i bought my turbo used but has been rebuilt. first time i put it on, it ran great with no smoking. the only thing happened was my engine blowing up due to lack of fuel(8:1 fmu with stock injectors at 9psi).

the engine was rebuilt and the proper break-in procedure was carefully followed. after break-in i put the turbo back in. 3 days after the install i decided to give it a try and it was faster now at 7psi than when it was 9psi. but after driving it hard for few minutes it smoked big time i couldn't see the color since this happen during the night.

i tried boosting it at day time and the smoke was bluish so that's oil. there are times that it won't smoke if i drive hard sometimes it will. sometimes after just passing someone and then had a long drive it will smoke. the smoke becomes more visible when waiting at the light and it is embarrassing(sp?)

i think my turbo seal had gone bad coz i refused to think that it's probably my engine too, but i think it's more likely the turbo oil seal coz smoking only happens during hard driving or slight boost.

so what could cause turbo oil seal to go bad?

 

did you change you fuel setup? or you still running the stock injectors and a 8:1 fmu?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by bottlefedb18c1 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">did you change you fuel setup? or you still running the stock injectors and a 8:1 fmu?</TD></TR></TABLE>

i have changed my fuel setup. i'm using the hack now and at only 7psi. i don't want to blow the engine again. it's very costly to fix not to mention the downtime. that's why i don't want to think it's my motor causing the smoke coz it's more on turbo.so what will cause turbo oil seal to go?

 

Several things. can happen to cause the seals to go out.

- Over reving the turbo
- Blocked Return Line
- Return line too low in oil pan
- Low oil pressure or blocked feed line
- Severe high temps in exhaust

I saw a WRX with bad turbo seals this weekend. Caused by spinning the turbo too fast and the motor constently leaning out. Thankfully his boy had already upgraded his turbo and there was already one laying around.

 

how could you over rev the turbo? isn't it that the exhaust pulse determines how fast the turbo spins?

 

i had the same problem man..one day it got REALLY bad..went home took everything off and there was muchos oil in the exhaust side think my oil return mightve been the cause of it..shouldve used a 45 degree instead of 90

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by TKERacer619 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Several things. can happen to cause the seals to go out.

- Over reving the turbo
- Blocked Return Line
- Return line too low in oil pan
- Low oil pressure or blocked feed line
- Severe high temps in exhaust

</TD></TR></TABLE>

i've been wondering this myself, what will make the turbo oil seal go bad over time or even prematurely?

i don't have the turbo up and running currently but hopefully soon in the summer.
so i was hoping to get some info on this before hand so i do the needed things to make the seal last as long as possible.

thanks for the info.

 

Will using a certain kind of oil make your seals go bad? for example, not using synthetic...

 

Turbo's synthetics. Castor oil should be labeled Break in oil

You will see guys running 0-30 synthetics because it spools faster but it is to thin for the high heat.

Running a 10-30 synthetic like Amsoil, Mobil 1, Purple stuff, Redline, etc.... Can greatly help with seal life.

The thicker the oil the better heat dissipation and lubricating properties it will have. Keep it in reason though i would never go above 20-50.

Letting the turbo warm up before driving and cool down before you shut down the motor is also critical to long bearing and seal life.

As for over spinning a turbo it is caused when a wastegate does not open creating higher boost eventually leading to break down.

 

can a turbo oil seal die slowly?

i only experienced smoking during boost condition, whether i hit full boost or not as long as there's boost, smoke will come out of the tail pipe and goes away after few minutes of idling. BUT if i drive without boosting or just letting it idle the car doesn't smoke at all. very wierd.

i called up a local distributor of garrett turbochargers and inquired about repair kit, the guy told me that if the seal was broken then it will also smoke during idling and not just boosting so i thought maybe my seal aren't that bad yet that's why i only had smoke during boost and not idling or normal driving. any thoughts on this?

 

Soem times too much oil flow can cause it to smoke. what size feed line?? i had to put a restricter in my line when i had the POS turbonetics 62-1. If i had to guess yours is a netics too??

 

Can you replace seals or is it just better to buy a new turbo?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by MotorMatrix.com &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Soem times too much oil flow can cause it to smoke. what size feed line?? i had to put a restricter in my line when i had the POS turbonetics 62-1. If i had to guess yours is a netics too??</TD></TR></TABLE>

i'm using a T-28 nissan turbo and i'm not too sure about the oil feed line i 'm using , i guess it's between 1/8" to 1/4". again, i'm not sure...i forgot already. for return i'm using a 3/4" inch hose. i've used that feed line before i blew up my engine and i didn't experience any smoking at all. after the rebuilt, i just put back everything in again and now it's smoking.

could it be i put too much oil? right now my oil level is covering the top mark of the oil dipstick. i'm using a 15w-50 semi-synthetic oil.

UPDATE:

i just replace my oil return line coz the old one i'm using had a slight kink and the outside layer has a crack on it. i replaced it with a 3/4" hose and right now no kinks anymore but it's still smoking after boost but normal driving it's not smoking.

i also check my pipes and the turbo compressor side and it's clean with no traces of oil or sludge.

i heard pcv could cause smoking also but i don't understand the connection. anybody care to explain?

so right now, i can only think of 3 things:

1. turbo oil seal(turbine side) - but the local garrett distributor told me that if it's the seal then it should smoke also during idle. so i like to know if turbo oil seal does get damaged slowly that's why i only get smoke during boost and not yet during idle which the guy told me it would.

2. too much oil

3. pcv - but i don't know how does the pcv gets in the picture.

this is really wierd.

 

bump for the morning crew.

 

i thought i blew my seals too. one day i took my intake off on the inlet and there was oil all in the inlet. i checked my IC piping and there was a little residue but nothing serious. i was like "****", 2 months and its gone. i cleaned it up and keep checking everyday and there hasnt been anything since then.

i changed my return set up from a striaght into the pan to a 45 bend. i guess it was better.

i think most of the time blown seals is due to your feed and return setup.....at least thats the majority of the posts on this board.

someone mentioned a restrictor for the feed line? how can i get one?

 

I'm also running a Nissan T28 off of a S15. When I first started the car and ran it, and drove it granny style the car smoked under the slightest load. So I took the time to install a gauge in the feed line, and I started to play with restricter sizes.
Note, the restricter is installed at my oil distribution block before the feed line and the gauge is as close to the turbo as possible. All pressures listed are at 180-190 oil temp. with 5w-30 oil
Heres what I found after much experimentation
Restricter size .055 = 35 at idle, 70 at 4000rpm, no good
.046 = 25-30, and 60
.043 = 15, and 50
.041 = 0-5, and 30 might work but pretty low at idle.
I used the the .043, it smoked very little after some driving, and now has stopped completely. The only thing im not sure of is that when I changed from the .046 to the .043 I also installed an Endyn breather system with the open element. Before I had notice some oil spray around some gaskets which led me to believe my crankcase pressures were to high. This could also be a factor. Good luck. Justin

 

but i was using the same feed line as before when i blew my engine. after the rebuilt i put back all in again without changing the feed line. this is frustrating.

i changed the return line already coz the one i'm using before had a slight kink and still it's smoking.

i wonder if it has something to do with the oil i'm using, i was using a regular 20w-50 oil before and didn't experience any smoke. now i'm using a semi-synthetic 15w-50 oil which i filled to full(covering top hole on the dipstick). can that be the cause?

 

got some questions:

1. is it true that if the turbo oil seal is bad it will smoke even during idle?

2.do turbo oil seal go bad slowly? like if it's semi damaged it will only smoke at boost and not during idle?

 

bump.

 

I have herd that if a tubro sits around for a few months that it can cause the seals to "shrink" or lose some of thier sealing ablilites (sp).

Dunno know if this is any help.

Blaze