Ok, so my KAT has been smoking and burning a pretty decent amount of oil. At first I thought I might have popped a piston ring, cracked a ring land, or blew a valve seal.. or something. It's not a very consistant smoking, comes and goes for the most part. But it is much more likely to happen if I let off throttle but goes away after it all blows out. When it happens, it's pretty thick, like embarassing thick.
So I tested the compression.. everything is still good. So I'm assuming it's not from the afore mentioned rings, lands, or seals.
There was no oil on the spark plugs.. (actually they were slighty oxidized, so I turned up the fuel a bit on the AFC =P )...
Now doesn't that mean it's burning oil somewhere after the combustion chamber? Like, uh, the turbo?
There is also a "healthy" amount of oil in the hot pipe, but just a light film of oil (from the pcv blowby) on the intake side.
I haven't taken off my downpipe yet. I need a new downpipe gasket (btw, anyone having trouble with those gaskets blowing out? I need to find where I can get a metal downpipe gasket) and not wanting to have a tremendous exhaust leak. Sooo I'm not sure what it looks like in there.
Right now I'm pointing to the turbo, but I really don't know for sure. With the oil in the pipes, the clean spark plugs, and the fact that it didn't burn oil at all before being force fed, I'm guessing that my brand new frickin turbo has bad seals.
Anyone else want to take a guess? :help
Are the seals on my turbo bad?
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Checkered-Member
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PMan_S13
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Checkered-Member wrote:is the smoke coming from the engine bay? or the exhausts?
Haha, that's kind of an interesting question.. it's definately coming from the tailpipe..
The more I think about it the more I think it's the turbo seals.. any sources for a good reliable t3/t4?
I'm not gonna buy rashly of course.. just sourcing for now. I need to think or find a way to prove the turbo is leakin' like the valdez
Now who knows the answer?
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C-Kwik
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If the plugs are not oil fouled, it's either the turbo seals or the exhaust valve stem seals. I'd say it's most likely the turbo. Teh valve stem seals are isolated pretty well by the bucket lifters. Oil would have to get by the buckets before they even touch the seals.
Check your turbo shaft play. Having normal shaft play will not rule it out, but if there is excess play, it's a good probablility that the turbo's seals are leaking.
Check your turbo shaft play. Having normal shaft play will not rule it out, but if there is excess play, it's a good probablility that the turbo's seals are leaking.
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PMan_S13
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Hmmm, I did check for play in the turbo when I had everything apart. It seems to be perfect, no play at all.
But I need to ask this, how freely should the turbine spin? Mine does spin, but there is some definate resistance keeping it from spinning really freely. I wondered if oil wasn't getting in and out the turbo (even though it probably would have seized on me already if it wasn't.. but I checked anyway) so first I checked the oil sender; good. And then the oil return; also good. (I didn't get oil all over the place, really)
I'm wondering if this is just because it's a new turbo and I really haven't driven it yet?
As for the smoke I think I am going to retest the compression.. maybe I missed something
But I need to ask this, how freely should the turbine spin? Mine does spin, but there is some definate resistance keeping it from spinning really freely. I wondered if oil wasn't getting in and out the turbo (even though it probably would have seized on me already if it wasn't.. but I checked anyway) so first I checked the oil sender; good. And then the oil return; also good. (I didn't get oil all over the place, really)
I'm wondering if this is just because it's a new turbo and I really haven't driven it yet?
As for the smoke I think I am going to retest the compression.. maybe I missed something
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PMan_S13
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Hmm. Well it's not spinning really freely.. if I just touch the turbine it won't move. If I get my fingers on it and twist then it moves pretty easily.. but again, not really freely. For example, I can't just spin it and watch it spin without touching it.. I hope I made my point across, kinda difficult to explain.
So what could this mean?
The oil sender is definately sending oil, so I know it's not a problem. The oil return line comes out the turbo angled away from the motor (maybe 30 degrees) and then heads straight down in between the motor mount and into the oil pan (most direct route I could think of =) ) So there are no kinks in the line.
Could oil build up and clog the drain line maybe?
I'm not understanding why it's not spinning like a free wheel...
So what could this mean?
The oil sender is definately sending oil, so I know it's not a problem. The oil return line comes out the turbo angled away from the motor (maybe 30 degrees) and then heads straight down in between the motor mount and into the oil pan (most direct route I could think of =) ) So there are no kinks in the line.
Could oil build up and clog the drain line maybe?
I'm not understanding why it's not spinning like a free wheel...
I have a brand spanking new T3/T04E that doesn't spin really freely, if I blow in the turbine inlet then it spins but I have to blow really hard, I can spin it with my finger and it MIGHT make 3 revolutions before it stops if not less. Is that about what yours is doing? I think it just needs to get broken in and used in my case.
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PMan_S13
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Well it's not really hard.. what I mean is I can't just spin it and have it spinning there without me touching it.
It's not hard to spin at all.. an infant could rotate it.. it just won't spin freely like, say, how a pinwheel will spin. See?
If the bearings were seized would the turbine spin at all? I really don't know much about the internal workings of a turbocharger, but if a bearing was seized I would imagine it couldn't move at all.
Could it just be the combination of it being a new turbo and that I really haven't got on it much? (and haven't been able to for the past 3 weeks?) Plus the whole burning oil thing.. maybe it filled it with an oily mess that gummed it up a bit? ... just some stabs in the dark, I really don't think the bearings are shot...
Thanks for the comments guys..
It's not hard to spin at all.. an infant could rotate it.. it just won't spin freely like, say, how a pinwheel will spin. See?
If the bearings were seized would the turbine spin at all? I really don't know much about the internal workings of a turbocharger, but if a bearing was seized I would imagine it couldn't move at all.
Could it just be the combination of it being a new turbo and that I really haven't got on it much? (and haven't been able to for the past 3 weeks?) Plus the whole burning oil thing.. maybe it filled it with an oily mess that gummed it up a bit? ... just some stabs in the dark, I really don't think the bearings are shot...
Thanks for the comments guys..