Broken turbo?

[justin0469]

How can I tell if my turbo is dead other then shaft play? I have no shaft play but I think there is still a possibility my turbo is dead.

 

[Turbomcfly85]

What is your main concern? Is the vehicle smoking? Oil consumption? Lack of boost? Is this a stock 14b turbo? How long have you owned the car? Do you let the turbo spool down after getting on her hard?

 

[justin0469]

Smoking and oil consumption. It is a 50trim, dont know what kind. The previous owner put it on and even posting pictures on here, people weren't sure. I don't really ever push it, I'm not into racing. I do have a turbo timer... I've had the car for about a yr and half.

 

[Turbomcfly85]

There are a few different things that can be going on. First thing I would recomend is an oil consumption test. Change the oil and mark the exact mileage of the vehicle. fill with oil, run vehicle and check oil level. Once you have run it for a minute or two check the stick and scribe it at the level the oil is at. Drive it normal and check the level daily. Also put oil dye in the system so that you can check for leaks. pull the intercooler tubing of the compressor side and see if there is a large concentration of oil. A little is common from what I have seen. Remember a turbo is blamed for alot of things. Its not always the turbo. Valve guides leak, head gaskets burst and a whole bunch of other goodies. A compression and leak down test never hurt anything. If I were diagnosing your car at work, that is where I would start.

 

[justin0469]

Compression is fine. There is no oil in the coolant. I will take IC pipe off the turbo tomorrow and look. If there is nothing there, does that mean it is fine or could something still be wrong on the exhaust side?

 

[Turbomcfly85]

What color is the smoke comming out of the car? Also, you must do a consumption test. On a car with your modifications you are going to consume a little more then normal but not a huge amount. If you have smoke comming out of your tail pipe and its nice and blue, you have a problem

 

[justin0469]

Its light bluish. I can strongly smell burning oil. I can't recreate the smoke any time I want though. If I get on it, I can smell it even stronger but can't see it (maybe because I am going highway speeds). Going about 3 weeks of driving, if I remember correctly, lost maybe half a quart to a quart of oil.

 

[Turbomcfly85]

Right out of the book for our beloved cars.
Symptom- excessive oil consumption
causes- oil leak, pcv line clogged, valve stem seal worn or damaged, valve stem worn, piston ring worn or damaged.

 

[justin0469]

Compression test was fine, so its not the piston rings. Oil leak wouldn't cause oil out of exhaust. I don't know about pcv line and I was told about the valve stem seals but I've always thought and been told that bad turbo is alot more likely.

 

[Turbomcfly85]

that is where I would start checking those areas. But how many miles did you go in three weeks is the question.....

 

[justin0469]

True, maybe around 600 miles.

 

[Turbomcfly85]

oil leaking on to exhaust causing an oil smell. It never hurts to jack it up and look. unfortuantely it is hard to pinpoint an oil leak on the exhaust side.

 

[Turbomcfly85]

Until you check into the few other listed things thats all I can tell you to go on.

 

[justin0469]

I know, I will check the IC piping tomorrow. If it was just a leak though, it wouldn't come <i>out of</i> the exhaust, just smell it. But I can definately see smoke when it does decide to smoke.

 

[justin0469]

For the purpose of checking the IC piping, does it matter that the car has been sitting overnight?

 

[justin0469]

So I decided to go all out and take the turbo completely off. Managed to ruin 2 bolts in the process. I didnt really see any sitting oil in the IC piping but there was some gooey oil around the rim of the turbo. After taking it off, there is a decent amount of shaft play. If it was any closer to the housing, it would be scraping. I'm guessing that means that is the problem. Anyone confirm or deny? or when I take it off, the oil drains so there is room for it to move?

 

[justin0469]

It has side to side shaft play, but no in and out.

 

[Turbomcfly85]

some turbos feel loose until oil is supplied to them. Are there acctual scrape marks on the housing?