loss of power, had loud whoosh on accel, now cel and no noise or boost

estorne

New member
2007 diesel NCV3, 80k mi. Middle of long trip through OR, loud whooshing on accel started this AM, checked intake side hoses from air cleaner thru turbo, intercooler in/out visually, nothing obvious except for red turbo input seal torn. . Whoosh went away, now no power on accel, but low frequency hum on accel. Just popped cel, not near any dealer in south central OR. Ok to drive slowly another 500 mi to limp home? Had jury rigged torn red gasket at turbo input with piece officer gates hi temp hose (red gasket was hanging out, inlet pipe loose), but this wasn't the problem.
 

sailquik

Well-known member
estorne,
Do you have any sort of performance monitoring system?
ScanGaugeII/UltraGauge EM/DashDAQ...?
If you do, then check for any DTC (Diagnostic Trouble Codes).
If you have had a high or low boost pressure incident, the DTC code may
define whether you have a boost leak or for some reason your boost controller
is not changing the turbo inlet vanes to give you normal boost.
I believe the "red seal is on the inlet side (front/center) of the turbo (between the intake air
filter box on top of your OM-642 V6 engine and the turbo inlet.
That would be the vacuum side (pulling the air through the intake air filter) of your turbocharger system and I would not expect there to be an audible "whooshing" sound.
There is a sensor right at the outlet (MAF maybe) of the air filter box.
Suggest you go over the turbo hoses on both sides of the engine as the "whooshing"
would more likely be on the pressure side of your turbocharger system.
On the OM-642 V6 the "known trouble spots" are the metal connectors on the ends of the turbo pressure side hoses.
The reason you no longer hear the "whooshing" sound is that the ECM has shut down the
electronic turbo actuator so little to no boost is being developed (you knew this).
This protects your engine and it's turbo system until you get the problem repaired.
You should be OK to limp home 500 miles, but it would be much better to find a local dealer and have your Sprinter scanned and the problem repaired.
Also, if it was a "one time" spike (either too high or too low, but out side the sensor limits)
your engine may "self correct" after 3-7 start up and shut down cycles.
Hope this helps,
Roger
 

estorne

New member
Thanks sailquik for the quick response. Made it home slowly today. I had thought that the limp home mode only allowed speeds up to 30 or 40mph, but we could reach 60-70, albeit very slowly, with around 30 tops up hills (grinding up the truck lane with the semis). Will have it looked at this week and check back with the dx. Interestingly, without the turbo, we got 25-26 MPG over about 500 miles!
I will definitely order a scangauge II this week also- sounds like a valuable tool.
When I was jury-rigging the turbo inlet plastic pipe with a piece of high temp hose (to replace the split red silicone boot) noticed that the fuel filter (?) center connector on the top of the metal can had what looked like a home made metal hold down bracket with tiny hex screws on either side- is this another problem area? The prev owner told me that a mechanic had broken the plastic connector. I had no idea what he was talking about but this may be it.
 

estorne

New member
Found the problem, I think. 1" crack through the wall in the upper inside curve of the turbo hose from the intercooler to the manifold. Will replace both. Is there consensus on the Riordan aluminum connectors on these hoses? Will search the forum for sources for these hoses.
 

Gessippi

Member
Any hissing sound is a sign of an impending problem, the large seal off the resonator has ozzed out or the hoses from the intercooler have cracked.

The gauge will help if you watch boost preasures, if it can't crack 19-20 lbs. and some change you have a leak some where.
 

glas1700

Member
I would simply replace the hose and forget about the Riordan connectors. The early OEM hose was too short and engine movement caused it to tear loose, but the new longer hose has worked well. You can buy the hose from your local MB Sprinter dealer (Beshoff in SJ) if you're in Menlo Park or you can order it from a number of discount dealers online.
 

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