TrapOx and warranty replacement - funky situation
 

Hey all-

I got a replacement '85 TD engine to swap into my wagon from a donor car. I just pulled the turbo off to check it out, and it looks like the trap oxidizer killed it. The compressor wheel spins freely and smoothly, but the hot side is frozen solid and can't be spun at all. There's black chunky stuff in there, and my probe hits solid stuff inside the trap oxidizer. As far as I can tell, this means that it spit its guts into the turbo and ruined it, which is exactly what the recall was for (right?).

question 1: is my diagnosis correct, or is there some other cause that I should investigate? and if so, how?

question 2: if i show up with my turbo / trapox assembly will I be able to get those replaced under the recall? i don't have access to the donor car and my own wagon is an '80, so I'm worried that might be an issue.

question 3: is there any particular dealership that would be best to go to? I'm about 1 mile away from the mercedes classic center (the one in irvine, ca), but I'm guessing they wouldn't handle something like this. If a particular dealership in the orange county area would be better, do tell.

No I dont think its a go deal--- you got the engine from the car that should have had it changed--But if you put the whole assembly in the car and take it to a dealer---There are more benevolent ones and less so ones, It might be possible --But i doubt it.

just sent the following e-mail to tom at the classic center, will let everyone know what i hear back.

fadfos;ahlsdkjghklwjghaslkjgahsklfhsdklfjp;etg9qbv

:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

continued:



is it just me or does the last part of tom's reply sound sorta like 'now f*** off and stop buggin me' :(

pretty much...

He's totally correct though. the warranty is on the vehicle, not the engine.
if the vehicle had been taken to the dealer prior to the removal of the engine, they might have changed the turbo for you, but actually, I think the recall is only on the 603 equipped vehicles... I do not have any proof of this though.

Ya, the warranty only covers the car as it left the factory. VW won't do the recall on the heated seats I retrofitted to my car, they weren't installed by VW.

It sucks, but it is fairly reasonable.

-J

even more joy: my '85 300D which is currently parked with a blown head gasket also needs the recall work done, but the dealer in riverside says they will not do the service unless the car is running first.....wtf!

HERe IS THE translation

with kind regards, with friendly emotions (when ending a letter)


best wishes, all the best!, I wish you luck!, yours, yours truly, yours with blessings (at the end of a letter)

sounds like it :(

no i was referring to

:(

i spoke to mbusa, they said the same thing. no car, no service. so then i called around to some dealerships about my dead blue car since it needs the same recall work anyway. the one where the car is (riverside) won't do the trapox/turbo if the rest of the engine isnt running. fletcher jones in newport beach (near me) will do it, but that means towing the dead car from riverside to newport....:(:(:(

So the 85 TD engine is going into the 80 TD if I understand this correctly? I understand you want MB to replace the Trap and Turbo under the recall, which won`t happen unless it`s all original in original car.

so why do you want to have the trap on your 80TD? Just because it is an 85 engine? or am I missing something here?
Most of us here on the Forum are trying to get rid of this stuff.

Charlie

methinks he wants to get a free turbo under the recall...

you understand correct. i want them to replace the trap and turbo because the turbo is jammed, and it would be *really* nice to have a factory-new turbo instead of trying to find a working one at the junkyard, or buying a rebuilt one.

i have a dead 300D that needs the same recall work that i had given up on, but if im willing to get it towed really far to a particular dealership, i can have them do the recall replacements on that car, and then pull the parts from it for the current project. it almost seems worth it for a factory new turbo....

isn't that fair? i've got two different ones that are dead because of the faulty trapox, is it too much to ask for just one replacement? i don't think i'm being greedy here. i'm broke, unemployed, a full time engineering student, and until i solve all this stuff i've got no reliable transportation.

if you sign up for AAA premier membership you can get towed one time in a year 200 miles for free.... prolly have to wait a day or three before calling the tow truck over, but its a great service...