i watched a video on youtube the other day and it was some guy who has had to have his Turbo replaced in his Mondeo 3 times! But apparently when looking at his old turbo system which was removed he found a way of cleaning it himself for cheap. He drilled a hole into the side of the turbo casing, then used a device (dont know what its called) to make grooves for a screw to fit into, then he put a straw (yes, a straw) about a quarter of the way into the hole. He then used oven cleaner (because he says it works better than the actual turbo cleaner) and sprayed it into the hole for about 3 seconds. He then put a bolt over the hole and screwed the screw into the hole. Job done! he had a clean turbo and doesnt have to have it replaced like what the garages kept telling him!

Anyone ever tried this themselves?

Sounds a bit like snake oil to me. A turbo will fail prematurely due to lack of maintenance for example, not adhering to service schedules, not allowing the engine to return to idle for about 30 seconds before switching off etc, not how dirty it is.

A garage may advise on changing a turbo, usually when there is too much play on the main shaft. Having a turbo explode is a major pain in the behind.

Agreed.

Any amount of cleaning won't cure serious end float.

i watched a video on youtube the other day and it was some guy who has had to have his Turbo replaced in his Mondeo 3 times! But apparently when looking at his old turbo system which was removed he found a way of cleaning it himself for cheap. He drilled a hole into the side of the turbo casing, then used a device (dont know what its called) to make grooves for a screw to fit into, then he put a straw (yes, a straw) about a quarter of the way into the hole. He then used oven cleaner (because he says it works better than the actual turbo cleaner) and sprayed it into the hole for about 3 seconds. He then put a bolt over the hole and screwed the screw into the hole. Job done! he had a clean turbo and doesnt have to have it replaced like what the garages kept telling him!

Anyone ever tried this themselves?

Yes, i have heard of this,

Tthe device for making threads in a hole is called a tap and die set

What my other members have misunderstood is this method is for cleaning the VNT mech, which gets coked up, i could well believe that oven cleaner outperforms turbo cleaner because it is cleaning coked up (burnt) carbon (a bit like what you would get in an oven)

it won't fix blown turbo bearings or seals, but the VNT mech is liable to stick/ sieze long before that happens

"The turbo" is made up of a multitude of components, the VNT (Variable Nozzle Turbo) is built into the exhaust manifold, which is shaped to fit it in, these vanes direct exhaust gas pressure onto the turbine, the vanes are controlled by the actuator, that is controlled by the ECU - altogether this allows the turbo to spin from lower revs than a fixed-vane turbo, and increases efficiency across the working range, and the same mech controlls boost pressure, unfortunately it is in the exhaust stream (pre cat/ DPF) so has a tendency to get coked up from the carbon from the exhaust over time - this can result i a lot of lag low down, or too little or too much boost - as mentioned before this can happen long before the seals/ bearings fail

The turbine is connected to the compressor via a shaft, this is in a cartrige with the seals, - some owners have replaced these (perfectly good) parts when its the VNT mech that is siezed that is why you often hear of owner replacing these parts again and again they think they have a "new turbo" - they have a new compressor/bearing/turbine, but an old VNT mech (the bit that sticks/ siezes) - the companies that refurb turbos are quite happy to take their money

Normally you would have to remove the exhaust manifold (the VNT mech is in the ) to decoke/ free the VNT mech, with the "hole" it allows you to free it up without removing the exhaust manifold

It is a genuine method of achiving this and not "snake oil" - i suppose me being an engineer helps me spot the myths/ BS from the real thing

yeah sorry guys i probably didnt make myself clear enough. i basically meant it was getting clogged up and he was using this method to free up the mechanism within the turbo if that makes sense, not to actually cure a blown turbo. :)

Also another thing i forgot to mention is that when i put my foot down and the turbo kicks in, i notice it make quite a loud vibrating noise, like a bit tinny, is this normal or could it be where it needs cleaning out? if its not a major problem then ill just leave it be as i have had enough of handing out my money as of late lol

Sounds like the bearings might be on the way out, if its vibrating then its worth cleaning it, but I wouldnt expect miracles!

Yeah I've heard of and done this before on my Octavia VRS, although you dont need to drill and tap a hole in your turbo, just take it off. Very affective fix actually for VNT turbo'd cars.

Also another thing i forgot to mention is that when i put my foot down and the turbo kicks in, i notice it make quite a loud vibrating noise, like a bit tinny, is this normal or could it be where it needs cleaning out? if its not a major problem then ill just leave it be as i have had enough of handing out my money as of late lol

If you take the hose of between your airbox and turbo (compressor housing) you can have access to your compressor wheel, if you spin it and it spins freely, and there is less than 1mm (roughly - there is a tolerance but i cant remember what it is) of up-and-down play in the bearing (by holding the spindle in the middle of the compressor wheel and shaking it up and down ) it is probably ok

As previously mentioned the VNT mech is more likely to stick/ sieze/ fail due to coking up long before the turbo bearing fails, Modern GT series turbo cores (excluding the VNT mech)/ bearings are fairly reliable compared to older desings and would probably need (very) high milage, abuse or neglect to fail