Turbo woes

[RiverCitySX]

I've got a problem I hope you guys can help me with.
I'm cruising around the other day and everything is great,
I do a couple fifth gear pulls to near redline, everything is
fine, no noises no smells, no overheating, the S13 is running great.
Pull into a neighborhood and all of a sudden I'm rolling blue
smoke out the tail pipe. I'm assuming the seals in
the turbo have gone bad, but thats not the weird thing.
I hop out pop the hood and I can hear the oil in the turbo boiling.
Now, my best guess is that I've actually trapped enough heat in the
exhaust to boil the oil, since my manifold/ elbow/ down pipe are all heat
wrapped. Anybody got any other possibilities?

Currently running an Isis RS3871 turbo
all exhaust and intercooler/ intake bits are Isis.
Deatchwerks 550cc injectors
Z32 MAF
RS enthalpy tune

Car still runs/ boosts great

[RiverCitySX]

Oh, also, I'm not running coolant through the
turbo, as Enjuku said it wasnt needed. Maybe I
do need to though

[compactfean]

You running an oil restrictor? Id run a .064 restrictor before the turbo. Also the oil shouldnt be staying in the turbo long enough for you to hear it boil. Where is your drain for the turbo? Id its in the oil pan than that could be you're issue right there.

[RiverCitySX]

Nope no oil restictor. I had read about that, but, was under the impression they
were not always needed. Oil returns to the pan, yea, but it's a pretty straight
shot with no kinks.
Also, running the Xcessive oil pan and Isis sump, if that makes a difference.

[compactfean]

It just depends if the drain is submerged in oil or not. If you're oil drain is submerged, it causes back pressure in the cartridge and causes oil to leak passed the oil rings. Basically you want the drain to let the oil fall into the pan, not force it into the oil. Oil restrictors aren't necessary but when running ebay turbos (or just cheaper turbos in general) these are the issues many run into.

[RiverCitySX]

Appreciate the input. I got in touch with Isis to see what the have to say about
using a restrictor. Also I can't seem to find any restrictors on Peagasus' website,
who else should I check with

[compactfean]

You should be able to find them through a few places. Frsport, enjuku, ebay etc. you can even make your own. If you can find 1/8” npt cap you can just drill a hole in it (.064” big) and put that in you're turbo.

[RiverCitySX]

Oh, right on

[RiverCitySX]

The Isis RS3871 turbo is supposed to have an internal oil restrictor

[compactfean]

I would suspect the turbo drain having some sort of blockage, or the turbo is bad then.

[RiverCitySX]

That's kinda what I figured, lol. I was more concerned, really, with the "boiling" noise from the
turbo. After talking with and Isis rep, he informed me that they don't recommend using
heat wrap on the turbo manifold (he said that it will sometimes cause the to crack )
and that the increased heat maybe causing the noise. I think it might be a good idea for me to
get an oil temp gauge.

[zerosalwaysone]

I running an ISIS 3871r turbo on my fully built sr. i had ran one for a year until it had massive shaft play so i got a free replacement from isis and the turbo seems to over heat and im running coolant in it the coolant is boiling in this one and its brand new doesnt even have a km on it. its weird

[RiverCitySX]

I running an ISIS 3871r turbo on my fully built sr. i had ran one for a year until it had massive shaft play so i got a free replacement from isis and the turbo seems to over heat and im running coolant in it the coolant is boiling in this one and its brand new doesnt even have a km on it. its weird

Yea, I'm not runnig the coolant in the turbo. I talked to a rep from Isis and he said
that they don't recomend running heat wrap on the manifold. I don't know if you are,
but I'm taking mine off.

[jbracy7]

Your a victim of a coked turbo,imo, if the oil is boiling your temps are in the 400 deg range,so be carefull ,check all hoses fitings, take it to the shop that did your tunning,and see if they can help

[RiverCitySX]

Your a victim of a coked turbo,imo, if the oil is boiling your temps are in the 400 deg range,so be carefull ,check all hoses fitings, take it to the shop that did your tunning,and see if they can help

Thanks or the input. I checked exhaust temps, a couple weeks ago, with an infrared thermometer.
Temps right a 400 degrees, I didn't think much of it, since I didn't know what they
used to be. I'll be on the horn with RS enthalpy soon though, don't wanna keep
effing up turbos.

[RiverCitySX]

I finally got some time to actually check some things.
First I pulled the O2 sensor and the IC piping. In the exhaust you can see
some black nasty build up, should be the burnt oil, but its very dry.
In the intercooler piping, everything is clean and dry, not a trace of oil.
Moved on to checking compression, 180psi across the board.
Lots of burnt oily build up on the piston tops.
Fuel psi is about 10psi over spec, however, the stock regulator is working.
Still need to check oil pressure and PCV system, but I may need to rebuild
the motor......again
Any thoughts, advice or tips would be greatly appreciated

[compactfean]

If your getting oil IN the cylinders, id say the intake valve seals (maybe exhaust too) are letting oil passed them. When you built the motor the first time did you check the valve to valve guide clearance?

[RiverCitySX]

No, all the block and head work was done by a local machine shop.
All I did was build the rotating assembly and re-installed everything
else. I checked nothing
Also, oil pressure is real good. Currently trying to decide how
to go after the PCV valve.

[RiverCitySX]

I got the PCV vale out and attempted to apply 20psi to the hose side. Valve cannot hold pressure at all.
Could boost pressure leaking by the PCV valve into the crank case cause the motor to burn oil. I would
think so, maybe time to upgrade PCV system?