6 replies to this topic

[EdubT5m]

ok so my car has been eating a little oil lately and i cannot seem to find where its going. i have no smoke or leaks. when i swapped intercooler couplers a little while back it seemed to me there was an excess amount of oil in the intercooler piping. however there is no extra noise coming from the turbo or eratic boost.

is there an easy way to tell if my cars turbo/seals are taking a dump?

on a side note, car doesnt feel as strong as it once did (still running 18psi), could this be a side effect of a turbo going out?

[lookforjoe]

Oil in the piping is usually from the PTC/oil breathing system; rarely from the turbo.

If the turbo 'seals' (they're actually like mini piston rings) were bad, it would be dumping oil in the exhaust. You would definitely have exhaust smoke, either @ idle, decel or WOT. This can also be caused by a restriction in the drain side, or excess crankcase pressure from a breather restriction or worn rings.

Leaking turbo seals also have little bearing on turbo function - until they are truly shot - the turbo will continue to compress & discharge air as it always has. Blown CBV or shot WGA/ stuck WG would be more indicative of reduced turbo output.

If you remove the intake J pipe, inspect the compressor wheel for ANY evidence of contact with the housing - scraping will be self evident. You can hold the tip of the shaft & see how much end play & side play is there. Unless you can push the shaft sideways enough to cause the wheel to contact the housing, it is not likely that the bearings are bad.

[Ruhl98t5wag]

Oil in the piping is usually from the PTC/oil breathing system; rarely from the turbo.

If the turbo 'seals' (they're actually like mini piston rings) were bad, it would be dumping oil in the exhaust. You would definitely have exhaust smoke, either @ idle, decel or WOT. This can also be caused by a restriction in the drain side, or excess crankcase pressure from a breather restriction or worn rings.

Leaking turbo seals also have little bearing on turbo function - until they are truly shot - the turbo will continue to compress & discharge air as it always has. Blown CBV or shot WGA/ stuck WG would be more indicative of reduced turbo output.

If you remove the intake J pipe, inspect the compressor wheel for ANY evidence of contact with the housing - scraping will be self evident. You can hold the tip of the shaft & see how much end play & side play is there. Unless you can push the shaft sideways enough to cause the wheel to contact the housing, it is not likely that the bearings are bad.

Thank you for that, probably the most concise bit of knowledge on this subject ever.

[EdubT5m]

excellent bit of info! thanks lookforjoe

[pcguru000]

:> looks like this

[EdubT5m]

^^ thats not normal??? .... crap

[550]

Once the "seal" of the turbo goes... You will know it. It happens fast and it gets messy very quickly.