Smoke from turbo..

[98gstaherns]

Here is the set up.
1998 Mitsu Eclipse Gs-t
Mods:
UICP 1gbov
Mbc @14 psi
2.5 to 3 in downpipe (no Cat)
Apexi N1 cat back.
Here is the probelm.
The last couple of day my car has been shooting some grayish blueish smoke.
Talk to a good friend of mine and figure it is oil. Also I smelt gas in the smoke figureing it was running a little bit richer then it was before. Now I was trying to figure out where it might be burning oil? I got home today and smoke was pouring out form under the hood. Look under the hood and a lot of smoke was coming from under the heat sheild.
Called up a buddy to ask him what he thinks. Said it may be a oil line gasket that went and is leaking oil. But also when i put in my UICP with the 1G bov it started to make the fulltering noise when i let off the gas.
Now if i remember reading right thats means that the bov may not be opening at all of all the way and the air is running back into the turbo and making it stop all of a sudden. I'm Starting to wondering if my turbo has just had enough and gave up on me or what. I'm going to pull the sheild off tomorrow and see if i can see oil leaking or somthing. But in my garage there are no oil spots on the ground so I dunno. So if anyone is in the No st paul area and wants to help figure this out that would be great! Or if anyone has a 1G BOV thats i can buy or borrow to see if mine is bad.
Thanks
-Tyler

 

[forcefed4]

ouch, that sounds like it sucks...
if there is no oil on your garage floor, I don't think it would be a leaking from an oil line.

is your 1g bov "crushed"?

 

[MrBoxx]

Check for shaft play.

Pull off intake.
Stick fingers into compressor inlet.
Grab the nut. (The one on the turbo compressor wheel)
Try to wiggle; up/down, side/side/, in/out.
If it wiggles = bad.
If it's solid = keep looking for the problem.

Check the LICP for oil pooled in the bottom of it.

Do a boost leak test.

Do a compression test.

Report results of all that.

 

[98gstaherns]

No it anit crushed. I will check for shaft play..Can someone expaln or show alink about a boost leak check.

 

[forcefed4]

http://www.vfaq.com/mods/ICtester.html


just be careful that you don't put too much pressure in the intake.

good luck

 

[98gstaherns]

thanks! So what would a boost leak test show? I mean could it be a boost leak that is causing this problem? I mean i have had leaks due to hose coming lose and the car ran like crap but it is running fine..At the momnet.

 

[MrBoxx]

Oh, I don't think it's a boost leak causing your smoking problem. I just think it's a good thing to do in general. (oldman is rubbing off on me) Plus, if you're checking for shaft play, your intake hose is going to be off anyway, so you might as well do it at the same time.

 

[98gstaherns]

Oh ok got ya! Yea that is a good idea but i don't have time to be making stuff. Plus The good ol T25 is gonna be gone as soon as i got the money for the turbo! last thing i need!

 

[forcefed4]

^^ beat me to it.

it's just one of those things that is good to do regularly, I do one every other oil change.

I think the other items that MrBoxx mentioned (shaft play, comp. test) will give you an idea about what is going on.

 

[98gstaherns]

Yea i will only be able to check for play tomorrow.

 

[98gstaherns]

Anything else?

 

[xub22]

good luck

 

[TSITuner4Lyfe69]

Good Luck Hope You Find The Problem

 

[98gstaherns]

Ok I took a quick look at it today and found Oil resdue in my intake tube. The is shaft play side to side and front to back..But there isn't any oil in my LICP..I dunno.. IS my Turbo shot?

 

[MrBoxx]

It's hard to say without actually being there and feeling for myself, but from reading the experiences of several people on here in addition to my own, I would say your turbo is most likely on its way out and doesn't have long to live. Start making plans to replace it as soon as possible and try not to drive it if you can.

Edit: Keep checking the oil level in your engine and keep it full, btw. Wouldn't want all of it to leak out, burn off, then run on a dry oil pan.

 

[98gstaherns]

But the oil level hasn't gond down at all..Yea i've been planing to replace it but i don;t have a new turbo i have everything else

 

[MadTripper]

A small amount of oil on the intake side is common (lets call it a film of oil) and can be fixed by installing a catch can. Side to side play on your impeller shaft is also common as long as it is not drastic. If the impeller is sliding in and out, that is a sign of short life-span.

I know you don't want to hear it but you should purchase a turbo and baby your current setup until it arrives and you can install it. Otherwise, baby it until you have the money to purchase one. I picked up a used T25 with low miles for $80.00 so if you need a band-aid until you get an upgrade, I would search for something similar.

Tripper

 

[98gstaherns]

yea thats what i'm gonna have to do..And my stupid DD broke down too!

 

[kenamond]

An idea I had about letting your turbo relax (so you don't have a catastrophic failure and have no DD car) is to disconnect the wastegate actuator arm from the WG lever on the turbine housing. That way, you get no appreciable boost and don't ask very much of the turbo. You'll have poor (unboosted) performance, but that's an easy mod that should let your turbo last until you get the replacement. You'll probably still burn oil, but it shouldn't get much worse, so just keep an eye on your oil level and pressure.

 

[98gstaherns]

Yea i think i;m gonna turn my bost way down..But good news is i got ahold of a 14b for cheap

 

[kenamond]

Yea i think i;m gonna turn my bost way down..But good news is i got ahold of a 14b for cheap

You can only turn the boost down so far, and that will still probably be about 8psi. If you disconnect the WG actuator arm, you'll get 0psi unless you have creep (this is also how you test for creep).

If your turbo fails catastrophically, you'll be dumping **quarts** of oil out of your turbo seals, and you **can't** drive the car at all. You'll be sending out a curtain of smoke that any cop would see and pull you over for. And you'd soon lose oil pressure and trash your motor.

 

[98gstaherns]

Oh thats just great..

 

[kenamond]

Oh thats just great..

So just disconnect your WG actuator arm (1 clip) and let the arm hang off of the WG solenoid. Put the clip back on the WG lever on the turbine housing so you don't lose it. There may be other ways to "disable" the turbo so that it won't get worse as quickly (and fail), but that's the best I can think of.

Start doing your homework and figure out what you're going to do: replace with a used T25, rebuild your T25, send it in to FP for a B28 mod, upgrade to an EvoIII 16g, etc. Sounds like you have all the supporting mods to upgrade your turbo.

 

[98gstaherns]

So just disconnect your WG actuator arm (1 clip) and let the arm hang off of the WG solenoid. Put the clip back on the WG lever on the turbine housing so you don't lose it. There may be other ways to "disable" the turbo so that it won't get worse as quickly (and fail), but that's the best I can think of.

Start doing your homework and figure out what you're going to do: replace with a used T25, rebuild your T25, send it in to FP for a B28 mod, upgrade to an EvoIII 16g, etc. Sounds like you have all the supporting mods to upgrade your turbo.

Would that be the hose that runs form the WG to my MBC? Also i'm gonna be going to a 14b for now. Just with my stock fuel and IC setup for now.

 

[kenamond]

Would that be the hose that runs form the WG to my MBC? Also i'm gonna be going to a 14b for now. Just with my stock fuel and IC setup for now.

No. The WG actuator is the copper/gold/bronze colored 3" diameter solenoid bolted to your compressor housing that has a metal link about 10" long coming out of the driver's side and a nipple on it for the vac line going to your MBC. The link connects to a small lever on the turbine housing of your turbo. There is a clip that holds the link to the lever. Take the clip off, remove the link from the lever, and put the clip back on the lever so that you don't lose it. When your MBC reads the set level of boost, it pressurizes the WG solenoid which pushes on that link. The link turns the WG flapper lever which opens the WG door inside the turbine housing and dumps exhaust so that it bypasses the turbine wheel. When you are at a lower level of boost than the MBC setting, a spring inside the WG solenoid puts tension on the link and holds the WG flapper closed so that all exhaust flows through the turbine wheel to drive the compressor wheel to higher boost.

Disconnecting the link basically leaves the WG flapper inside the turbine housing free to open which will keep your turbo from boosting (the exhaust will just push the WG flapper open and bypass the turbine wheel). You can let the link hang there without any problem. You might have to remove the heat shields to get at the clip, but that's just a few bolts.

If you disconnect the vaccuum line going to the WG solenoid, you'll do just the opposite, and your turbo will boost itself up to uncontrolled levels and you certainly don't want that (you'd basically be disabling the WG so that it couldn't open - the spring in the solenoid would hold it securely closed, and the vaccuum signal which tells it to open would be disconnected).