Oil In Intercooler pipes

[mattspyder]

I was just contacted by the shop thats rebuilding my engine and they told me that there was a bunch of oil in my IC pipes and inside my IC.
One of the reasons I got my engine rebuilt was because of the smoking. It would smoke at Idle, low speeds, and in between shifts.
I thought it was my Piston rings however, I knew it could be my turbo (bullseye t04b vtrim)
I only put about 500 miles on this turbo. If that..

I know its not my vavle seals because I just a new head on.

Can anyone give me a idea of what it is?

the shop just told me that it could be from the piston rings with blow by..

 

[DSMunknown]

Probably just blow-by. Depending on how "much" there was, you shouldn't lose too much sleep over it. blow-by is normal. Everyone knows they should clean their intercoolers and IC piping out every other year or so (once a year is plenty for those people who really are adiment about that sort of thing). You can read a little link from the good people at VFAQ here.

Did they say how much oil they found? If they mentioned the likelyhood of blow-by, my guess is it wasn't that much - just the normal oil film everyone else sees. Here is another link for those who want to read this process again. I did my own little soapbox speal about this, which you can read here.

 

[mattspyder]

yeah ive cleaned my IC out before, just take it off and fill it with diesel fuel. wish wash it around alittle and a bunch of dirt comes out.

 

[DSMunknown]

Do you know if you're getting excessive blow-by? When was the last time you cleaned the IC?

 

[romeen]

Are you still blowing smoke out your exhaust? If you are and you have oil in the IC pipes then it could be the turbo shaft seals. It's not likely if the turbo is new but I would still check for shaft play while the turbo is still under warranty.

Also consider a leaking PCV valve.

Do a compression test.

 

[mattspyder]

i actually just replaced the pcv valve. the car has been in storage for about a year. I was in Iraq for 6 months, then it sat in my grandmas barn for another 6 months.
I waiting for the shop to tell me if the turbo has bad shaft play.

 

[DSMunknown]

Are you still blowing smoke out your exhaust? If you are and you have oil in the IC pipes then it could be the turbo shaft seals. It's not likely if the turbo is new but I would still check for shaft play while the turbo is still under warranty.

Something I found made me automatically think of the seals. This is what can happen in a severe case.

(You can also see it here in case the link goes down.)




I liked the little explanation the company gave too.

This car has was diagnosed with a defective turbocharger unit. Note the large amount of oil build up on the pressure side of the turbo, especially in comparison to the new turbo on the left. This oil is then drawn into the engine, resulting is severe smoking from the exhaust, high oil consumption, and even damage to the catalytic converter.
Note the Volvo replacement turbo box, we always use factory parts for reasons of longevity and proper fitment.

On late model car turbo failures are uncommon if the vehicle is cared for properly. Indeed, with proper care service life of 175 to 200K miles is expected. Turbo failures occur from two basic causes, lubrication failures, consisting of infrequent oil service, or incorrect grade of oil, and foreign material entering into the turbo and causing blade fracture. We strongly advise to never go more than 3-5,000 miles on conventional oil, and never more than 5-7,500 miles on a full synthetic.

 

[romeen]

Unfortunately most PCV valves, even new oem ones leak under boost. Even if that is not the cause of the oil in the pipes it is still a good idea to check it since a leaking valve can cause a variety of problems.

It's easy to check it while doing a boost leak test. Just unscrew valve from valve cover but leave it connected to intake manifold (don't remove it from vacuum hose). Pressurize intake and check for air leaking past valve.

If you don't have a boost leak tester, make one. It's one of the best investments you can make towards keeping your car running well.

 

[daren_p]

Something that has been mentioned, where/how is your crank case vent hooked up? Is it still connected in the factory config with it attached to the intake & if it is do you have a catch can inline? If its hooked up in the factory config without a catch can its normal to see oil through you IC pipes. If this is your case, clean the IC pipes & get a sealed catch can & hook it up inline. This will prevent oil from entering your pipes, I have ran this setup for 2 summers & there is zero oil residue in my pipes.

 

[mattspyder]

yeah I have a catch can on my vent from the crank case. I put that on awhile ago. its actually like a filter type deal.

 

[nightspeed87]

Check your turbo return line for restrictions, ( kinks, clogs ) That would cause that too..
And if not that then where is the turbo tapped at for the feed line, does it have a restrictor, and how much oil pressure max do you see.?

 

[mattspyder]

my oil feed line is right there in the oil filter housing.

 

[nightspeed87]

and oil pressure....

 

[mattspyder]

the oil pressure is good. on my autometer electric gauge is reads half way.

 

[nightspeed87]

now change your pcv valve if you havent, and check for turbo return line kinks.. (* I just went thru this issue and turns out not to be the turbo.)