Well I think my turbo crapped out on me...

[float_6969]

So I started the car yesterday and as it's idling, I look in my mirror and see smoke. This is a brand new motor, so my heart just drops. I jump out of the car and go to the back, and it is, quite plainly, OIL. VERY blue in color, and smells like burnt oil. I, ofcourse, start cussing like mad. I'm thinking the worst possible things, burn rings, cracked ringland, headgasket, ect. I had been messing with the timing in the lower RPM's/Load ranges (non-boost) to try and make it a little more responsive. I had been watching the controller closely afterwards and it detected knock one time, but it was on decel with no load, so I think it may have been because I have the car programmed to go lean in that condition. I didn't hear/feel anything, so I didn't think much of it. I drove it around more after that and still didn't have any problems that I noticed. But it was also at night, so I might have been burning oil and not noticed. Anyway...

The plugs didn't really show much. They didn't look like they had been burning oil to me, although 2&3 didn't look like they had been getting hot enough to keep the carbon deposits off of them. 1&4 looked fine, but still not perfect. The car is programmed rich right now as I'm still fighting the wideband, so that has a lot to do with it too. I may need to step down a temperature range till I get it up and running.

So I do a compression test, expecting the worst even though the plugs look OK. Here's the numbers...1-1802-1793-1784-180Obviously, these are terrific numbers. (Althought 180 straight across would have been nice!) I do kind of wonder if I've got a small leak between 2&3 past the HG, but if I do, it must be minimal.

So now I'm like, well what could it be? So I start giving it gas to see how it acts. What I'm seeing is that the amount of oil that comes out of the exhaust is directly related to how much oil pressure I've got. Past experience has shown me that when it's a blowby problem (worn rings on last motor) that it doesn't seem to burn oil as much until you get some vaccum on the intake. This isn't acting like that at all. The higher the revs, the more oil it burns. From my thinking, this just leaves the turbo.

Another reason that I suspect the turbo is due to the fact that about a week ago I found that the oil drain line was kinked. It wasn't completely pinched closed, but very close. The motor had been up and running for at least 250/300 miles before I noticed. I checked the hot pipe though, and there is no oil in there. The turbo doens't seem to have any play at all.

Oh, I also checked the lines for the PCV system and they are oil free as well.

Everything that I can see, doesn't seem to show that oil is getting burnt in the combustion chamber. I think it's happening afterwards.

Sorry for the novel, but if you read it all, what do you think?

[sdtouge]

my turbo didnt have any play and it was really bad smoke. my drain line was also a little kinky lol.

have fun on the turbo replacement if thats it lol. if its been a while since your last one, just make sure to not be under the turbo directly when you remove the coolant line like i did lol unless you want coolant in your eyes and mouth.

[float_6969]

No, I've got pleny of experience removing the turbo. I haven't decided if I'm ready to pull it or not. I'm not 100% sure it's the turbo, plus I don't have another one to put in there yet...

[float_6969]

I don't think so, but I'll have to check.

[float_6969]

No smoke after I let off the throttle after boosting. It's most definatly seeming to smoke when I get into boost and when the RPMS increase. It seems that the amount of oil it burns is directly related to being in boost and how high I revved it. I'm going to check for oil in the hot pipe again tonight. I'm fairly confident that it's the turbo. I've still go no oil in the lines of the PCV system, so I really don't think it's blowby getting sucked into the manifold.

[float_6969]

Currently, no catch can, and since I don't have a suction pipe for turbo, that side of the PCV system is just open to the atmosphere. The other valve cover is routed normally straight over to the PCV valve, wich is brand new and I tested it already and it is functioning correctly.

I've considered the fact that since the PCV system isn't hooked up correctly, I could be drawing oil into the manifold and burning it in the combustion chamber, but the plugs look clean, and the line for the PCV system doesn't have any oil in it.

Is it better to leave that side open, or plug it off?

Regardless, I'm going to pull the downpipe/O2 pipe off this week and take a look at the backside of the turbo and see how it looks. I don't know if it's been buring oil long enough to be able to tell if it's just rich or burning oil.

[81na ZX]

So I do a compression test, expecting the worst even though the plugs look OK. Here's the numbers...1-1802-1793-1784-180Obviously, these are terrific numbers. (Althought 180 straight across would have been nice!) I do kind of wonder if I've got a small leak between 2&3 past the HG, but if I do, it must be minimal.

Was that a consumer-grade compression tester? If so, I'd say your compression is IDENTICAL cylinder to cylinder. 0.5 to 1% is prefectly acceptable working error for one most of us can get their hands on.

Ya. that doesn't solve your problem.

Blue smoke... obviously oil is getting into your cylinder... Could be PCV valve problems, turbo seals obviously, bad valve seals, or some other head problems.

[f s t caz]

Blue smoke... obviously oil is getting into your cylinder... Could be PCV valve problems, turbo seals obviously, bad valve seals, or some other head problems.

not necessarily. if the plugs don't show it, then it most likely would seem to be post combustion meaning oil in the exhaust, meaning bad seal leaking oil on the turbine side.

float, have you actually noticed any oil consumption via the dipstick? Also, did you notice any oil on the o2 sensor when you removed it, or did all this start after you messed up the wideband 02?

just out of curiosity, what type of oil are you using, and do you have an oil pressure gauge installed?

[float_6969]

Was that a consumer-grade compression tester? If so, I'd say your compression is IDENTICAL cylinder to cylinder. 0.5 to 1% is prefectly acceptable working error for one most of us can get their hands on.

Yea, it's Craftsman one that I picked up at Sears. I wasn't worried about 1/2psi either.

Blue smoke... obviously oil is getting into your cylinder... Could be PCV valve problems, turbo seals obviously, bad valve seals, or some other head problems.

Well the thing is that the plugs don't show any sign of oil burning in the combustion chamber. That means it's got to be exhaust side valve stem seals or the turbo. The head was just completely rebuilt with the motor and those Nissan bucket lifters don't let much oil in there anyway.

Incase I didn't mention it before, it doesn't smoke when it's cold. The car (or exhaust) has to get hot first.

not necessarily. if the plugs don't show it, then it most likely would seem to be post combustion meaning oil in the exhaust, meaning bad seal leaking oil on the turbine side.

Exactly.

float, have you actually noticed any oil consumption via the dipstick?

I haven't yet, but I haven't put that many miles on it since I noticed either. I don't think I've driven it enough to have a noticable change in oil level, but yes, I've checked it.

Also, did you notice any oil on the o2 sensor when you removed it, or did all this start after you messed up the wideband 02?

No, I didn't notice any oil on the O2 sensor, but since it's burning it, it'd just look like it's running rich, which it is.

just out of curiosity, what type of oil are you using,

Mobile 1, 10w-30. And I just realized that this got bad after I changed over to synthetic. My fiance told me yesterday that she though that it was smoking before, but it was hard to tell what color it was when she was following me.

and do you have an oil pressure gauge installed?

Yes

[CA19DET]

drop the O2 pipe and see if there is oil leaking in the turbine.. easier than dropping the turbo...

[float_6969]

drop the O2 pipe and see if there is oil leaking in the turbine.. easier than dropping the turbo...

That's what I'm going to do. My O2 and downpipe are once peice so I'll have to remove that pipe and then look at the backside of the turbo. I don't know if I'll be able to see any oil though. We'll see...

[f s t caz]

how many miles do you have on the new motor? i didn't realize you'd been up and running long enough for synthetic.

[float_6969]

It probabally had 400miles on it when I changed over. It was just a rebuild though. I'm quite sure everything is as "broken in" as it's gonna get. I did a hard breakin on it. IMHO, easy break in's are crap.

[float_6969]

Well this is the strangest thing. I switched back to a non=syn oil and went to a 10-40 instead of a 10-30 and the burning oil went away. I'm baffeled (sp?). Are the turbo oil seals just weak?

[Dattebayo]

I dont know if it is just hearsay, but I have heard of some guys in the community having issues with synthetic on old seals.

I thought it was a head issue though, not a turbo issue.. Could be similar though.

[float_6969]

Yea, it doesn't make any sense to me. I'm going to check the compression again and look at the plugs again. This is so weird...

[SeVa-S13]

Well you also changed weights, maybe try running a 15w40 syn and see how that goes?

[f s t caz]

you got to remember that sythetic oil's haven a much smaller, more spherical molecule that has no problem finding little nooks and crannies that conventional dino oil's can't. like SeVa said, I'd try a higher weight like 15w40 or 15w50 in synthetic and see if it stilll burns. i suppose it might just be a bandaid solution, but something to keep in mind.

[float_6969]

Well i planned on running a X-40W regardless, but I'm just suprised that the 30-40W change made that much difference. Plus I was running 10-30 syn on the old CA turbo, but the rings were so bad that I don't know if it was blowby or oil leaking past the seals. Oh well, I still on plan on getting an S15 T28 later on down the road, it's just good to know I can start driving the car after I get some insurance on it.

[SeVa-S13]

Well as Chris mentioned, different oils vary greatly, even between the same syn weights. Dino to syn comparisons are just hard to begin with. See how the heavier syn goes and start saving for a new turbo. =\