Unexplained Oil Loss????

[side waz]

Hey guys what's up.

I seem to keep on losing oil and can't really figure out why. I did an oil change recently (used AMS Oil), the level was perfect and then I checked a couple of days later and I'm already near low.

My new engine is a 95 KA from an automatic car and only has 180,000Km's on it and a buddy of mine driving behind says he did'nt see any smoke coming from my ehxaust and no funny smells either.

So I talked with a few buddies of mine and we came up with one possibility and I was hoping some of you here can either confirm or deny it as an answer.

Is it possible that the oil seals on my turbo are going and as such I'm losing oil through the turbo in small amounts and as such, it's being burt but there's not enough to see white/blue smoke out of my exhaust? Now when I dropped the turbo a little while ago to replace a broken stud I checked the turbo on the intake side and there did seem to be more shaft play then when I first bought it. So could this be the problem?

I appreciate any help you can offer.

Thanks everyone.

Easy

[PapaSmurf2k3]

It doesnt seem very likely to me.A more likely problem is that your front or rear main seals are leaking. Try looking underneath the car and see if you can see any more road grime than usual. These tend to leak most while driving, so that there isnt really a puddle of oil when you park your car.

[side waz]

No it's not that, I'm positive.

When I did my motor swap and turbo set up (at the same time) I replaced both the front crank and rear main seals with brand new ones. I should have mentioned this in the first post.

As well I also replaced the the valve cover gasket with a new one approximately 1 month ago. The head gasket was fine, there's no leaks from my pan that I was able to see, the oil lines are tight and dry as well the sending unit area is fine, there's no leaks in the feed line. I visually inspected all of this while being under the car with both the engine on and off.

Now when I did remove the intake piping on the turbo there was a little oil in both the ic piping, intake piping and on the intake side of the turbo too.

This is what is leading my friends and I in to thinking it's the seals.

So now based on me being more detailed on things what's all your thoughts?

[wild_maxx]

is your pcv running into the turbo inlet? if thats why there is oil on the intake pipe.

[side waz]

Ah crap. There's another thing I forgot to mention.

No I blocked it off at the valve cover. Now prior to installing the ic and piping it was'nt and I know that was blowing oil in to my throttle body. Now though it is capped tightly and there's no leak from there.

[C-Kwik]

so where is the crankcase ventilating to? If it's sealed completely, it will pressurize the crankcase. Not a good thing. You could end up with leaks at many seals. All of which can leak oil with it. Some can be internal and others can be external.

[side waz]

so where is the crankcase ventilating to? If it's sealed completely, it will pressurize the crankcase. Not a good thing. You could end up with leaks at many seals. All of which can leak oil with it. Some can be internal and others can be external.

Hmmm, I actually did'nt think of that. It's not venting anywhere at the moment. I've capped the valve cover. So you think I should make some kind of oil catch can? If so, here's a pic of my engine bay so maybe you can suggest the best way to run it and where it's supposed to connect to.



I just want to solve this problem and I hope it's not to late and I've done some real damage inside. Now I have'nt really been hard on it at all since I have'nt hit the dyno as yet. I go a little in to the boost but never over 5K rpms. I shift prior to that as the car really leans out at that point.

Anything you can recommend would be greatly appreciated brother.

[scarboroughdub]

what viscosity oil are you using a thicker ol should always be used on a turbo car.

[side waz]

Yep I know. I'm using 10w30 AMS turbo formula.

[wild_maxx]

what size sparkplug wires are those is that bung on the intake pipe, just before the TB for the IACV? it looks open to me.

[koukiKA240]

The main PCV is right off of the oil pump and. Nissan calls it a "breather seperator"

just so happens i have a pic uploaded from the fsm. this is the main pcv. that angled tube connects to a rail hat goes into the bottom of every intake port. Though i would highly recomend getting a ricer filter for the one on the valve cover i dont think having that pluged would cause your smoking problems.~Sam

[Florida240sx]

I have the same problem you are having.But clutch has been out so I haven't had time to do any testing.I've come to one conclusion if it is a leak.It's coming out of the T feed or oil drain.And only does it under high pressure.Because there is not one drop of oil under my car.Goign to try to install clutch sunday and maybe I can figure it out afterwards.

[scarboroughdub]

i would go thicker than the 10w30 since a turbo motor runs hotter than a stock motor your oil will loose its viscosity.

[nissanfanatic]

10W-30 works fine. Nissan recommends it.

[sanioll]

mobil1 0w-40 all season.

[C-Kwik]

Hmmm, I actually did'nt think of that. It's not venting anywhere at the moment. I've capped the valve cover. So you think I should make some kind of oil catch can? If so, here's a pic of my engine bay so maybe you can suggest the best way to run it and where it's supposed to connect to.



I just want to solve this problem and I hope it's not to late and I've done some real damage inside. Now I have'nt really been hard on it at all since I have'nt hit the dyno as yet. I go a little in to the boost but never over 5K rpms. I shift prior to that as the car really leans out at that point.

Anything you can recommend would be greatly appreciated brother.

A breather will work, but it is actually designed to see some vacuum. This helps keep crankcase pressure slighty negative which increases power and fuel economy ever so slightly. If you are not going to use a breather, and actually route it where it should be, then you'll want it to plumb back in just before the turbo. Using a catch can is not necessary, but not a bad idea either. Whatever you do, don't plumb it in after the turbo or you will pressureize the crankcase severely under boost.

[C-Kwik]

Though i would highly recomend getting a ricer filter for the one on the valve cover i dont think having that pluged would cause your smoking problems.~Sam

Well, he's not seeing any smoke. And oil can easily leak passed the valve stem seals under pressure. Worn valve stem seals generally leak the most under heavy vacuum(intake manifold) and puddle oil which gets burned out all at once when you open the throttle and force it all through the engine or during idles if the oil can drip into the combustion chamber from there. In this case, you burn a lot of oil for the amount of air going through the motor, so the smoke becomes visible. If you are cruising then it's possible you may be burning the small traces of oil with enough air so that it is not visible.

I just looked at the original post as well, and if you are getting more shaft play, there may be some concerns with the turbo seals being able to do their job. Are you using any restrictors in the oil feed line? What size line?

[side waz]

Well both of your answers seem plausable. Now to plumb a line from the valve cover back prior to the turbo, whats the best way then? I'm not to sure where it could even go. As for the turbo, I may be changing it soon but untill then I'd like to explore the other idea.

Just need to know how?