Turbo pics... want do you think the problem is?
 

here's some pics... getting a lot of smoke

oh yeah... all that other crap with the wires is the poor man's non-seq mod...

actuators, turbo, DP

DP

amount of oil leaking overnight... the dark black circle in the middle

I have a similar problem..you are leaking oil I believe and this oil could be getting into your turbos causing all the smoke...I am taking mine to a shop this spring to have the turbos looked at and possibly rebuilt. Sorry that is really all I can add..Good Luck..
Oh yeah I think the seal (forget which one) is cracked which causes the oil to seap out...maybe someone with more intimate experience with this problem and who has also fixed this problem could shed more light on the subject.

hmmm... you think its just a seal? There's oil at several diff places in the pic... also how much does it cost to rebuild these from a reputable place? I've heard horror stories with bad rebuilds....

I got my done a rotorsportracing for 1100$ and comes with a warranty. Brain is the owner. he's really cool talk to him. www.rotorsportracing.com

It's that expensive? I thought it was around $700? does that include labor for installing?

There are a few things that could be wrong.....

Your oil lines going to your turbos could be leaking.... I can't tell much from your pictures.

I doubt that is it...from what I can see. Since the oil lines are coming off the bottom of the turbos.

It also could be the seals going bad in your turbos. This allows oil to blow through under boost, and get into the intake side of the turbos. This causes excess oil in the intercooler, and it gets pushed into the engine...and causes blue smoke under boost/accleration. You should watch to see if you are getting smoke under acceleration. I was getting nice bluish white clouds of smoke under hard acceleration. This extra oil in the intake path of the turbos can start to leak at the gasket between the Y-Pipe and the rubbler couplings....

I would suspect the turbos myself. You can pick up a used set for $300-600 dollars from someone who went single, or get a rebuilt set.

When you replace the turbos, make sure you replace all the gaskets....

Later,
Patrick

thanks for the info.... so it cant be the lines cause it higher up? There's some oil coming out from the DP attachment point

Look at these pictures....

They should help you visualize it. My turbos where leaking out of the intake sides...and running down onto the turbo housings. You see that the oil feed/and supply lines are not near your leaks...as best as I can tell. The oil lines are the hard accordian looking ones.

Maybe you have a leak between your turbos somewhere...

Here are the pictures:

www.ite.com/~paw/my_turbos0.jpg
www.ite.com/~paw/my_turbos1.jpg
www.ite.com/~paw/my_turbos2.jpg
www.ite.com/~paw/my_turbos3.jpg
www.ite.com/~paw/my_turbos4.jpg
www.ite.com/~paw/my_turbos5.jpg


Later,
Patrick

should i just remove them? is that the only way to know what is wrong?
Turbos are so confusing to me...

(1) When is a rebuild required? When there is play, and/or when there is a situation like mine where oil is leaking?
(2) Is it just a few seal I need to replace if it's just an oil leak?

If you are unsure...take it to your local rotary mechanic, (not the dealer).

If it is your turbos leaking oil they should be rebuilt by a professional. It is usually around $700-800 to get them rebuilt.

Unless you are willing to do it yourself...which can be done for $300...however, I haven't heard great results about the do-it-yourself kits...but I don't have any personal experience with them.

Patrick

but when the turbos are leaking oil... or has mass amounts of smoke for at least 5-7 min straight... does that mean it is NECESSARY to rebuild the turbos? is it a few seals that can be replaced without rebuilding when not related to the oil lines?

i had the same problem. after a while oil will build up everywhere the intercooler, all hoses throttle body etc.

I have a question about mine. I don't have the oil like the above posts, but I get a small amount of oil in my blow-off valve. Does this mean my turbos are crapping out?

does it make a diff that i did the poor man's non seq mod? Ihad smoke before when i had sequential... shouldn't be a diff right?

I think a little oil from the blow-off valve is ok... swamp rx7

^

rebuilt turbos suck. Ive had two sets in less than fifteen K. I will never put on a set of rebuilds again...turbo city farked me..performance techniques double farked me. now Im M2.

dont waste the money...they just dont hold up. get a new set or go m2 or single. rebuilds dont hold up at all.

good luck though...

jason

i'm getting the same thick smoke under hard boost w/ my FD right now too... i know the turbo is bad in some way, its a loaner while my own T04 is being rebuilt... my question is: is it safe to drive around like this for a bit? or will it do damage to my car? my turbo won't be back for a couple of weeks and i'd hate to hurt my car by driving it in its current state if its dangerous... ok for short-term?

daisho: there shouldn't be a prob if it is smoking and especially when its temporary

Anyone else have prob with rebuilds? The problem is, its cheap compared to buying a new kit... there has to be a place where the rebuilds are excellent?

Actually there is NO WAY that you can get a good rebuild, and the reason is very simple. Turbos that have on average 60-80K miles on them present abnormal amounts of wear on the main shafts. I've disassembled a few sets and "all" of them had grooves on the shafts where the bearings sat. With a rebuild they only replace the bearings, but the shafts remain the same(severly damaged), which inevitably wears down the new bearings very quickly. The only thing that is done and is effective is replacing the rubber seals to stop "some" of the oil consumption. Btw, they don't even replace the piston ring seal on the turbine side! How do you expect these turbos to last? If you want to save on a new set then look around for a very low mileage used set. They are becoming harder to find, but they're still out there. Oh, and as for the main topic of this thread, I think that the main oil line heading to the turbos is the culprit. It's probably leaking before the "tiny" Y-pipe that splits the oil to the separate turbos. I think it's a 17mm fitting and it's located right below the "big" Y-pipe that carries the boost. It's accessible from the top without too much work.

yeah, i checked that incoming line and did not see a spec of oil.... I just cleaned the bottom of the car and let it idle for a while... gonna go back and see if i can see where the leak is truly coming from

OK new issue... Now the car doesnt stop smoking. I thought it was the water, but I drove it and let it idle for an hour or so.... When I first started it, the smoke was EVERYWHERE... And, when I took it for a spin, I got pulled over and almost got another citation cause the smoke was sooooo bad.... when i let it idle, smoke was still coming out but in a smaller amount but def noticable. So... I took a look and the smoke is PURE WHITE, BUT I smell NO coolent at all? WHat the hell is going on? Someone please help!?

I wouldn't drive it any more. You need to get the car checked out. You have something wrong for sure.

It could be a number of things....blown coolant seal (even though you say it doesn't smell like coolant), internal oil leak, totally blown seal in the turbos.... It is hard to tell.

I would guess it is leaning more toward an oil leak if you aren't loosing coolant, and the exhaust doesn't smell like coolant.

I am not sure about you being non-seq. I don't know if you could have knocked something loose while doing that...to cause this. I really doubt it.

Looks like you need to give Pettit a call.

Later,
Patrick