SteelCityLimey

Hi all, first time poster from the other side of The Pond.



We’re on our second Grand Cherokee, a 2006 WK 3.0CRD Limited. Our first was a 2000 WJ 4.0 Limited, both with auto boxes. We’re the second owner of our WK. The first was a local DR, and the car wanted for nothing, full main dealer service history, and the best I found for sale around here. We got it in July 2015 with 111’000 miles on the clock, and it’s now got 120’000 on it. I’ll say this in hushed tones around here, but we’ve also previously had a much modified 1996 Land Rover Discovery 300tdi, (they do like to rust!)

Anyway, I hate to be a douche-bag and ask for advice on my first post, but I am in a bit of a pickle here, as you can probably guess from the title.

Just under two weeks ago was the first hint of a problem. Accelerating briskly from stand still up a steep hill, the vehicle ‘kangaroo’d’ changing up from 1st to 2nd. As I couldn’t get the vehicle to replicate the problem, I assumed that perhaps it was a bit of contamination coming through the fuel lines.

A few days later, the problems returned. A hesitancy and sluggishness to change up through the box, slightly down on power and a faint whistling or chirruping from the turbo on upshifts and releasing from the throttle. We decided to only use the vehicle for short, local journeys whilst I investigated the problem and the car was fine for a couple of days, before the fault returned, this time illuminating the ETC light, (not flashing) and going into limp home mode.

I tried 5 different code readers on the car, but couldn’t find any recent codes. Added to which, the car was now running fine. However, the very next day when the wife popped down to the local supermarket, the ETC light started flashing, but the car was still running fine. I plugged in the fault code reader and it brought up code “P0234, Turbocharger / Supercharger ‘A’ Overboost Condition”.

And then the very next day, the problems got a bit more serious. On a very short journey on the way back from town, (and I was driving like Miss Daisy!), the kangarooing came back, massively down on power, (but not limp home mode), flashing ETC light, engine running hot, (but temp gauge showing normal temp), lots of whistling from the turbo and the Engine Check / Engine Management light came on.

I’ve checked through all the usual suspects, which I’ll list in order;

1) As the engine was running hot, I checked the air filter. It’s not ‘brand new’ clean, but it’s by no means dirty, and the airbox itself is internally clean and free of blockages.

2) I removed the Elephants Trunk, (from the airbox to the turbo). No visible damage. However, the vehicle still has the old “PINK” bung where the crankcase vents back into the Elephants Trunk. This was barely attached to the Elephants Trunk. There was a noticeable amount of oil at the turbo end of the Trunk, but very little oil looked to have dripped down onto the Swirl Motor. Certainly nothing that looked fresh.

3) The turbocharger itself, based upon the rudimentary tests that I’ve carried out, seems ok. I can’t detect any end-float on the vane shaft, the vanes spin freely, with no noticeable bearing noise detected. There is a slight build-up of what I guess is Carbon on the vanes, but nothing that I would suggest is a major cause for concern.



So, my questions to the floor;

How do I accurately determine a fault in either the Swirl Motor or the Turbo Actuator? Bearing in mind I don’t have a multi-meter, and would rather not buy one unless needed. Are there any visible clues? If it is a Actuator or Swirl Motor problem, can you fellas point me in the direction of a reliable replacement?

I assume that I’m not lucky enough for the old “PINK” bung on the crankcase oil vent return to be the root of the problem?

Is there anything else that it could be? I know that the CAN-BUS system on these Jeeps and Mercs is highly complex and prone to being temperamental?



I’m not at home at the moment, and I took pictures on my wifes phone, (I have an ancient Nokia without a camara), but I’ll try and post pictures this evening when I get back home of the turbo vanes and the state of the Swirl Motor.



In advance, thanks for your help and advice guys. Much appreciated.



Here's hoping that it’s nice around here, and I end up sticking around. This place certainly does seem more technically focused than some of the other Jeep forums and I look forward to being able to help where I can.

dave1123

Welcome to the Cherokee Forum!

You definitely gave us enough information, but unfortunately most of us don't have much experience with the CRD because we weren't allowed to buy them over here! However, that being said, I'm sure there are SOME guys here that know something! We have many posters from the UK and EU, we just have to get their attention.

I personally have done some research on intake valve carbon deposits breaking loose and destroying the turbo exhaust turbine vanes. This in turn unbalances the turbine and causes the bearing seals to leak oil into the intake, as well as the oil from the CCV system. I'm interested in this because I have a high mileage 4.0 with the same carbon problem but I don't have a turbo!

Anyhow, enough posts usually draws attention. After 50 views, it's amazing nobody has offered any suggestions yet.

One thing I CAN suggest is downloading a Full Service Manual from pacificcoastmanuals.com for $8 USD. It's over 90mbs of compressed pdf files on every system in your specific year jeep. The one for my 2000 WJ has information on the CRD used at that time. It's a copy of the Factory Service Manual used by dealer techs.

Okay, I just checked and the best one available for you is a 2005 edition. The next one newer is for WK2s.