Bought 2004 XC70 with 197000. They said they blew the turbo. They gave me a turbo kit to rebuild that they never used.

When I did my pre-inspection test I got lazy and didn't check the compression. The PCV needs servicing as a rubber glove on the oil filler hole expanded rather than sucked in. The coolant was higher than "max" when cold.

I went for a test drive and it seemed fine. They have replaced timing belt and transmission worked. I checked the codes and got a "turbo", "knock sensor", and forget what else from the live data.

On the 50 minute drive home I blew one huge smoke cloud that totally obscured the road behind me at about 20 minutes in. The car ran a little rough but then was fine. Then I blew a much smaller puff at about 40 minutes. It didn't happen again.

I stopped to change the title and found oil dripping down the inside of the radiator on the driver's side. Not much but was noticeable.

I paid $400 for it so I could scrap it right now and not be out of pocket but the car body is good, and overall is a nice car.

So I took off turbo. I then did a compression check. When I took the cover off there was oil on the top of the engine. When I pulled the spark plugs out they were all oily and wet. None were dry and "ashy" looking. Cylinders #1, #2, and #5 were 150psi. Cylinder #3 is 90psi and Cylinder #4 is 100psi.

I am about to do a leak test to see if its head gasket, piston rings, or valves.

Question: Does a failed turbo mess up the engine? Is there any way this has nothing to do with a head gasket, piston rings or valve issues? Should I rebuild the turbo and then just run the car with SeaFoam to see if it is just messed up from oil.

 

You have lower compression numbers but that is probably due to a head gasket that is leaking. Since you have to pull the turbo to pull the head, I'd pull the head and have it checked.

If the head checks out, have it done and rebuild the turbo with the kit that you have. You'll probably end up with a nice car.