I'm getting really bad leaking from a rebuilt turbo i just installed for the 2nd time in my car.

Not having replaced any of the gaskets during installation the first time I assumed the problem was not having proper seals on the drain and oil feed pipe.

But after getting around to reinstalling it for the 2nd time, this time with brand new stock mazda gaskets, I'm still getting a bad leak from somewhere.


One thing I noticed when I took the turbo off was that wherever the oil was leaking from it was somehow getting inside the turbo because the exhaust side had black soot all over it.
So I'm wondering if maybe it's got a wrongly installed oil seal. But if it's an internal leak then how would so much oil be leaking under the car?

 

the black soot is probably just carbon. is it on the outside of the turbo or inside? the actual oil leak is probably from somewhere else. check your oil lines

 

Yeah it's carbon, but it's very thick with it. Definitely not what you would see in a properly functioning turbo.

You know that plate that that's loosely bolted onto the exhaust side of the turbo?
I'm thinking that it could be leaking from there.
That would explain why I'm getting external leakage and why there's a shitload of soot inside the turbo.
Is this a possibility?

 

It could be. Check that and post the status and we'll go from there

 

would it be possible that the problem is engine related?

I replaced my last turbo because it was leaking oil, and now this new rebuilt turbo is leaking oil as well. Maybe it's no coincidence.

Can split apex seals or some other seal in the engine cause a massive build up of oil in the turbine housing from oil-containing exhaust gases?

If so, how would I go about troubleshooting this, to determine if this truly is the problem?