Driving the Fd the other day and noticed a bit of smoke and smell coming from under the hood. Upon further inspection, it appears there was a small bit of oil on top of the "Y" pipe that feeds the turbo. It looks like the oil was coming from the big air pipe from the intercooler. I took all the pipes apart, many of which were pretty loose, and there definitely is some oil in there. Is that normal? I put it all back together tight but am nervous about driving it. Thoughts?

 

Oil in the intake tract post turbo is usually due to blow by from the turbos themselves. Some isn't a problem, a ton of oil suggests that the turbos are on the way out.

 

NOt a ton, but just enough that it leaked from around the big coupling that is directly above the turbos. And, you know, a little oil makes lots of smoke! I looked in the intercooler and there was evidence of oil, but not like dripping. BTW, the car has 46k on the odo, and is never driven really hard, never tracked, etc. Just a street cruiser. So maybe just normal?

 

Remove that coupling and inspect it very carefully for tears. You'll need to stretch it and work it to find the damage. If damaged replace it with a good quality 2.75" hose coupling and fresh clamps. Do not overtighten the clamps.

 

There's also a possibility that the clamps weren't on well enough since some of the other couplings were apparently loose also.

 

IMO, that's normal. Even a small boost leak can dribble a noticeable amount of oil.