16G leaking oil into intake

[flamingsqu1rr3l]

I have a 1991 Eagle Talon Tsi, i just purchased from a private seller from wisconsin. i brought the car home and my mom said it was leaking a bit of oil. i looked at the top oil line of the engine that connects to the turbo and the part where it connects at the engine seems it is leaking oil. I had my friend look at the turbo, and he saw oil all in the turbo, in my side mount intercooler piping and intercooler, BOV, and the intake. I felt the shaft play and it felt fine to me, but he moved it more with a screwdriver, but i thought shaft play should just be with a finger? Theres no white smoke. I cleaned the intercooler and such, and the bov came back louder like it sounds on a stock evo, and then the next morning it went away, and the next week after, it started to lag a lot more, and isint spooling up as fast. The car lost its juice. The fans on the turbo look in great condition, and from what i know, it has barely any shaft play. I need to know what could be bad, and if its the oil line that can make the turbo leak into the intake, or if the internals such as a seal could be blown, and some guidance. Any suggestions please?

 

[emd645e3]

It sounds like some kind of seal in the turbo went. As for the leak on the top of the turbo, replace the banjo boolt and washers.

 

[MrBoxx]

Did you check for in and out shaft play? ANY in and out shaft play is likely a blown turbo. It shouldn't move at all. A little side-to-side shaft play is okay, since the shaft needs oil clearance, but it's very tough to say exactly how much is too much in measurable terms. If it feels like it's got room to play, it's probably too much. You should barely be able to feel it with your fingers. Keep checking it every week or so, just to keep an eye on it. If you notice it start getting worse, count on replacing the turbo soon. Just as well, keep an eye on the oil in your lower intercooler pipe. If you notice it filling up again, you could be looking at replacement sooner than you think. And of course, it goes without saying that if you find oil in your intercooler pipe, you should always make sure the engine has some oil too, so keep your eye on that.

Other suggestions to see if you're leaking anywhere else are a compression test and a leakdown test. These may pinpoint if you're leaking from the head, headgasket, or rings.

 

[flamingsqu1rr3l]

i just walked out this morning and checked shaft play, and there is absolutely none whatsoever. i was pretty excited about that. there really wasnt much oil sitting in the turbo at all, one of my other friends says that could just be from my leaking oil line thats making oil come right back through the compressor. Ive also noticed a really longer boost. it seems like i have a bad boost leak, or the turbos spooling slow, i heard its because my intercooler is literally filled up with oil. with the new data, what would you suspect?

 

[andymoraitis]

I'd replace the banjo bolt and washers as was previously noted. Another thing to consider is that your PCV valve on the valve cover may be toast and is contributing to blow by. Since you have a recirculation line from the valve cover back to the intake, try installing a small fuel filter on the line and see if the discharge into the turbo decreases. Also, remove the PCV and see if you can blow through it both ways. If you can, it needs to be replaced and I would recommend that you buy an OEM unit instead of using something from an auto parts store (these leak when new).

If you replace the banjo bolt, put a filter on the breather line from the valve cover and replace the PCV and still have oil sitting in the turbo, then I would move on to a leakdown test as Eric recommended above.

Keep us posted,

Andy

 

[wishihadatalon]

I'd replace the banjo bolt and washers as was previously noted. Another thing to consider is that your PCV valve on the valve cover may be toast and is contributing to blow by. Since you have a recirculation line from the valve cover back to the intake, try installing a small fuel filter on the line and see if the discharge into the turbo decreases. Also, remove the PCV and see if you can blow through it both ways. If you can, it needs to be replaced and I would recommend that you buy an OEM unit instead of using something from an auto parts store (these leak when new).

If you replace the banjo bolt, put a filter on the breather line from the valve cover and replace the PCV and still have oil sitting in the turbo, then I would move on to a leakdown test as Eric recommended above.

Keep us posted,

Andy

Thats what I was thinking. It just so happens that he has a leak and assumed it was causing oil in the system. I would say you are in the clear but keep that oil out of the system with the fuel filter or a catch can if you you wanna spend some money.

 

[flamingsqu1rr3l]

Im having trouble finding the pcv valve... sorry, im new to these. Theres also a boost gauge on a t line, i dont know if its near there or not, but if someone can post a picture of an engine and have like an arrow torwards it or something, it would help a lot!

 

[wishihadatalon]

Your pcv valve is located on the passenger side of your valve cover on the back. It screws into the back of the valve cover and has a rubber line coming off of it.

 

[flamingsqu1rr3l]

I checked out the pcv valve, and it only blows one way, but the line connected to it seemed really kinked so i tried to make it unkinked so at least some oil can pass through or w/e needs to go through. i tightened all of my hose clamps really good and made sure nothing was leaking out the bov, which i think could still possibly be bad. but im not really sure what else to do.

 

[burtreynolds]

I checked out the pcv valve, and it only blows one way, but the line connected to it seemed really kinked so i tried to make it unkinked so at least some oil can pass through or w/e needs to go through. i tightened all of my hose clamps really good and made sure nothing was leaking out the bov, which i think could still possibly be bad. but im not really sure what else to do.

Make sure you're wastegate isn't stuck open for some reason, this would obviously cause the car to feel like it is having turbo related problems/power loss. You should also do an actual boost leak test by pressurizing the intake system and checking all potential leaks with soapy water. I'm also a bit nervous about this:

but he moved it more with a screwdriver

If someone went near the compressor wheel of my turbo with a screwdriver I'd reconsider asking for their help.

 

[kenamond]

Although several have alluded to this, the oil in your turbo may be normal. The VC breather which goes from the passenger end of the valve cover back to your intake pipe will blow oil vapor into the intake pipe - which is upwind of the compressor. The oil vapor collects on the surfaces of everything in your intake and builds up over time. This not only scares you into thinking your turbo has blown a seal the first time you check , but it also decreases the efficiency of your intercooler by adding a layer of insulation to the inner surfaces (you don't want insulation in a heat exchanger).

Adding a $4 in-line fuel filter to your VC breather line fixes this, as it filters out the oil.

However, you may want to pull your intercooler, straighten the fins, and clean it out (gas works well). If a quart of oil is in the intercooler, that's probably a good sign that your turbo seal is blown.

You can clean out your intake pipe and as much of your compressor housing as you can reach, then put everything back together (with the fuel filter now inline in the VC breather line) and drive it around hitting full boost a few times. Pull the LICP and see if you see fresh oil in the compressor. But since you're not seeing smoke from the exhaust under full boost, it doesn't sound like your seals are blown.

Your PCV sounds "not bad". It may hold tight for your lungs, but maybe not for 20psi boost. A boost leak test will tell you how well it holds under higher pressure, though.

So: fix the turbo oil supply leak, do a boost leak test (and fix leaks), make sure you have enough oil in the motor, do the check for "new" oil in your compressor, and monitor shaft play if you're concerned. Go from there.

 

[wishihadatalon]

Although several have alluded to this, the oil in your turbo may be normal. The VC breather which goes from the passenger end of the valve cover back to your intake pipe will blow oil vapor into the intake pipe - which is upwind of the compressor. The oil vapor collects on the surfaces of everything in your intake and builds up over time. This not only scares you into thinking your turbo has blown a seal the first time you check , but it also decreases the efficiency of your intercooler by adding a layer of insulation to the inner surfaces (you don't want insulation in a heat exchanger).

Adding a $4 in-line fuel filter to your VC breather line fixes this, as it filters out the oil.

However, you may want to pull your intercooler, straighten the fins, and clean it out (gas works well). If a quart of oil is in the intercooler, that's probably a good sign that your turbo seal is blown.

You can clean out your intake pipe and as much of your compressor housing as you can reach, then put everything back together (with the fuel filter now inline in the VC breather line) and drive it around hitting full boost a few times. Pull the LICP and see if you see fresh oil in the compressor. But since you're not seeing smoke from the exhaust under full boost, it doesn't sound like your seals are blown.

Your PCV sounds "not bad". It may hold tight for your lungs, but maybe not for 20psi boost. A boost leak test will tell you how well it holds under higher pressure, though.

So: fix the turbo oil supply leak, do a boost leak test (and fix leaks), make sure you have enough oil in the motor, do the check for "new" oil in your compressor, and monitor shaft play if you're concerned. Go from there.

see several posts up.

 

[kenamond]

see several posts up.

Nobody actually said that the VC breather contaminates the intake with oil in the stock configuration, so I was clarifying.

 

[flamingsqu1rr3l]

i started getting more radiator leaks and oil leaks, so i just got fed up and took my car into car x. they actually did a really good job on my last car as well. I think the oil leak is coming from the oil pan, damnit. but that isint so bad because i can scrap one from the junkyard for cheap. they also called me and told me that my recirculator pipe is bent to shit, could that be the cause of my boost leaking?

 

[wishihadatalon]

a boost leak will be from a hole or a spot that is open letting it leak out. A simple bend shouldn't be a problem for boost leaks but you will want to fix it.

 

[flamingsqu1rr3l]

car x said that i have an immense exhaust leak in the flex pipe. i believe that explains a lot, why my boost is gone, why i smell unusual gases, and why my bov sounds different. now i need new 3" flex pipe... ugh

 

[wishihadatalon]

If the exhaust leak is after the turbo you should have no problems building boost. Your best bet is to build a boost leak tester and finding the leaks. Also checking your wastegate could show some problems.

 

[kenamond]

Welcome to the wonderful world of boost leak testing!

Depending on whether or not you want to upgrade anything, you might want to look at a 2.5" or 3" downpipe instead of replacing the leaky one with a stock pipe. There was a full turboback 3" exhaust on ebay for $400 shipped which is a really good deal, but that's probably a bit more expensive than a junkyard stock DP.