I usually just read forums on the site for information, but I can't find a solid answer from anyone this may have happened to. I'm running a GSR/JE/Eagle/ARP stud engine, Turbonetics 60-1. I installed my breather setup just a couple weeks ago before tuning. As I was under the car I noticed my drain line was leaking slightly, so I tightened it up a tad. I am using the braided/AN style drain line. Without even realizing it, I kinked the line up. Driving around for about 30-40 minutes, I started to notice smoke at an idle. Big billowy clouds, but then when I pulled away it stopped. I found the kink immediately, and hoped for the best on no more smoke. The problem still persisted, but on a much smaller scale. Well my assumption is that the turbo is seeping oil at an idle, not enough to make anything wet, just enough to create a ball of smoke in my exhaust. This is all around 9 psi the whole time for the turbo. Breather setup is working very efficiently. I decide to move forward with tuning as the smoke is very minimal, and the performance is still there. After the tuning session for 16 psi, my breather can had collected a quart of oil!! I drained it after tuning, and proceeded to drive the car for approx 3-4 hours off and on, obviously some thrashing. It filled up again...my compression check last week yielded 195-192 psi across the board...has anyone ever had an issue with blowing exhaust gas into the bearing housing, pressurizing the oil system? The oil that comes from the catch can is disgusting, gray/black, as if it's contaminated with exhaust....anybody seen this? Had this happen??

 

The breather setup consists of two prelude oil cooler fittings on the back of the block, and the factory breather port has been blocked with a freeze plug.

 

install a drain back style catch can so it will drain back what ever it collects. as for teh oil looking nasty its shouldnt , it should look the same as the oil in the motor, unless the can is all contaminated from sitting around or something.

 

I've thought about that, but really it seems that there is a problem with the turbo. I'm basically just asking if anyone else has had/seen this issue. I work for Cummins, and I know that turbo's can be a big source of crankcase pressure, but these things are running 50 psi+ on automotive applications. I've just never seen this on 16 psi on a gas motor.

 

what is it today?

its not possible...
more likely, excessive crankcase pressure is causing the turbo oil drain to backup and catch can to fill. btw, sorry if I missed it, but where is your catchcan mounted?


or cylinder pressure loss into the crankcase, causing the oil breakdown. I wouldn't recommend plumbing that oil back into the block for re-use.

does it smell funny?

-Ken

 

Yeah I dont run my tank back to the engine ethier. I drain that junk out.

 

its not possible...
more likely, excessive crankcase pressure is causing the turbo oil drain to backup and catch can to fill. btw, sorry if I missed it, but where is your catchcan mounted?

the catchcan is mounted right next to my abs pump.

 

alrite...compression today says 190-180-190-190 after about 20 sec of wait time after cranking. lost maybe 3-4 psi in that 20 sec. Peakboost...I understand what you're saying about the impossibility of shoving exhaust into the bearing housing....how about shoving fresh compressed air into the bearing housing-pressurizing the drainline/oil pan? This seems completely possible in my mind....

 

sounds like the can is mounted too low. pics?

not possible.

 

People have had issues with ports off the back. It sounds like you street tuned it at 16psi, which would force oil to drain down the back, as well as splash up as you accellerate. Most drag cars plug those holes completely, and only run the lines off the valve cover.

 

please explain how this is impossible....seems completely logical to me. exhaust side no, since the air is pulling out the exhaust, but compressor side....pulling air in and compressing it, getting around the back side of the wheel..?? I've had Cummins ISX turbo replacements due to blowby issues for this....so if you could, please elaborate. Also, after the first few pulls of the tuning session, the catch can was about half full with oil, and the filter was saturated....and pressure had blown oil through the filter, 2 feet to my firewall.....any explanation for this other than 16 psi of pressure shoving into the pan, and out the orifices for my breather setup?

 

I read somewhere in a book on turbos that up to %10 of the cfm being forced into an engine can be dumped directly into the crankcase as an effect of blow by, even more on hi-boosted motors. I am sure someone from T1 can explain this, they use 4 -10 an lines on some of their valve covers to vent all the pressure. PEAKBOOST I would also like to know how u think this is not possible.

 

I had a similar problem with my turbonetics turbo, on my b18c was leaking past the seals, in the end the turbo gave up and i was lucky nothing went into the engine. I have a catch can set up into the 2 bungs at the back of the block, and the can at the highest possible place, and it still fills it after a while, oil with the milky gunky **** too...what is that!? Think it may have been caused by excessive crank case pressure not letting the turbo oil drain work effectivley, and blowing it up the pipes. Now Fitted a Garrett turbo with a 1/16" diamiter oil restrictor to it, and 2 -10AN breather pipes in the cam cover to a seperate catch can. Blocked the pipes off from the block for now. Not getting any more smoke but still using a bit of oil, and there still seems to be a lot of crank case pressure when i remove the oil cap. Could be the turbo, could be ring blow by, going to do a LEAK DOWN test next week to see if the motor is good.

 

This is so what is happening to me right now, I installed an edelbrock intake maniflold, my car was running flawless up until this point, the day I pulled it out of the garage after the install it sarted to smoke at a light nasty smelling gray, ok so I sent my turbo out and had it rebuilt, gues what still smoking, just not sure what all to check pcv is new, 195 across the board psi, the car has not lost an ounce of power just smokes, not sure right now, my tuner has it at the moment and has twice smoked his garage up. where else should I be checking? Oh by the way its a 95 gsr with a greddy turbo kit on it.

 

the two fittings off the back of the block you are running is a problem. your running the prelude fittings which sit flush with the inside of the block causing the oil draining form the head down the back of the block to go into those hoses and into the catch can. the endyne kit uses those fittings with an extension on them so they stick into the block some and it reduce that issue

Although i can say from experience with excessive pressure that style sucks period. i overflowed my endyne kit every time i made a pass down the track. nothign beats the breathers off the valve cover. a minmum of 2 -10 off the fron of the valve cover are needed. IMO -12 or -16 would be better i personally run 2 -10 cause i had it laying around for my daily driver but i plan on going to 2 -16 for better breathing system. the smaller hoses if they get a little bit of oil in them they back up and cause blow by and poor crankcase ventilation

im also running a 22 thousandths ring gap so my crank pressure is a little higher but id rather burn a little oil and have some pressure then run a tight motor as ive had issues in the past with a tighter motor .

 

OP-what size lines are you using? sorry if I missed it, its late and I didnt feel like reading all that^

*EDIT*sorry turbo-ls I was asking the op...told you it was late,lol

 

im running 2 -10an lines off the front of valve cover which is minimum. im switching ti 1 -16an lines this winter for optimal ventilation for my setup

 

For all those only running valvecover ventilation...

Have you considered the pressure differential between the bottom of the block - where pressure is built - and the top of the block - where you're venting pressure? The oil drain holes in our motors aren't THAT large that I've seen. Wouldn't this cause 'burping' of pressure or backflow from the bottom of the engine to the top?

I'm running a modified, extended breather box with two large vents on the top and one of the Prelude fittings into the side of the breather box... I haven't tried testing pressure in the box during a pull yet.

 

I dont know if anyone caught this, but the OP said that he developed a KINK in the oil drain line. If this is the case, wouldnt there be a possibility that the turbo may be hurt now? Bad seals? If oil cannont get out of the turbo as quickly as oil is getting in, this would theroetically heat up, and possibly blow seals, and contribute to the cloud of smoke...ect? Just brainstorming here.

 

Just my .02

You should listen when Ken from Peakboost offers advice.

His turbo kits are second to none and he is 100% on point when it comes to boosted cars.

Nice guy too.

 

yeah, ken is tha man!!