II, so soon I will have real data with which to pin point the issue. Long overdue piece of gear. I will post results as soon as I have them.

Out of curiosity, how many miles/years are turbo booster units lasting for other people? Results may vary, but is it a part of the car that tends to last a x amount of time in most cases?

Thanks,

Chas
 

sailquik

Well-known member
Hi Chas,
I do not have any definnitive data on how long a Sprinter turbocharger will
last, but my guess would be that if you use the correct MB specified motor oil,
keep the turbo actuator linkage lubricated and operating freely, and do the
oil and filter changes IAW the Operators Manual, the turbocharger will last
the life of the Sprinter.....surely > 250,000 miles, maybe => 1/2 a million miles.
Lots of turbochargers have been replaced by dealers and repair shops for
no reason other than they got an OBD-II code indicating low or insufficent
boost pressure.
Nothing wrong with the turbocharger itself, but the actuator linkage froze
up, or there was a leak somewhere in the pressure side piping between the
output of the turbocharger and the intake manifold.
This includes the turbo resonator, the charge air cooler (intercooler) and the
associated hoses and pipes that connect them.
I could be wrong, but that's my guess as these are simply smaller versions of
the turbochargers that are used on big 18 wheel trucks and they go a million +
miles and more all the time.
Roger
 

220629

Well-known member
Hi all,

I have ordered my ScanGauge II, so soon I will have real data with which to pin point the issue. Long overdue piece of gear. I will post results as soon as I have them.

Out of curiosity, how many miles/years are turbo booster units lasting for other people? Results may vary, but is it a part of the car that tends to last a x amount of time in most cases?

Thanks,

Chas
Although I agree with Roger that there are probably many Sprinter turbochargers replaced unnecessarily, not everyone thinks the turbos last a long time. (I actually hope they do last forever as I'm over 230,000 miles now.)

Mean in Green (Simon) who has a bunch of history with Sprinters indicates that he considers the Sprinter turbocharger a "consumable" item. That said, he puts a bunch of miles on his vehicles. If you are interested enough you can do an advanced search specifying member Mean in Green for the search and turbo and consumable or consumables as the key words. It should take you to his posts. Have fun. vic
 

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