turbo oil leak?

[daniel240]

i was working on my car today, and i took off one of the ic pipes and noticed a small amount of oil on the inside of it, mainly around the silicon coupling. im just wondering if its normal to have a little oil in the ic pipes like that. because i have a brand new turbo, only about 2-300miles on it. also, now that i think about it, i do remember once or twice seeing just a little smoke when i boost.

[cwc2k1]

Well my friend and I ran into this on his RS-T eclipse, and our problem was that we drilled the hole in the oil pan for the oil return line too low and it was backing up the line, causing oil to leak into the intake side of the turbo and also run oil in the piping. Just something to check....

[C-Kwik]

Do you have your crankcase vent tube(from valve cover) routed back into the intake? Over time, this usually builds up oil residue over all the intake.

[daniel240]

yes, i do have the crankcase breather tube routed back to the intake. ill check that and see if thats were its coming from. but like i said, ive only had it turboed for like 200 miles or so, and theres already oil in there.

i drilled my oil return in about the middle of the oil pan. even if it is lower than the oil level in the pan, i dont think it would make a difference and back all the way back up to the turbo. the oil level in the drain hose should stay the same level as the oil in the pan, which is a lot lower than the turbo.

[cwc2k1]

All I can tell you is that we put the return line in a place where it was lower than the oil level of the pan, the line backed up and leaked oil into the intake side of the turbo and into the ic piping. We were informed by many on his forum that had done this type of install that it was too low and needed to be moved up. It was a pain but we pulled the pan, had the hole welded, and the return fitting welded higher and have not had problems with it since. Car has ran a bit since then and everything looks good.

Cliff

[Structure240sx]

thats how i blew my turbo by over filling the oil pan. it backed up into the return line and bursted out the seals. if you are seeing any smoke out the exhuast that means its burning up either piston rings or the turbo seals. my bet is turbo seals tho with what u jsut mentioned. my return line is about 1-1.5" from the top of the oil pan. the oil levels off right in the middle of the L and H on the dip stick.

[daniel240]

structure, your return is 1-1.5'' from the top of the pan now, or when you blew your turbo?? i just want to know how far it needs to be from the top of the pan. mines about right in the middle now. but i still dont see why it would back up all the way to the turbo since the turbo is higher than the oil level in the pan.

[Structure240sx]

it always has been. now i know the right amount of oil to put it. i jacked the car up evenly as i could and took off the return line and filled with oil until it started coming out of the hole. i then put in the dip stick and grinded a new line on it right where that oil level is. where my return line goes its about half way between the L and H. i see where you're comimg from and i cant rationalize it but i know thats why mine went. it ran fine right before then i oured in and extra quart of oil. next day i turned it on and oil was dripping from the turbo

[daniel240]

i guess i will drill another hole up higher in then. i just hope i didnt damage my turbo in any way. i checked it yesterday and it seems like it doesnt spin as well as it did when i put it on.

[Structure240sx]

check for shaft play. grab the shaft hard and wiggle it. i shouldnt move at all. also look at the bottom of the housings and manifold. if they look wet then your seals are toast

[daniel240]

the shaft doesnt move at all with the compresser housing on, but i took it off and the shaft moved a lot. is it supposed to be like that? im trying to get the damn oil pan off now. the instructions in the fsm suck.

[spitz7985]

screw the FSM, your best bet is to unbolt the passenger side engine mount, jack the engine up a few inches by the bellhousing, it will rise at an angle, unbolt the sway bar bushings (the end links can stay connected), and the pan will slide right out after you unbolt it and break the seal.

[C-Kwik]

the shaft doesnt move at all with the compresser housing on, but i took it off and the shaft moved a lot. is it supposed to be like that? im trying to get the damn oil pan off now. the instructions in the fsm suck.

Are the blades touching the housing? If they are, you can usually see scratches on the inside of the housing. If it is making contact, you need to have the turbo rebuilt or buy a new one. Depending on how bad it was, you may need to replace the compressor housing as well. The compressor wheel should be replaced.

[daniel240]

well i finally got it off, and welded a new return in were XS recommends the hole, 35mm from the top, so i will see if it works tommorrow.

there was a little bit of rubbing marks on the housing when i took it off. before i installed the turbo on my car when it was new, i noticed the wheel was very, very close to the housing so i figured thats what the marks were from. they were smooth marks, and i just sanded on it a little with some fine sandpaper. i put it back together and spun it and it doesnt feel like it hits or anything. and like i said before, when everything is together and i wiggle the shaft, there is no play, but when the compressor housing was off, and i wiggled it, there was a lot of play. is it supposed to be like that. i just hope its still good, because its only got 200 miles on it.

[daniel240]

well i drove it today for a little and it seemed to do fine, boosted like normal and i didnt see any smoke for the short time i drove. i hope my turbo is still good.

[Structure240sx]

once you start it up after it sits for a while like overnight does any oil squirt out the exhuast? my seals were getting weak so a spray of oil would be on the ground behind my muffler. i didnt get any smoke with this happening

[daniel240]

no i dont think so, but i didnt really check. when i start it up in the morning, and let it warm up, it smokes, but its just the white-ish colored smoke and i think its normal. can someone still tell me if the shaft is supposed to move with the compressor housing off. thanks

[Structure240sx]

it shoudnt matter if the housing is off or on. the shaft shouldnt move at all. especially if the housing is on and the blades are hitting it your in trouble. i chewed up my compressor wheel when i blew my turbo

[daniel240]

well, i dont think the blades are hitting the housing when i move the shaft up and down, but ill check again. but like i said, it didnt seem to move at all w/ the housing on, but when i removed the housing, the shaft moved a lot. i dont know, it boosted fine last night. so did you rebuild your turbo or buy a new one? and was the oil return what caused it?

[Structure240sx]

i got it rebuilt from cheapturbo.com. cost me $340 cause i needed a new compressor wheel. regular rebuilds are $250. my seals were getting weak i could tell from the oil squirt out the exhuast after it would sit for a while. then i started it up once and it was fine. only thing i did was pour in more oil. next time i started it oil leaked from the turbo. i overfilled it

[daniel240]

i talked to a shop here in town that rebuilds turbo's, and they said that if my seals were gone, then i would be leaking oil everywhere. they said, inside the turbo, there is a seal, like a piston ring, and if thats bad, then i would know it. im just going to continue driving it and see what happens.

[Structure240sx]

yea thats what happened to mine once it did go. jsut the seals were weak before that lettin some oil get through. that cool tho you have a place nearby that rebuilds turbos. i called all over and no one local would do it.