i just picked up a 97 civic ex with a turbo ls motor. the car was tuned with neptune rtp, with a garrett t3/t4 57 trim turbo. when i picked the car up, it had a ebay 50 trim on it because the garrett was leaking oil into the exhaust housing. i took the garrett apart, and everything looked good except the exhaust side piston ring seal. so i replaced it with a new one. i put the turbo on the car and it ran like it should but smoked. so i pulled the turbo back off to find the oil in the exhaust side again. i put the ebay turbo back on and it is not leaking. i took the garrett apart and everything looks good. it doesnt have the tiny hole for the drain, it is a big slit that is not clogged.

the only thing i can think of is the oil drain line going into the oil pan. it has a jank 3/8 barb fitting in the drain flange, the hose goes down, and curves slightly upward to go back into the oil pan. the fitting on the oil pan is also a barb fitting and is welded at the top of the oil pan pointing slightly downward. my plan as of right now is to weld a new bung slightly below where it is now, pointing slightly upward, changing out the jank 3/8 flange with a 5/8 with a 5/8 return hose. however, the ebay turbo does not leak or smoke with the janky return line setup that is on right now.

i guess what im asking is, could there be something wrong with the garrett that i am overlooking? should i get a rebuild kit and replace everything and clean it well, or could the drain line still be the culprit even tho it doesnt make the ebay turbo leak

 

im not sure why the garrett would be leaking. maybe you can try to upgrade the size of the drain to at least 5/8ths. i believe that is a -10 equivalent.

I would re do your drain first. It doesn't sound like it is flowing very well. I would not put a new bung below the other. You want it as high up as possible. maybe you can cut the current bung off, weld it and drill a new one next to it.

Do you have an oil restrictor? do you know the current size of your feed line? it would help tremendously if you could post pictures of your setup

 

oh sorry i should have stated that, i am running no restrictor with a -3 feedline. on my way to work but will post pictures tonite when i get home

 

There's your sign.

 

i dont understand what u mean, am i running the wrong size line?


Posted from Honda-tech.com App for Android

 

For a journal bearing you need a 0.060" restrictor with most Hondas. What is your oil pressure after you start a cold engine?

 

cehcivic15


Posted from Honda-tech.com App for Android

 

about 70psi at 1500 rpm


Posted from Honda-tech.com App for Android

 

You need to get a restrictor. I had problems with too much pressure and narrowed it down to my feed line being too big. Go autoworks has restrictors and nice feed lines.

But it sounds like your drain needs fixed too. Post pictures of it

 

 

yes the feedline is -3an and the fitting has no restriction. the fitting in the drain flange has a 3/8 barbed fitting, and the horrid fitting in the oil pan is also 3/8. the picture showing the drain hose is from a level shot.

now, i do plan on getting a restrictor from go-autoworks, thanks for the tip on that. i also plan on getting a new drain flange with a 5/8 outlet, and cutting off the crap of the oil pan, and re welding a new 5/8 fitting. i dont need the expensive AN fittings for now, i will probably just run rubber hose like it already is, just do it better.

i just dont understand why the ebay turbo that is on it now is not leaking at all if it is a flow problem.(granted even if it is not the problem, i need to make these changes anyways)

 

that drain is NOT going to work. that feed line also looks like a -4. you are going to need some barbed fittings that are at least 5/8ths,

it might help to weld a small tube onto the pan with the same inner diameter as your bung. angle towards the turbo, then weld your return bung on the end of that, so its more of a straight shot from the turbo to the pan. then a 45 off the turbo should help.

It really looks "to me" that your feed is a -4. I had this problem before too. I could be wrong though.

either way you need to fix the drain. that is an enormous amount of oil coming out of that turbo.

I would strongly recommend go-autoworks. I have had many feed lines and drain setups, and the quality amazing.

you might find what you need on this page

http://www.go-autoworks-store.com/oillinekits.html

 

ive also noticed that when welding a bung with a flat surface on the pan, it always seems to angle towards the ground "slightly". this is where I found the extra angled metal tube helpful. it keeps the flow of oil smooth and downhill

 

It also looks like you need to rotate the turbo a bit more to get feed/drain lines perfectly vertical.

 

It can be up to 20* either way. Given, 0* is considered perfect for oil only turbos. With water cooled you WANT a tilt.

 

thanks guys, i will be buying parts with my next paycheck to fix these issues


Posted from Honda-tech.com App for Android

 

If optimally possible. For 99.9% of the people its fine to be perfectly vertical as the oil issues will take precedent.

 

You little rascal, always filling in where I am too tired/lazy to type it out 100%... Thank you for that. I really need to quit forums honestly. Just ban me already - force me to stop... hehe.

 

i checked the b nut on the feed line to the turbo, according to the tech videos on anplumbing.com a -3 line would have a 1/2 inch b nut, and a -4 would have a 9/16 b nut. the b nut on my feedline is a 1/2 inch.

so i just want to make sure that even if it is a -3 you guys recommend a restrictor right?

why is the ebay turbo not leaking if this is a oil flow issue?

also, i put a new 57 trim godspeed on that a friend let me borrow, it did not leak either. i just dont want to spend most of my paycheck and the garrett still leak. im kinda back and forth on this because i know the drain line needs to be redone yet im not sure if this will fix the problem or not. i also rechecked the clocking on the garrett, and when i had it installed, it was clocked pretty much at 0.

i am going to install my garrett on my friends car this weekend, he also has a 57 trim t3/t4 journal garrett that he daily drives with no leaks. and we will see if it leaks on his car.

 

Spend most of your paycheck on a $12 restrictor? Even with the eBay bought turbos, you need to have some sort of a restrictor. The only way you are getting around it is if there is one built into the CHRA. Do you have pictures of the feed holes on all the turbos? The size of the line will work either way, the restrictor will do it's job.

 

no no no lol, i was gonna get the restrictor, and a new drain flange, new line and new fittings, and a new feed line lol. i was gonna just redo all of it.

 

Maybe the cheap seals haven't blown yet.

 

Also are you installing the new seal correctly? If you bend it open to much during installation it won't seal properly

Also, when putting the turbine shaft back in the chra don't force it, place the shaft in the chra till the seal causes the shaft to stop going in, rotate the shaft a few times to center the seal then simply press on the end of the turbine wheel, it should pop in with little to no effort. If it doesn't, you have an issue, like the seal was spread to far apart when placing it on the shaft. What ever you do send force it, no beating with hammers or using the floor, you'll not only damage the new seal but potentially the shaft and chra as well

Also, if you didn't mark the components before removal to ensure you put everything back together the way it came off (to preserve the balance of the shaft/wheel assembly) then you're wasting your time, an out of balance wheel set will destroy seals in almost no time, then you risk damaging the wheels and shaft as well.

Send the turbo to a proper rebuild shop where they can rebalance it after the repair is complete, don't cheap out on things like this, eventually you'll replace so many seals and waste so much of your time thatyyou could've already paid to have a turbo rebuilder do it the right way the first time.

 

i took the garrett back apart, the seal is about twice as wide as the groove it fits in, i compared the new seal to the old seal and they are the same.. also picked up some new fittings to do the drain line. getting a restrictor next week


Posted from Honda-tech.com App for Android

 

let me clarify, the groove in the chra is half the width of the seal


Posted from Honda-tech.com App for Android