Recently had to replace my beloved '96 850 T because of a deer on the road on a rainy night. I wept.
I loved that car and we had been through a lot together making good use of the brickyard... thanks to
all contributors over the years. Replaced it with a 2006 S60 2.5 T AWD and have done a lot of preemptive and necessary items to get it up to scratch... fluids, plugs. coils, injectors etc.
A few weeks back i started getting the P2111 OBD code and intermittently had a car in limp mode.
I looked at cleaning but opted for a new one as I just thought that it could be dirt and it could be electronics and I certainly couldn't tell and was only going to do the job once so replaced it with a OM Bosch throttle body. When I had the hoses off to the Turbo, I noticed that there was some oil residue in the exit hose from the turbo.
Question ... my friend thinks it may be a leaky o ring in the turbo and that this is not fixable as it is inside the turbo body. The turbo seems to be working reasonably well although its "feel" is quite different than the 850 Turbo that kicked in and let you know you had boost.... comparatively I find that the S60 sort of eases into boost. Anyway... any thoughts on this from anyone as to the cause of oil and also if it is a leaky turbo then can you confirm this somehow. replacing the Turbo is big bucks and I don't want to do this until necessary.
Has anyone replaced the Turbo cartridge core and rebuilt themselves... would that fix my issue?
The cores are a lot cheaper that the whole Turbo... the video looks fairly easy... which always makes me suspicious. Anyway... your thoughts would be welcomed.

You have a 'low' pressure turbo that starts spooling at around 1200 rpm, unlike the high pressure turbo that kicks in around 2500 rpm and gives 13-17psi boost. Zoom, zoom.

Yes, the turbos have 2 internal O rings that can leak oil. The 'kit' to repair is around $150. The hard part is removing the turbo and putting it back in.

What destroys the O rings is running the turbo and turning the engine off before letting the turbo cool. There are truck repair shops that repair turbos, I do not know what they charge.

Not repairing the turbo is an option. I don't remember a turbo failing catastrophically. But the residual oil may have gotten into your ETM and clogged things up.
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Keeping it running is better than buying new

Hi Klaus,
So from what you're indicating, removing the turbo is a big job?
Have you seen any "How To's" at Mathew's or on youTube.
I will check it out.

I saw a company online that sells the "Turbo cartridge "core" CHRA for less than $200.00
... with a video that made it look fairly easy. The company is iSpeedyTech.

https://www.amazon.ca/Volvo-XC70-36002369-Turbo-Cartridge/dp/B07GNBNJFF/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=turbocharger+volvo+s60&qid=1558115312&s=gateway&sr=8-5

I would appreciate your opinion about whether this is a possible fix or just Asian crap.

Or... if having an oil leak is not a big deal... my throttle body was fairly carbonized but not as bad as I thought it might be. Because the shut down to limp mode was intermittent and I could clear the code and it would work I started to think that it was electronic maybe rather than due to a mechanical malfunction caused by dirt/carbon etc. .. I wasn't going to take the chance that just cleaning it, didn't fix it.

Also, because I now have a "low pressure" Turbo does that mean it is basically no balls as
compared to my 850T. I get boost but it seems almost non existent at certain speeds/RPMs.
... for instance, can feel some boost in 3rd and 4th but I can tromp down in 5th on the highway and feel very little in any sense of boost as the RPMs climb. i.e. not great for passing... or if it is boosting it is doing so on a really slow curve.
There is no meter as you know in the S60 so I have nothing to go on but "feel". But it sure doesn't "feel" like
the 850. But you have explained that it will be different. as in zoom zoom
Am sort of wondering if I could have an issue with either my boost sensor or boost solenoid?
Am hearing that the solenoid is a prime failure issue in these cars at fairly low mileage.
How do you "test" for boost? Can any mechanic do that? I suspect it would require exclusive tooling... which I don't have.
Lastly... my 0-100 k or 0-60 is around 10 secs. .. videos i see on the web and specs for this car indicate 7-8 secs. ... is that another indicator that the Turbo is not working properly?

http://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=48611
The above is a very good article for changing the seals in a turbo. New seals will not make the turbo work stronger, just eliminate oil vapors entering the intake.

It is possible to get a small vacuum line from the engine to the base of the windshield. There you can temporarily tape a vacuum gauge that you can see from the driver's seat. Obviously, the nicer route would be to route the vacuum line to the dash and find a place to 'permanently' fix the gauge.

The NA version produces about 165 bhp, the LPT about 208, the HPT over 300. The 850's with HPT only had 222 bhp, but the gearing and tranny shift points were much nicer for torque.

Yes, you may have a problem with boost. My blowoff valve developed a pin hole in the bladder, that left boost at a minimum. You might also have a leak in one of the vacuum lines serving the turbo. Or, also in my case, the PO might have crossed the lines and connected them to the wrong port.
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Keeping it running is better than buying new

Thanks Klaus,

I'll check hoses etc.
Taking the Turbo out looks like a major hassle with an AWD s60.
Can't find a good "How To remove your Turbo" video anywhere... have you seen one?
Does this Boost unit have a bladder also... I had to do that job in my 850T which was the cause of
very little boost... it was fixed after that and zoom zoom as you say.

What about Boost Sensor or Solenoid... is either a common culprit?
Anyway to tell?

I am convinced I'm getting small amounts of boost intermittently. Or none.

Thanks for the input

Same design as the 850. Yes, a pin hole in the bladder will negate boost. You remember how hard that was to remove and replace? If you do, get a 10mm speed wrench!

But, first, I would check all of the vacuum lines to the turbo, not just for cracks but proper routing. If you do replace the bladder, replace the vacuum lines with new silicone lines.

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Keeping it running is better than buying new

Hi Klaus,

I was able to check vacuum lines as much as i could get at and they seemed fine.
Having said that a small crack or hole may not be visible.

When i did the job on the 850, I followed instructions from a posting ... I think it was a series of photos of the job when someone did it. Do you know of any such resource for the S60?
And also, when i replaced the bladder, I got the kit from IPD which had different springs for different levels of boost, but I cannot find any such kit for the S60 (2006). My other primary supplier has no such thing either.
Can you suggest a source?
And lastly, as I mentioned before, is there anyway of ascertaining or eliminating boost sensor or solenoid as the culprit... before I get the 10mm speed wrench?

Thanks Klaus

There should be a vacuum line from the blow off valve to the front of the intake manifold. Pull the line from the manifold and see if you can get vacuum on it. I did this on my 850 to determine if the bladder had a hole in it.

Of course, the boost controller could be at fault.
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Keeping it running is better than buying new

Right... that's what you told me to do with my 850T... I forgot,
That's what led to its repair.
Do you know of any reference for this repair?
And where to get replacement bladder/spring?

Thanks for your replies... I'll let you know when I figure it out.

There is a Compressor Bypass Valve on your car, same place as on the 850. I checked IPD:

https://www.ipdusa.com/products/11804/124917-volvo-heavy-duty-compressor-bypass-valve-ipd-124917

Remember to check for vacuum first. If there is vacuum, then check the waste gate operation on the top of the turbo.
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Keeping it running is better than buying new

Hi Klaus,

I checked it all (hoses, CBV vacuum, waste gate and it all seems to be ok.)
I'm starting to think that it's working, but just not working like in the 850T.
This car has a 5th gear and I have been watching my tach when in hilly country and seeing that the revs are staying static on uphill rises which must mean that the turbo is cutting in for more power.
The type of turbo set up in the S60 vs the 850 T must be the difference.
I mean I can utilize the manual shifting capability for passing etc... but it is a much "slower" turbo than the 850 T5. True?
I should put a gauge in... then I'd know for sure.
Oh yeah... here's my question. When I replaced the diaphragm in the CBV of my 850T I used the medium coil spring supplied which gave me added boost. Vroom Vroom as you say.
Would I get more boost by replacing the stock spring & diaphragm with the same, in the S60?

Thanks.

I thought I mentioned it before, the S60R has the high pressure turbo, yours has a low pressure turbo. You probably never feel it 'kick' in.

It would be hard to get a vacuum gauge in the cabin, but that is what is needed to see if you get positive pressure under throttle up.
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Keeping it running is better than buying new

Hi All,

Klaus... that is so true... you never feel it "Kick in".
It's there but like a slow blend of turbo being added to thrust.
It is quite different but I'm getting used to it.
I'm never going to win any drag races with this AWD low pressure turbo... but it's still a
pleasure to drive. Am getting more used to practical applications of semi auto shift also.
don't use it a lot but for gearing down and passing its pretty effective.

As an aside... because of my inexperience with this kind of turbo I replaced my boost control solenoid... (original part on sale) and it made no difference... so I also have a back up now. Just to be definite about this as i am still unclear. I realize now that i am not going to get the same turbo boost OR feel of the high pressure Turbo but do you know that the low pressure turbo would NOT become more "responsive" simply by changing the spring/diaphram combo in the CBV that you get in the IPD kit from stock to medium spring (red I think) like I did in the 850 ?
I'm surprised that it would make no difference. There may be a simple technical reason.
Am just looking to get a little more Vroom.
Does anyone know this for sure?

Changing the spring rate in the CBV won't make any difference.

You could get a larger turbo:

https://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=51736
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Keeping it running is better than buying new

That's what I thought... thanks Klaus.