Outer Limits 4x4 Board

ok, so i have had my turbo on my HJ60 for a little while now, and had it in the shed, running, but havent driven it anywhere,

today my custom throttle cable came, so i put it on and got it all sorted, after i had the tension all done, i noticed that my firewall is covered with oil from the back of the turbo :(

the only new things i have done is A. installed new cable, and B. adjusted throttle, thats all,

the only two things i can come up with are
A. the oil return isnt draining the oil away quick enough.. i have put a T-piece into the back of my alternator and im wondering if its not flowing freely...

or

B.the seal inside my turbo has sh*t itself

I don't see an easy way for the turbo to spray oil like that.

Your turbo hot side is facing backwards, an oil leak past the hot-side seal will result in blue smoke from burnt oil. The cold side is usually well enough sealed that an oil leak there will result in a join only showing as wet with oil, most of the oil will be sent along the intake pipes to the engine.

The alternator drain probably isn't big enough. But that would usually result in the problems above (blue smoke and oil in the intake pipes). I'd be looking for something like a loose join or crack in a pressurised oil line. What is that line against the firewall in the pic? Is it AC?

yea the two lines comign thru the fire wall are AC
i have just dropped the sump off and im going to run my oil return back into that, and away from the Alt, i will also check the intake pipes for oil aswell

Did you run it without the exhaust down-pipe?

it doesnt have any exhaust as yet, i wanted to get the throttle all sorted so i could move the car, before i take it to the exhaust shop

there is only the one pressured oil like and that is the oil feed, which plumbs into the top of the turbo

I wouldnt worry about it yet, if it has done mainly idle time lately it is common for older turbos to slober out the exhaust. Once you start driving it it might clear up. If not its time for a rebuild.

Pyrotech wrote:it doesnt have any exhaust as yet, i wanted to get the throttle all sorted so i could move the car, before i take it to the exhaust shop

Oh right.
I didn't notice that at the start, I figured the exhaust was simply hidden behind the turbo.
In that case, yes it looks like the drain isn't big enough so pressure builds up in the turbo and is forcing oil out past the exhaust seals.
Turbo seals are like piston rings, they have a small amount of leakage. In a working turbo they rely on the pressure being higher in the intake and exhaust sides than the pressure in the bearing housing. So in normal operation you get a small flow of exhaust and intake air through the seals, into the core and down the drain tube.

If the drain isn't big enough or gets blocked, then the pressure in the core gets higher than the compressor and turbine and oil gets blown out. Exactly what you have there.

it was rebuilt before i bought it

sweet, so you think that running a dedicated oil return should solve my problem?

Yeah thats what happened to mine when I ran the turbo drain through a T piece with the alternator drain.

Got a piece brazed on the sump and ran a larger diameter drain and all better.

Pyrotech wrote:sweet, so you think that running a dedicated oil return should solve my problem?

Yes.

Provided everything else is okay. Just make sure your dedicated oil return is big enough and drains to above the sump oil level.

sweet, thank you heaps everyone, i have the sump off, just need to get a fitting, and then get it welded in

Pyrotech wrote:sweet, thank you heaps everyone, i have the sump off, just need to get a fitting, and then get it welded in

Tig is set up redy to go if ya want to travel this far could easly weld on a short peice of tube to slip a hose over il be here all day tomoro u have my number

if that still dosnt solve the problem mate, is your PCV hooked up the the correct side of the intake?