2001 S60 T5 with failed turbo
 

Looking at a 2001 S60 T5 with 90k miles; the owner says that everything works good and the car runs well save the exhaust smoke plume... He has taken it to a mechanic and was told the oil seal had failed on the exhaust side, and was quoted 800 to fix it.

This is a car for my sister in law (SIL), he has offered the car for 1,500$. The exterior and interior are in good condition.

Any advice on which turbo to replace it with?

Does it seem like a decent car?

I think the price is right.

Are there any turbo replacement guides on here? I haven't found one yet...

Thanks for any advice/guidance...

Jay

Not to be harsh, but HITH is anyone here supposed to know if it seems like a decent car? On a now 15 year old car you just have to do your own due diligence if you want to buy something that cheap.

All that said, the early S60's definitely had some weak spots. Harsh transmission shifts, DIM issues, suspension bushings, etc. Basically really solid cars with minor annoyances if you are good at DIY or have a good independent mechanic, but real money pits if you are going to go to the dealer for everything. At 90K it should have lots of life yet, but you need to know what it will take to bring it back good mechanical condition. Check out one member here that goes by rspi, and his video's on youtube by the name of Robert DIY. Get a qualified mechanic to look it over for you if you are not capable and make an informed decision. Good luck1

Thanks Face, I guess I was asking is that with the given explanation of the car (having not seen it at the time) and the knowledge of this forum, I might have gotten an idea as to whether or not the S60 is a good car; a good foundation.

If it was a bad Turbo, I was willing to do the work, same goes for anything on the top end. Buy it cheap, fix it and enjoy if there was a good foundation.

What i found was a car that had a failed PCV system, a timing belt that had jumped timing; i was planning on replacing the timing belt and pcv before i went and saw the car. Turbo seemed fine, although when i was test driving it the oil light came on. I have no ambition to complete and lower end repairs.

Suspension wasn't well sorted either, one issue i saw was a busted pass side sway bar link which had popped off.

Unlike you, i was able to give the owner some valuable information regarding his car. I helped him to allow him to sell it with a little better description of the smoking issue. He will likely part it out now, heck if it gets down to 500 it might be worth further wrenching.

Thanks for the reply, though you might want to work on your delivery... Seem like a bit of a Richard...

Thanks again, Jay

Sorry, I took your question of "does it seem like a decent car?" to be specific to that particular car. Thus the HITH would anyone here know. Good luck with whatever you end up getting.

Why sell the car when it just needs its turbo fixed? You have a few options here:

1) buy and install a used turbo. Search car-part.com to see what local yards have a like for like replacement.

2) buy a turbo repair kit and replace the leaking seal. (check ebay - not sure if your car has the 16T or 18T turbo but the kits should all be the same. The difference between model numbers is the vane size and the output flange style not the seals or bearings)

3) 90K is pretty young for a turbocharger to blow a seal. Make sure its not the oil return line seal that's leaking oil (which may be getting on the hot parts causing the smoke).

The last thing I'd do is get sticker shock from a mechanic quoting $600-800 for a brand new unit plus labor when you can buy a used part for $100-200...