https://youtu.be/w0mPwUBu0Iw

Cliffnotes- fairly brand new Garrett GTW3476R Dual Ball Bearing turbo. 5000 miles on it

- Used .035 oil restrictor and 3AN feed line as stated via Garrett.

- Oil drain line is setup properly. Check YouTube video I posted as it shows the drain setup.

- Used all the correct gaskets etc for the turbo no silicone was used etc.

Car is running a 2 port catch can setup on the back of the block.
Car is on a OEM b18c1 oil pump.

With the oil wetness behind the exhaust wheel it's safe to assume a turbo seal is blown? What could have caused it?

 

**I haven't watched the video just yet**
I had a similar issue and thought my 3476 had taken a massive **** somehow and it was my drain. The bung on the stock pan was placed too low and backing up. I ordered a Moroso and that cleared the issue. Not saying that's YOUR issue but, start by ensuring your drain setup is still 5x5. 👌

 

OP is already on a Moroso pan, and from the video his drain line looks fine. Definitely sucks/unlucky he's leaking oil, may have just been bad luck on that turbo.

 

Well... ****...

 

You could try using the vibrant oil restrictor which comes with a 0.030” jet. I know Garrett recommends a 0.035” but because Honda engine tend to run higher oil pressures, especially at high rpm, the .035” might still be too much.

another option is the turbosmart oil pressure regulator. This is what I’m using and have an oil pressure sensor hooked up to it. The most pressure it’s ever seen is 44psi at the turbo and that’s only on a cold engine. The only issue with this might be 1) extra expense and 2) extra plumbing required as it requires its own return back to the pan

 

Yeah at this point I think it was just my crap luck that the turbo took a dump right outside its warranty period.
Yep (sheds tears)

Yeah I saw quite a few cars running the Turbosmart OPR. That will probably be what I run on my next turbo setup if I decide to go with a new setup. Dunno at this point as I've put so much $$$$$ into this setup.

 

I wouldn’t count the turbo out just yet unless you’re getting excessive shaft play. I’ve seen it happen many times where just changing the restrictor stops the oil leak. If I were you I would clean everything up, pull the turbine housing off and clean all the oil off. Put it back together with a smaller restrictor or the OPR and see what happens. Only thing you may lose is a bit of wrench time but I think it’s worth it to confirm before you go buying another turbo

have you noticed oil burning at idle/low load or only under heavy load/high rpm?

 

https://www.garrettmotion.com/news/n...ealing-system/

Here is how a turbo oil seal works. It’s unlikely to be the seal itself and more likely another issue causing the oil to “blow-by” the seal. For example the oil feed or crankcase pressure etc.

This has been a long time issue with Honda engines and turbo oil feed, especially ball bearing turbos, they’re really sensitive to high oil pressures.

 

Oil tends to burn on free rev once you let off the gas and the rpms drop. Or like in this video I'm driving and I left off the gas while still in gear and coming to a stop.

Driving video

 

Free rev

 

To be honest, this is acting a lot like valve seals again. Does it smoke under boost? Having seen some blown oil seals recently with a buddy's old Ebay turbo, that sucker smoked pretty hard all the time, and REALLY cranked out the fog under boost.

 

I just replaced the valve seals though with new oem honda ones a few weeks ago and the smoking didn't change at all. It does smoke a little under boost but its hard to tell as I accelerate if it's just carbon burning off.

 

That looks like exhaust valve seals from then timing of the smoke showing up. Not the turbocharger itself. If it were the turbo, you'd see that as blue oil smoke the minute you started accelerating. Not on deceleration.

 

Valve seals were just replaced a few weeks ago. Plus I put the turbo manifold on this morning and fired it up. Virtually no smoke when during revs etc.

 

Possibly. 1) Perhaps they were installed incorrectly. (I've had that happen to me before). 2) you would see the exhaust valve stem seal leak during deceleration under vacuum . Not just sitting revving the engine. "Revving" is not the same as the engine under load, or going into vacuum.

 

I personally installed them myself to take out the possibility of someone else installing them wrong. I put the correct ones on IN side and EX side.

As far as revs go vs load I understand the differences but for the sake of the video... I was making the point that free revs with the turbo attached shows lots of smoke vs free revs with no turbo shows no smoke.

 

Ok. What's next? let's look at the routing of the oil return line for the turbocharger to the oil pan. If it's a Moroso Drag Race pan, I can tell you now, the routing is never perfect enough. . I like their road racing pans, but not the standard drag ones. Even though they both put the oil bung in the wrong spot, the routing should be still short. This is a ball-bearing turbocharger, correct? If so, this is truly weird. You may need to have this serviced, but you'd have to pay for it.. (Yes, there is a way to do it on the DBB series. We older Panthers know how to check for them.)

 

This is my oil pan. I had GoAutoworks weld a new spot because like you stated I didn't like the way the stock moroso pan lines up with my manifold setup. Yes this is the ball bearing version of the turbo. If the turbocharger needs to be replaced I believe I'm going to downsize to something considerably smaller. I would like something along the lines of a Borg Warner EFR 6758 or 7163 but they aren't offered in T3 flanges. Does Garrett offer anything in that size/power potential range that even touches the spool/recovery spool/transient response of the EFR units? Heard the Garrett G-series models have been hit or miss.

 

Of course. All you gotta do is PM me and ask. C'mon, now.... You know I've known the plan for a long time now. ;-)

 

The drain line is tiny, and looks very low, there's not much space at the top of the pan when filled with oil.
Also, if your valve GUIDES are sloppy, the seals wont hold.

Damn, your engine is CLEAN.

 

Soooooooooooooooo after taking a bit of a vacation and coming back to the car...... the verdict is the turbocharger was the cause of the smoke issues. Removed the entire turbo kit and replaced it with a header and magically no smoke. Well time for a new turbo setup I guess....

 

I have a feeling it was a drain issue. I'm not sure about that brass fitting at the pan. I think what's better is to use as smooth of as angle as possible. Less than 90.


It looks like your drain goes uphill slightly.


Here's my video of testing the drain
Are you going to rebuild it? Maybe you can find a kit with the seals, bearing cage etc. I bet your shaft is coked up. Or new CHRA or what about PTE gen 2 5858 or so? Their bb units are very reliable from what I heard. Xona rotor might be good I heard they're made by Forced Performance. I thought the g series spooled faster than GTX gen 2 but could still make the same power.

 

Good thing you got no oil smoke with the header. That rules out the valve stem seals. Unless it’s not under load, as others have put, make sure it’s not just free revving.
So assuming it’s not the engine, then the order I’d try to fix it in is 1) oil feed restrictor 2) oil drain too low/too flat 3) oil seals leaking.
If you have a spare turbo to swap in, that will determine if your oil routing is good or not.

 

It does if you look at the drain bung up close.

 

Yeah I had my doubts as well on the drain. I will most likely change it. There's no other explanation as to why the turbo failed.

I'm not sure which route I want to take next. The G series look good but I've heard mixed reviews on if they're worth the hype for the price tag. I remember spending the extra $$$$$ on the GTX Gen1 3076r and being pretty disappointed honestly. I know I want something a lot more responsive than the GTW3476R. Old school GT3076R could still work and not break the bank.


I drove the car several miles down the road and back doing various pulls with load/vac. Definitely didn't just free rev it. I plan on upgrading to a more efficient turbo so I'll get new oil feed lines, restrictor, and a new drain setup and probably redo my oil pan.

Yeah I'll be redoing the pan or getting a new one to eliminate all possible failures again.