Did I blow my turbo or my piston seals

[laserspeeddemon]

Shortly after installing an EBC I set my boosting settings.
Off-8 psi
Low-10 psi
High-15 psi
Manual-18.5 psi (19 was causing fuel cut )

I did a couple runs on 19 psi in 3rd, and BOOOOY did this car scoot!!

BUT The next day while boosting on high, I noticed a small puff of blue smoke being exhaled. Its been getting worse, now its a large cloud of smoke. Here are some important details.

Boost Gauge read:
22 In-hg at decelleration
15 In-hg at idle
0 psi at WOT from 750 rpm to about 2000 RPMS
8-19 psi (depending on boost setting) at WOT (above 2500 RPM)
Boost falls after 6000 RPM


It smokes at high RPMS under boost only. At high RPMS at vacumm it dos not blow smoke. It does not blow smoke at idle either and if I rev it to redline it only shoot a tiny poof of smoke. So did I lost the turbo or seals. I think turbo.

 

[psychlow]

That's going to most likely be your turbo seals.

It is possible that it could be something stupid like your PCV valve, though. Check that out first.

If you're concerned it might be your piston rings, you can do a compression test, but I highly doubt that they are the problem based on your description.

 

[99gst_racer]

I'm assuming you're still running the 14b.....

Like Psychlow said, check your compression to see if it coul;d be the rings. If you have good compression, then change your PCV valve. If that doesnt help, then the turbo proably needs to be rebuilt.

I had this same thing happen to my old 14b. I had good compression and a new PCV. The seals in the turbo were shot and it was dumping oil into my motor and burning it out of my exhaust. At first it would only do it when I was fully boosted. Then it began doing it as soon as I started to build any amount of boost. Then it got to the point where it would do it when I reved the car in neutral. I ended up finding a replacement 14b for the same price as a rebuild kit.....

 

[oldman]

I agreed with above that it's probably the turbo seal, the question is why? Because of 1. 15hg @idle, 2. boost dropping off, 3. fuel cut @19psi and 4. you upgraded the ic and piping, I suspect you might have a major leak some where causing the turbo to over spin in order to maintain the pressue in the intake. I would suggest doing a complete pressure test before you slap on the replacement turbo, the leak test will also help reveal where the oil is coming from.

 

[99gst_racer]

Yeah, mine was due to over-spin also. The over-spin was caused by an extreme case of boost creep.

 

[laserspeeddemon]

I'm assuming you're still running the 14b.....

Like Psychlow said, check your compression to see if it coul;d be the rings. If you have good compression, then change your PCV valve. If that doesnt help, then the turbo proably needs to be rebuilt.

I had this same thing happen to my old 14b. I had good compression and a new PCV. The seals in the turbo were shot and it was dumping oil into my motor and burning it out of my exhaust. At first it would only do it when I was fully boosted. Then it began doing it as soon as I started to build any amount of boost. Then it got to the point where it would do it when I reved the car in neutral. I ended up finding a replacement 14b for the same price as a rebuild kit.....

Its the turbo, I have oil burn marks on the downpipe. Well now I got an excuse to put on the ported 2g manny and ported 16g I was procastinating on. For some reason, I have no creep, but I will get a the IC system checked anyway. I got a compression tester and last I checked the compression was 160 psi, i believe.

I have two motors (6-bolts )and 3-4 heads, so I'm sure I can find a good PCV valve somewhere in my closet.

 

[99gst_racer]

I have two motors (6-bolts )and 3-4 heads, so I'm sure I can find a good PCV valve somewhere in my closet.

If not, they are only about $2-$3 at any parts store. I wouldnt recommend using and old/used one.

 

[psychlow]

If not, they are only about $2-$3 at any parts store. I wouldnt recommend using and old/used one.

While this is true, many people here have had extremely bad luck using parts store PCV valves on turbo 4G63s. It seems most of them aren't stout enough to hold up to boost.

A lot of folks recommend going OEM when it comes to PCV valves.