Whats the worst that can happen - leaky turbo?

[turkey]

Ok have just bought this Troopy with a 2H and aftermarket turbo on it. Its leaking oil somewhere from the turbo, not sure where yet its very hard to see because of its tucked away location. Im going to try and get the pressure washer in there during the week and give it a clean somehow. Anyway I'm driving it to Perth and back from Adelaide in a few weeks and really dont have the time or money to start pulling the thing to pieces so close to leaving.

I dont know much about turbos so whats the worst things that can happen? Whats it likely to be? Seals of some type im guessing? Approx cost of repair if I REALLY have to have it done, sorry i am a noob with turbos and an hour of search has brought fark all

[PJ.zook]

If it has a minor leak externally, it should be ok to assume that it is still safe to drive as long as the leak isnt large enough to not only lose oil pressure to turbo, but also run the risk of the hot turbine housing igniting the oil.
If however it is leaking internally, do not run the engine at all as there is a large risk of the engine revving out of control on its own oil, even if its a small leak it could easily turn into a large one pretty quick.

[skez]

dunno but i new a bloke with i skyline and his turbo caught fire he lost the hole car

[turkey]

Thanks fellas, any other opinions out there?

[balzackracing]

If the leak is external on the oil supply you should see the oil fairly pissing out, best to fix asap, most likely a gasket, o-ring or cracked fitting. If the leak is external is on the oil drain side then at worst is should be a gasket, hose or worm clamp loose. You should be able to get away with it as long as its not dripping on to the exhaust and the leaks not bad enough to loose a whole sump load of oil during your trip, otherwise you could be up for atleast a new engine or at most a new car.

If the leak is internal on the turbine side seal then you should be seeing heaps of blue/black smoke coming from the exhaust, if so just quickly rip of your dump elbow of the back of the turbo and have alook and see how much oil is in the turbine housing. If it is only a very small amount you should be right but take it steady, I have seen many turbos leak on the turbine side and all that happens is the pyros get a bit hotter and the exhaust burns the oil in the form of smoke. If it was me I would still repair asap.
If the leak is internal on the impeller side seal then I would have it repaired asap because as PJ suggests the engine may run on its own oil.(rare). You can check this by removing the intake of the impeller housing or the outlet to the engine and checking for a coating of oil..
Let us know what you find.

[turkey]

Thanks for the concise reply just the sort of info I needed, much appreciated! I will be getting under there on the weekend so will let ya know what I find! Thanks again mate

[poppywhite]

You dont realy say were the leak is???
My old 2h turbo had small leak on Right side of motor were turbo oil feed line came out. Apart from dirty motor no problems. was probally worm clamp or hose needed trimming up type of thing
You dont realy say were the leak is???

[KiwiBacon]

dunno but i new a bloke with i skyline and his turbo caught fire he lost the hole car

Luckily with diesels the exhaust runs a lot cooler, you've got to be giving them a decent amount of stick before the exhaust gets hot enough to ignite anything.
Otherwise it'll just be hot enough to make smoke.

[turkey]

You dont realy say were the leak is???
My old 2h turbo had small leak on Right side of motor were turbo oil feed line came out. Apart from dirty motor no problems. was probally worm clamp or hose needed trimming up type of thing
You dont realy say were the leak is???

Yeah im not sure exactly where its coming from yet, i only had the wagon for a couple of weeks and its always been parked on the gravel. Parked it for the first time on the driveway and noticed the few drips of oil when i moved it again. Visually looking at it now its hard to see, its tucked right under everything else. I am going to hit it with a can of degreaser and the hose later in the week and try and see exactly where its coming from and take it from there.

Its not a huge leak from what I can see, oil pressure is good(have just done a change last week), runs fine doesnt blow any smoke. Have receipts and motor has done about 160,000 but doesnt appear to have a whole lot of boost, but still pulls pretty well except for big hills. Like my first post said im a bit of a noob with turbos, but learn quickly

Edit: Have taken a couple of snaps will whack them up after tea

[turkey]

Most of the wetness seems to be around the large hose which feeds from the turbo into the throttle body. Oil pick up and outlet lines seems dry enough. Clamps were pretty tight, as far as I got tonight
From the top:


Underneath

Top again

[thehanko]

I know a guy who had a turbo cruiser with a farked turbo, and it started running on oil, was red lining and couldnt turn the engine off with the key, ended up stalling it in 5th gear to stop it running. it got so hot the whole block was warped... new engine later.

doesnt help you much, but a good story.

[KiwiBacon]

I know a guy who had a turbo cruiser with a farked turbo, and it started running on oil, was red lining and couldnt turn the engine off with the key, ended up stalling it in 5th gear to stop it running. it got so hot the whole block was warped... new engine later.

doesnt help you much, but a good story.

I've heard of people using solvents to clean their airfilters and having similar endings.

[balzackracing]

Most of the wetness seems to be around the large hose which feeds from the turbo into the throttle body. Oil pick up and outlet lines seems dry enough. Clamps were pretty tight, as far as I got tonight
From the top:


Underneath

Top again

Ok bit more of an Idea, pull the intake tube off the turbo and look back towards the airfilter, has the oil come from the crank case breather tube?? Its a hose that runs from the rocker cover to the turbo intake.

[turkey]

Ok degreased all around the turbo last night and drove to work this morning, oil is definately coming from the top of the turbo around the hose that feeds into the throttle body as seen in the first pic. I wouldnt say its a lot but thats where its coming from.

Cheers balzack will rip off that hose this arvo and have a look cheers mate

Edit: Ok just went and ripped off the hose at smoko and started her up and getting a bit of smoke coming from the rocker cover end, whats the verdit there ya reckon?

[me3@neuralfibre.com]

It's normal.
It's the engine breather blowing a little oil into the intake of the turbo, with increased blowby cause the engine wasn't turbo'd originally.

Tighten the clamps to keep the oil inside, and ignore it.

Your engine's an oil burner anyway.

It *could* be a turbo seal, but my money is the rocker cover breather. I'm guessing it's a 1HZ?

Paul

[turkey]

2H with about 160,000 on the motor have receipts from previous owner

[turkey]

Ok for arguements sakes I have disconnected the breather from the rocker cover to the inlet to the turbo and just have it venting via another hose atm (yes illegal I know but just for a couple of days for experiments sake) to see if it will rule out turbo seals and be just blowby? I have also blocked the original inlet hose from the air intake, is this a good idea or bad? From what I can see it will make no difference whatsoever?

If it is just blowby im guessing just fit an oil catch can of some description? Or just reconnect and leave it? Will this over a long period do any damage to the turbo or anything else? Any links etc to make ya own to suit a 2H would be wunderbar

[balzackracing]

You have done exactly what I was thinking!!!, If that is defiently where the oil is coming from then the oil wont damage your turbo, however a cheap oil catch can from Autobarn or supercheap would do the trick and cost fark all. Keep us updated!!
Cheers
Busty.

[turkey]

Will do mate, gonna run it around on the weekend and see what the verdict is. Thanks for ya help so far fellas

[me3@neuralfibre.com]

Or just let it burn. I'll bet it's less oil than you think - a little goes a long way, especially the black junk that comes out of diesels.

If it was intercooled it might be not so good - collect in the intercooler.

Paul

[turkey]

Verdict is blowby. Have run the thing all weekend just letting the breather vent out and voila no more oil coming from the turbo . I am going to feel much more at ease now when hitting the Nullarbor in a few weeks. Just gonna look into making a catch can for the blowby oil and thats it. Thanks for your help blokes

[balzackracing]

Glad to hear!!
Enjoy your trip.

[turkey]

Thanks mate will do! Back to the catch can thing for a sec though, I been looking around on fleabay and the like and really by the time i root around and buy a can and fittings etc etc i can get something like this for fark all http://cgi.ebay.com.au/UNIVERSAL-OIL-CA ... 240%3A1318

From what I have read so far during my searchs here these things are basically useless being non baffled as they come, so what a lot seem to do is pull the top off them and fill them full of those metal kitchen scourers to seperate the oil from the air, while still keeping the pressure from the crankcase to the inlet to the turbo? Anyone care to pass on their opinions....

I know it has been said to just plumb it back in and let it burn, but I'm just looking to get as much life as I can from this thing and I'm all about preventative maintenence ya see

[me3@neuralfibre.com]

Thanks mate will do! Back to the catch can thing for a sec though, I been looking around on fleabay and the like and really by the time i root around and buy a can and fittings etc etc i can get something like this for fark all http://cgi.ebay.com.au/UNIVERSAL-OIL-CA ... 240%3A1318

From what I have read so far during my searchs here these things are basically useless being non baffled as they come, so what a lot seem to do is pull the top off them and fill them full of those metal kitchen scourers to seperate the oil from the air, while still keeping the pressure from the crankcase to the inlet to the turbo? Anyone care to pass on their opinions....

I know it has been said to just plumb it back in and let it burn, but I'm just looking to get as much life as I can from this thing and I'm all about preventative maintenence ya see :D

www.autospeed.com used to have some great designs for diy catch cans that had a lot of thought put into them.
I don't remember the details - google is your friend.

I should prob do mine before I intercool it I guess. Uggh, black crap.

Paul

[chpd80]

my 1hz did exactly the same thing, went right through the intercooler as well, I used a 300ml plastic coke bottle, jammed the hose in and taped it up then cut a hole up near the top to let it breath, zip tie it somewhere and forget about it, never had to empty it, it just looked black after a while.
but you can buy a proper catch can if you like giving away your money just for the hell of it.