Blown Turbo or WORSE?

[kh730]

OK so it has been awhile since I have actually had to post a question. All you guys are so helpful I learned a lot and have been fixing my own problems easily enough which is great. I have a question here though that may have an obvious answer and it may be way worse. When I start my car there is usually a tuff of oil smoke that comes out but its a DSM so I pay no mind to that. I have taken off intake pipe and there is in fact oil in there but not a wicked huge amount so I know my turbo is not 100 percent these days. Recently though, whithin the last couple months, it has gotten progressively worse. If the car idles for more than say 30 second, like at a stop light, when i start moving again there is a huge blast of smoke. I am talkin like a cloud. My worst experiance is when I let it idle while i was in the movie store for about 5 minutes, came back and the smoke was coming out just at idle. Put the car in gear and backed up into a cloud, it was rediculous, I looked like such a hick. So this happens all the time now and what is worse is if I sit at idle to let turbo cool then shut car off and come back less than 2 hours later it wont start at first. I have to sit there and keep trying and waiting and when it does start there is a cloud behind me. I guess my main question is, does this sound like definate turbo problem because it occurs mostly at idle or is there something else I should look at. Also what is the best way to test these things besides tracking oil in the intake line. I am eventually upgrading to a 16g and if it is 100 percent turbo problem it will help me get permission from the oold lady to update right away . There has been a large loss in power and it is noticeable these days and the turbo doesnt seem to spool as fast as it used to or as realiably. Maybe there is a boost leak as well and the whole system is going to shit so I need to start fixing things. As a side question, there has been a metal rattle sound when i rev and drive for awhile now and I was thinking maybe it was the heatshield that does it because most pics I see you guys have taken it off. Any Ideas of wehre to look for that noise or should I jsut take that off and see. I am scared because it is a daily driver and I dont know if that is a neccessary piece or not. Let me know what you guys think. Hope this wasnt too confusing. Thanks.
-Keith

Forgot to mention also that sometimes when I push in the cluth the car revs down below ideal idle and it has been known to die. Kinda like it is being restricted. I have adjusted the BISS screw alot in the past and it works with this problem too but I dont think that is what is causeing it. It is just a temporary fix.

 

[2gGSX]

Check for shaftplay, especially in and out.

 

[DSM LoVeR 96]

check shaft play, boost leaks, how often do u have to add oil??? what psi u boosting??? how many miles on car???

 

[Mitsu RacerX]

Ok two things could be wrong. First sounds like the turbo is on its last leg. When at idle the turbo seal(bearing) is leaking. As we all know our cars will smoke at idle when the valve guides are leaking. Thats why you smoke at idle. If your bearing seals in the turbo are going bad thats not a good thing. Just make sure it doesn't lock up and throw metal fragments in to the combustion chamber. If so then your in for a world of hurt and of course time for a rebuild... Time to look for a new 16G turbo.

 

[teenvette77]

Ive had the same symptoms for a while. Lets just say i just got home thirty minutes ago riding in on a flat bed. My 16g blew while getting on the highway. First big snowfall of the year too, . The car still starts if i pump the gas so i dont think any shrapnal got into the engine, thank God; i was very lucky. Take our and my advice and check your turbo for shaft play(even though i just checked mine yesterday?) and other signs of wear. It will save you some mental anguish in the end.

 

[123212321]

Yeah, check it for sure. It only takes a total of a minute or so to take the intake off and take a look. To me, this sounds like a turbo on its last leg - I wouldn't be too worried about your engine.

Good luck.

 

[kh730]

I add oil about a quart every 2 weeks or so depending on how often I drive and if I let it sit at idle a lot. I run stock 11 PSI with the restrictor removed from the BCS. Milage on car is 176k which I think is pretty impressive. Hope this helps I am going to remove the intake and play with the turbo right now.

 

[GS-T_Newboost]

it sounds like bad turbo seals. my 14b came apart on me about a month ago and i got another from a buddy that needed a rebuild. i rebuilt it and it still smoked alittle bit at idle and when i got on it it was real bad. you can get a rebuild kit from ebay for around 80 dollers. come to find out the turbo i got from my buddy had a cracked houseing leting oil leak into the exhaust

 

[kh730]

It is colder than a witches tit out there and I have a bunch of other crap I have to do today so still no update on the turbo. It is a pain in the ass to get all the crap outta the way to take that pipe off. Was wondering if any of you know any tricks to get in there easier that I dont know maybe I will still have time today before work. Thanks.

 

[B005T3D_1]

i have somewhat of a similar problem and have written it off as the turbo. for a while at start up i saw a puff of smoke but thought nothing of it since it went away. recently i was cruising down the highway and decided to get into it a bit before my exit and when i did.... nothing no boost o power, just a wooooooo noise at first i thought boost leak, but when i stopped at my driveway, no rough idle and the car never cut off. just idled like normal. checked for boost leaks and other than the usual teeny tiny stuff, nothing leaking. checked for shaft play..... there she was up, down and all around, with chips in both the intake and hot side of the turbine. so is it safe to say i was correct in ordering a new turbo? also i dont entirely understand why that would cause you not to produce any boost, maybe someone could enlighten me????? thanks for any input.