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Volvo AD41 Turbo issues again?

D12038

New member
Ok I started new thread with this one,
I had frozen turbo replaced last Feb, according to builder it froze because of salt water crack in exhaust elbow. Also boat had not run in a few months.
Now 10 months later and a couple hundred hours later went to start boat and checked turbo sure enough it was stuck! It freed up easily, and it is ok now. Boat had not been used in couple months, however I start it on trailer couple times a month? I am nervous about this now? other than use boat more and carry 13mm socket what can I do?
That air cleaner is not in a easy place to get to either? no sign of water turbo looks new inside?
D
 
i have a 41a on mine i take off air cleaner cover and stick an oily rag in there when boat is layed up on the 41a it easier to remove the crank case breather first put rag in put back together never had a problem with frozen turbo
 
There must be another issue with that turbo, are you sure you are getting oil up to it ok. I put my boat up on the hard for 8 months each year without any special prep for the turbo. Been doing this for 7 years now. And once I started using the recommended 15w40 oil and holding the stop button in on cold starts for 20 seconds or so the turbos have been fine. So far anyway. Also seems there are a lot of these engines and turbos in service without any issue. Do you let the engine warm up throughly before going to high rpm?
 
Turbo has less than 20 hrs on it and it was new, not a rebuilt? I am running the 15-40 oil, and I am assuming if it was not getting oil it would have self destructed on a two hour run back from the islands? Also when started it gets warmed well before anything above an idle?
I have no kill button only a key switch?
I will check it out before starting or launching, I agree it should not be sticking, wonder if I got a sticky turbo?
when looking in its innards it looks nice and shiny no sign of any moisture at all?
D
 
Sure does sound like you are doing everything right. And it would seem if it ran ok for a couple of hours that oil is getting to it. When you freed it up last time, by hand, did it rotate freely afterward? When you freed it up could you rotate it backwards first then normal and come up against a stop? I am certainly not a expert mechanic but these are the thoughts that I am having.

John
 
If the oil feed line (entering top of the center cartridge) is completely clogged, it will burn up new turbo in 5 minutes. if its partially clogged with reduced flow, it will still hurt the turbo cooling enough to cause damage, but it will take longer. Check and make sure its clean and clear. Clean engine oil is also important, if its 300hrs old and full of contamination it will not flow as fast or as freely as it did when new.
 
John.
No actually I was just checking boat over and was checking the air filter,
looked in to the turbo and grabbed the nut on end of shaft and it was stuck!
I got a 13mm socket and ratchet
and just a tiny bit of pressure it broke loose, then it would spin either
way with just my fingers? So obviously it was not stuck hard, but hard
enough I bet it would not have spun when started,
I did start the engine then without air filter and it was turning even with
the eng idling at slow idle?
It is something I will be checking often now!
 
This is an old thread but I'll add my experience with my boat with twin TAMD-41Bs. If it sits for a month or three, typically one or both turbos will act up. Rev up to 2200 RPM, then no more revs but lots of black smoke.

Sometimes I can reach in and spin the turbo easily with a finger, sometimes it feels a bit gritty, sometimes it resists more. Regardless, once it's turning, it works fine. Until the next time I leave the boat alone too long.

I paid the local Volvo mechanic for several rebuilt turbos before I figured this out. :(
 
My 41A's do the same thing. I just give it full throttle the first time in the water every spring and they smoke black then the turbine breaks free and spools up.
It's easy to tell when you are making boost :)
 
After 16 years and 1500 hours I think it's time to replace my turbo. Mine has stuck twice in its life, with March 2016 being the latest after not being used in a few months. I started getting water in my bilge and found it coming from a rusted and cracked exhaust elbow. I replaced that and on the first voyage with the new elbow my oil pressure light came on after running for a couple hours at various speeds. The bilge was full of oil which came out the dipstick tube. The dipstick was unsealed caused by the crankcase being pressurized. A mechanic told me the turbo has bushings that wear out and let air from the intake/pressure side of the turbo into the oil lines thus pressurizing the crankcase (or it's a broken piston or piston ring). I replaced the air filter, oil filter and oil and ran the engine under a load at various speeds, testing the amount of pressure coming from the oil filler on the valve cover. There was no pressure worth mentioning at 3000 rpm and below but at full throttle (4000rpm) there was enough pressure, that when I removed the oil cap, it spewed mistified oil and was very noticeable. The dipstick never unsealed, but I believe there is enough pressure that it will eventually. I put a larger 5/8" hose on the breather line and ran it into a bottle, tie-wrapped to the side of the engine, and plan to run with extra oil in case it happens again, until I get a chance to replace the turbo. Ugh!
 
I had both my turbos rebuilt, cheaper than buying new.
If you buy new don't pay volvo pentas price!
The 5/8" hose is a common modification and a good one.
 
I had both my turbos rebuilt, cheaper than buying new.
If you buy new don't pay volvo pentas price!
The 5/8" hose is a common modification and a good one.

Thanks for that info. Where/who rebuilt them and when. I was told that no one did that anymore. After market turbos are available for $1800. There is a Volvo oem on eBay for $1975.
I want to try and get through this summer season without replacing/rebuilding it. Wish me luck.
 
Same issue- rebuilt tamd41b, vessel sits in high and dry couple months at a time, 1st time on of the turbines froze, 13mm socket, loosened up, setting off for a long trip tomorrow with fingers crossed. Haven't checked water or oil flow but figured it would have fried up if those were issuess... Will find out. Comforting to know I'm not an anomaly! Thx guys, Rex (Bertram 28 with factory Volvos)
 
Same issue- rebuilt tamd41b, vessel sits in high and dry couple months at a time, 1st time on of the turbines froze, 13mm socket, loosened up, setting off for a long trip tomorrow with fingers crossed. Haven't checked water or oil flow but figured it would have fried up if those were issuess... Will find out. Comforting to know I'm not an anomaly! Thx guys, Rex (Bertram 28 with factory Volvos)

The two times that mine stopped turning it broke free easily. I think a little rust builds up on the exhaust side. But, when the bushings where out allowing the crankcase to pressurize it creates a huge mess. Not to mention you could ruin your engine.
Good luck.
 
Diamond Diesel rebuilt my turbo for about $1140 plus tax. They have locations in Oakland and Sacramento, CA, and Sparks, NV. The guys in Oakland are really into turbos and were happy to talk about them as long as I was willing to listen. They said that as long as water isn't coming back up the exhaust, there's nothing much to do about this problem other than to run the engines regularly.

My sense from having gone through this repeatedly is that if my boat sits for a month or two, it's prudent to gun the throttle just after the engine is started and oil pressure is up. If I wait until the engine is warmed up, the parts have expanded and it's more likely to freeze.

I can't prove it. But once I took the boat to a mechanic and the turbo was jammed on arrival. I had to overnight at his dock, and the next morning he gunned it cold and it worked just fine. So that's my theory.

Of course, sometimes it's so jammed that it won't even turn while cold. Then it's time to spin it by hand, or with the 13mm socket. If that doesn't work, then rebuild.
 
The software here deletes or * words it thinks are offensive. like 3 letter words that begin with s and end with x but are not a 3 letter word it is just in the middle of a longer word. And that's fine, in this day and age you have to do something.
 
I have dp41. The mechanic told me a piece of carbon can get stuck on the exhaust side. Spin the end with a wrench to break it free. It worked. My boat sits on a trailer half the year. At about 10 years of age this happened for the first time. It happened again lately at 15 years of age. And again a week later. I am wondering if something else is going on. The engine has 680 hours and isn't quite as quick out of the hole as it was. This is especially noticeable when the boat is fully loaded. The turbo shaft spins, there is no play or wobble, but the spin seems a little tight. I don't know how freely it should spin.
 
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