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3L turbo problem

Tech Talk for Cruiser owners.

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3L turbo problem

Post by SOGONE »

Hey guys new to the forum. Did a search through other peoples problems and failed to come up with anything.

Heres the situation. I brought a 1993 hilux 4x4 LN106. It had fitted the 2L-TE turbo (CT20) including manifolds, water and oil lines. The Oil line picks up from where the alternator oil pump does, they used a double banjo bolt. the return goes in back in to the sump. They had the rocker cover breather venting to atmosphere. The breather had a fair bit of blowby which they said had only started happening when they put the turbo kit on.

Now when we hooked that up into the airbox the turbo started blowing alot of smoke with oil being spat into the exhaust and the inlet. We pulled the motor out cause we believed it to be tired as it had a fair whack of kilometres on it. Rebuilt it with forged pistons and ACL race series everything. It was oversized 20thou. I brought a new turbo for it assuming the turbo had shat itself. I drove 5k before this turbo started doing the same thing. put another turbo on it but kept the rocker breather venting to atmo and the turbo held. put it back in to the low pressure side (airbox) and it started leaking oil into the inlet and exhaust side. Had the three turbos looked at by the turbo guys and they said they were fine.

What could be causing this? I know ball bearing turbos need a restrictor in the oil feed line. Could there be too much oil pressure hitting the thrust bearing and it's leaking? Why would it start doing it only when the breather is scavenging with pressure? The return line doesn't back and it's a more then a half inch return. There's obviously something pressurizing the head. I know everyone else gets there oil feed off the alternator and return goes in to the oil return of the alternator. Would this pressure drop from sharing be sufficeint in not over oiling the bearing? Is this why everyone else manages to get there's to work? I've checked the oil pressure. It all reads normal.

I'm out of ideas and I love the power the turbo kit gives me. Really don't wanna take it off. Has anybody experienced this problem or know anyone who has? Any idea's of what it might be?

Thanks in advance.

Paulie.
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Post by berad »

The blow by needs to be after the turbo

The turbo sucking air is pulling oil up and putting it through the turbo and therefore into the motor.

The blow by hose should be in the turbo cross over pipe, or in the intake manifold.

That will fix it right up.
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Post by SOGONE »

The thing is but we put in a check valve to stop this happening. And we tried it on the cross over pipe where the original breather goes in to, still same problem. Every other kit has theirs going in to the low pressure side of the turbo.
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Post by berad »

I'm unsure then, how long did you run it for with the hose post turbo, there would be oil in the intake etc that would take a little bit to flow through and burn off?.
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Post by SOGONE »

cleaned everything each time mate. trust me we've spent days on the stupid thing trying everything. Someone has to know whats going on!
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Post by 87 Turbo Hilux »

i sorta scanned ova your problem and i think i got the same, i got a 3l with a garret made-up-at-home turbo kit, and my breather from the rocker cover goes to the airbox to turbo pipe, mine leakes oil aswell it gets out thought the rubber joins and goes all over the engine bay and shit.. i got told it was kinda normal and dont worry about it..mine doesnt blow that much smoke nor is there oil comming out of the exhaust. i didnt want to put a breather into the atmosphere cos of water crossings..i figgure that much air gets sucked hard from the airbox that some oil will make its way up the breather.
87 hilux,2.8,garret turbo,tru trac rear,gauge,3" lift fnt,2" lift rear.
94 hilux,2.8,denco turbo kit,14psi,racing seats,comp bar & tray,air locker fnt,tru trac rear,sliders,2" lift,33's.
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Post by SOGONE »

oils actually being spat out the seals. different to what your experiencing.
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Post by SOGONE »

should also mention it has very high crank case pressure. its blown out the rear main seal a few times. we've pulled this motor apart 3 times and it had reassembled by our machinist. on a long drive when i had the breather venting to atmo i noticed the dipstick had popped out. it's getting loads of pressure from somewhere.
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Post by berad »

Is the oil pump pressure valve working?

Whats the oil pressure, n what is it at full noise
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Post by SOGONE »

goes from 60 to 80psi ish. if i remeber correctly. we checked it up when we did it and it was reading normal. yeah oil pressure valve is working.

It's got me thinking, if the catch can could possibly be restricting the flow of the crankcase breather. because i'm pretty sure the pcv valve goes from the same size as the breather hose down to about 3/4's the size. would this have an effect on the flow? maybe increasing crankcase pressure cause it's not venting as well as it should? do i need a check valve? could this be what's pressurizing the crankcase?
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Post by tweak'e »

berad wrote:The blow by needs to be after the turbo
The turbo sucking air is pulling oil up and putting it through the turbo and therefore into the motor.
The blow by hose should be in the turbo cross over pipe, or in the intake manifold.
That will fix it right up.
please ignore this bit of BS. all that will do is blow the oil seals in the motor and you will have oil everywhere. shoving boost into the crankcase simply blows the seals. you can't run a check valve as the crankcase will build pressure on its own. you must have it vented.

L series do tend to have a lot of blowby and generally blow a fair bit of oil out the breather.
if its a recently built motor you will have a fair bit till the ring bed in anyway.

how much boost is it running?
what compression ratio are you running? did you check he over sized pistons didn't increase compression ratio ?

make sure the catch can flows enough. make sure the catch can actually is catching the oil. many do not.
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Post by granborismo »

you must make sure that your breather hose is the same diameter, not smaller , as this will restrict your breather flow.
As you have said you have it reducing down to 3/4 the size of breather vent.

there is a heap of info on these problems on the toyota surf forum.. it might pay to have a browse there to see what you can find..

cheers.. heres the link www.toyotasurf.asn.au
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Post by SOGONE »

12 psi. we used the thickest head gasket available from diesel power. Not too sure on compression. i'm gonna take the check valve off tomorrow and run it straight from the crankcase to the filter and put a restrictor in the oil feed line. see what this does for me.
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Post by dans-paj92 »

hey mate,
Let me know what you did to solve this problem.
I run 12psi on my 2L and have an oil catch can fitted as well.
Ive blown front, rear, camshaft and heaps of sump gaskets since ive put a turbo on it.
Cheers
Dan
'84 4Runner, 2.4TD, 12psi Boost, 4" Suspension, 2" Body, 4.88's, 35's, Narva Spotties, Winch, Power Steering, MTX Sub, Racing Seats, Front Auto Lokka, Crawler Gears
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Post by Matt_85Lux »

Be interested to hear how you went as I'm experiencing the same sorta thing, and so is one of the guys at work with his. Although I have been told it is pretty normal to blow a bit of oil into the pipes when turboed
If ignorance is bliss, then why aren't there more happy teenagers?
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Post by Zookified »

Ive smashed a few beers so excuse this post if it makes no sense haha/

I have a very fresh 3L (under 30thou) with a ct20 on it. 2lt-e exhaust manifold with the cover plate for the oil cooler from a 2LT. The blowby from the tappet cover is plumbed back into the suction side of the turbo, so the blowby is run back through the turbo. It has done about 10thou klms like this and I have no oil leaks or oil pissing out everywhere. I run the blow to atmo for a while but decided to tidy it up and plumb it back into the system.

From memory I get oil feed through a banjo bolt in the 2LT oil cooler cover and then I have put a return into the stock 3L sump.

If you plumb the blowby in on the BOOST side of the turbo IT WILL fuck seals and youll have some oil leaks. I'll check mine tomorow and make sure if the oil feed is coming from the 2LT oil cooler and maybe that is part of your problem with it from the alternator???
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Re: 3L turbo problem

Post by Matt_85Lux »

SOGONE wrote:Hey guys new to the forum. Did a search through other peoples problems and failed to come up with anything.

Heres the situation. I brought a 1993 hilux 4x4 LN106. It had fitted the 2L-TE turbo (CT20) including manifolds, water and oil lines. The Oil line picks up from where the alternator oil pump does, they used a double banjo bolt. the return goes in back in to the sump. They had the rocker cover breather venting to atmosphere. The breather had a fair bit of blowby which they said had only started happening when they put the turbo kit on.

Now when we hooked that up into the airbox the turbo started blowing alot of smoke with oil being spat into the exhaust and the inlet. We pulled the motor out cause we believed it to be tired as it had a fair whack of kilometres on it. Rebuilt it with forged pistons and ACL race series everything. It was oversized 20thou. I brought a new turbo for it assuming the turbo had shat itself. I drove 5k before this turbo started doing the same thing. put another turbo on it but kept the rocker breather venting to atmo and the turbo held. put it back in to the low pressure side (airbox) and it started leaking oil into the inlet and exhaust side. Had the three turbos looked at by the turbo guys and they said they were fine.

What could be causing this? I know ball bearing turbos need a restrictor in the oil feed line. Could there be too much oil pressure hitting the thrust bearing and it's leaking? Why would it start doing it only when the breather is scavenging with pressure? The return line doesn't back and it's a more then a half inch return. There's obviously something pressurizing the head. I know everyone else gets there oil feed off the alternator and return goes in to the oil return of the alternator. Would this pressure drop from sharing be sufficeint in not over oiling the bearing? Is this why everyone else manages to get there's to work? I've checked the oil pressure. It all reads normal.

I'm out of ideas and I love the power the turbo kit gives me. Really don't wanna take it off. Has anybody experienced this problem or know anyone who has? Any idea's of what it might be?

Thanks in advance.

Paulie.
it should be using a separate return to the sump not sharing the alternator one
If ignorance is bliss, then why aren't there more happy teenagers?
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Post by chocko »

should also mention it has very high crank case pressure. its blown out the rear main seal a few times.
With the breather hooked up correctly - out of the rocker cover and into the crossover pipe between the air cleaner and the low pressure side of the turbo - then the turbo will actually be sucking from the crankcase. Which means you should have LOW or NEGATIVE crankcase pressure. I would take a long hard look at the rocker cover to see if the breather is blocked or damaged.

If the turbo is ok, your engine is not stuffed or you don't have a busted piston or something like that then there is really no other way that you can get high crankcase pressure like you are describing.

With the breather hooked up as it should and all other things being equal, a small amount of oil leaking from the low and high pressure sides of the turbo is pretty normal - remember it is sucking the crankcase vapours (oil) through the breather and into the turbo. But I do stress that it should be a small amount.

I have a 3L fitted with a 2LTE turbo set up with over 300,000k's on the clock. It is starting to use a bit of oil now but hey!!
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Post by thehanko »

tweak'e wrote:
berad wrote:The blow by needs to be after the turbo
The turbo sucking air is pulling oil up and putting it through the turbo and therefore into the motor.
The blow by hose should be in the turbo cross over pipe, or in the intake manifold.
That will fix it right up.
please ignore this bit of BS. all that will do is blow the oil seals in the motor and you will have oil everywhere. shoving boost into the crankcase simply blows the seals. you can't run a check valve as the crankcase will build pressure on its own. you must have it vented.

L series do tend to have a lot of blowby and generally blow a fair bit of oil out the breather.
if its a recently built motor you will have a fair bit till the ring bed in anyway.

how much boost is it running?
what compression ratio are you running? did you check he over sized pistons didn't increase compression ratio ?

make sure the catch can flows enough. make sure the catch can actually is catching the oil. many do not.
x2 breather pre turbo for gods sake.

I would be looking at your oil return line, mine runs into about a 1/2 inch seperate return pipe on the sump. some people seem to get away with hooking into another return but it also seems it can cuase problems such as this.

the oil line gets back pressure and the turbo seals leak oil into your intake.

3L's tend to get alot of blow by once turboed but it shouldnt be enough to cause the kind of smoke you mention unless things havent bed in correctly, so i would be looking at your turbo oil line set up.

as to why your rear main blew out??? was this when you plumbed the rocker breather in to the turbo cross over pipe high pressue side?
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Post by tweak'e »

good point about the oil return line. they often do use the alt return but just make sure how the two are connected is ok. if it doesn't flow really well it can back up the turbo line and pressurise the turbo.
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Post by SOGONE »

didnt get a chance to have a proper crack. but we've put a 1.5ml restrictor in a new braided oil feed line whcih we've run off the sender. we've used a VDO connector with 2 BSP outlets so we can still have the sender and the new oil feed. we've run the oil return line into the high side of the 3l sump. it's not below the oil line. we checked. and the crankcase pressure is being scavenged by the turbo from the low pressure side between the filter and turbo.

we started it before i had to roll to work and it seems to be running heaps better with the new way we've set it up
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Post by SOGONE »

took it for a hammer last night. it all appears to be working wonders. running 12psi and no smoke machine! the turbos even quieted down to a normal level.
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