Holy smoke!! Bad turbo oil seals?? HELP!
 

I just finished putting the turbo on my N/A engine.
I'm using the big, stock oil return line, right down to the oil pan (should be OK)
It's smoking like CRAZY, it seems to go away a bit at throttle, but as soon as I slow down to a stop, the car is suddesnly surrounded by a cloud of white/blue smoke that smells like burning oil.
This means a bad oil seal on the exhaust side? (No oil in engine intajke or IC piping)
What do I do now?? Anyone have a seal for that??
(stock S4 turbo)
Thanks

I have the same problem with the smoke and I'm pretty sure it's the exhaust side oil seal of the turbo. Have you checked for visual signs of leaks while the car is running/ and or after you shut the car off is there light films of smoke vaporizing off the surface of the turbo?That's what mine does. Don't forget to check your oil level often because the turbo will be chewing up oil due to the leak. The leak hasn't affected the performance of my 7 from what I've seen, besides the embarrassing smoke and oil loss. Both you and I need a turbo rebuild. I was gonna remove mine last summer and send it to Majestic in Texas but the boost was too much fun. I mean who cares about the smoke if you've got boost?

make sure you have the crankcase ventilated.... or it will cause this

I will second the crankcase vent. My brand new turbo was smoking like crazy on decel. I ran a vent line to a small breather and no more smoke...

I've got this same problem...LOTS of smoke coming from the turbo and now from the back. The turbine check out good(NO shaft play)and I've got an oil catch.

My turbine seems to leak oil between the exhaust housing and the center cartridge. I'm using a small oil inlet so that's not the problem. What's causing me to do this?


....Still smokin'....

i have fd and wanted to know where is crank case vent? i pluged up the two nipples on oil filler neck and really don't know where is crank case vent.

would having a line run from the crank case to a catch can, and the other side just sitting cause this?

where is crank case vent located?

thx

Ive been having a similiar problem but ive been told by reliable source that the turbo is fine what else could cause this. It seems to be leaking out around the v-band clamp ive tried tightning it but does no good.

http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/7...moking1os1.jpg

if crank case is not vented, will it leak oil in hotside or coldside? i am asking this because my crank case is not vented and i have lots of oil in intercooler pluming. also, why does turbo smokes if crank case is vented.

thanks.

If the turbo is leaking oil through that V band, it has nothing to do with how well the V band is clamping. It is leaking oil through the turbine side piston ring seal.

It seems that this is happening more and more, even with new turbos. This can be due to a few different reasons;

1. Oil amount/pressure is too high
2. Piston ring is collapsed/welded stuck onto the shaft and not able to seal
3. Too low of exhaust pressure causing high of a pressure delta across the turbine seal (idle)
4. Backed up oil return line causing the oil pressure to build up in the CHRA
5. Turbine seal piston ring did not settle correctly at installation


The reason why oil is more likely to leak through the seals when the crank case is not ventilated is because there is a build up of pressure in the crankcase where the oil drain goes to. This causes a backup of the oil drain, leading to a higher oil pressure inside the center housing. If this is the case, then oil can leak through either the turbine or compressor side.

Kevin

Thanks for the Info, Ill see what I can find tommorrow.

so, will bad turbo seal cause oil leak on compressor side? because i have oil in ic pluming.

sorry about these questions. I just can't understand why brand new turbo with less than 5minutes of running can be bad.

And back from the dead....

Yes, there is a seal on both the turbine and compressor side of the turbo, so either of those could be leaking oil. If the turbo is new, it is likely that something is wrong with your setup from the things mentioned above.

bump

at least it wasnt a repost.. lol :molepoke:

this is serious question. if i have oil in ic pipes. can this cause by blocking both nipples on oil filler neck? I really need to know because i don't just want to get new turbo.

thx

I answered your question in a previous post already.