Published by Tim Scott on Jun 5, 2015
“My turbo is leaking oil.”
When you run a turbocharger rebuild shop, you hear these 5 words a lot. The next words are usually “I just need my seals replaced.” Hummm, no.
OK, so I figured I would write a post for you guys on this one. First off you didn’t blow the seal out of your turbocharger. Just about all seals are steel piston rings. Some have carbon seals on the compressor side. The carbon seals are originally for draw thru carburetor systems, low mounted turbos, and high pressure crank cast systems. Carburetors would have a high vacuum on the compressor seal. That in return would pull the oil out of the turbocharger. You really don’t have to worry about those systems anymore. Those system died out in the mid 80’s. Some of the SVO mustangs ran them. There are still carbon seals uses today though.
Common Types of Turbine Seals
Ok, let move on to the turbine seals. Now, there are a few different types of seals for the turbine shaft. Most popular is a single gap steel piston ring. Works great has been for years. Things that it does not like, high crank case pressure, low perched turbos, too much oil pressure. How many of these will blow out that seal???? NONE!!! Next seal is the gapless ring. You can do this two ways. Run a piston ring with a labyrinth lock for the gap. Or you can stack 2 rings back to back then offset the two gaps. This is very popular in the Porsche cars. A lot of those cars run 6 bar of oil pressure, low turbos, and sump pumps. For a true seal, the best set-up is two gapless rings in separate grooves. This will seal very well. There is a down side though. By the time you notice its leaking there is not much hope for a cheap rebuild.
Things To Check If Your Turbo Leaks Oil
Ok, back to the topic of the leaky turbocharger. If your turbo has been fine for years and it starts to leak. You need to look at a few things. First off check shaft play. There is always a little side to side. But, it shouldn’t touch the compressor housing. Next check the in and out play. You really shouldn’t feel much at all. If you do, you are in the beginning stage of thrust bearing failure. All of those can be fine and still leak. You can have carbon failure. That is when burn oil has cut up the steel on the turbine shaft. That makes the groove too big for the seals to keep the in the oil. This is the most popular failure I see in the small frame turbochargers. Next you should check crank case pressure. A bad PCV system can make the turbo leak. Also to much piston blow by. Why can these two reasons make the turbo leak? Well, it’s as simple as blocking off the oil return line on the turbocharger. The return line is connected to the crank case. The piston blow by back tracks up the return line. It will then push oil through the seals. And the seals are more designed to keep turbine and boost pressure out of the crank case.
Do You Have Questions?
This post is getting a little long so I will make a part 2. Got any questions? Just shoot me a line. Always glad to help out!
I parked my 3LTD Nissan the following there was a lark the following day, it’s the turbo what causes that
Parking it usually will not damage the turbo. Most leaks are going to be internal. You can coke up the turbo by not letting it cool before shutting it off.
Can stop leak seal turbo leaking oil ?
No, it will not. Stop leak is usually a rubber seal expansion agent . The leaking is coming from steal piston rings. Leaky seals are usually secondary damage.
No it will not. Stop leak is usually a rubber seal additive. The oil seals in the turbocharger are made of steel.
If the return line is causing the turbo to leak, after fixing the return line does the turbo seal need to be replaced? Mines leaking after a fresh rebuild and just running on the lift
If the problem is fixed on the return line, The turbo should be fine. It is very rare for it to cause damage.
Hi I have a 2.2 HDI that leaks oil in the intercooler and then burns it. Usually after a long downhill when I give it some throttle there is a lot of smoke (like a fog behind me). The oil consumption is 1 quart for 2000km. I’ve changed the C.H.R.A., bought the new one from ebay. The car started to work great, boost is great (I’ve checked with computer, the expected boost value is the same as measured while driving the car), but the oil consumption stays the same. I’m worried that something else is causing turbo to leak. Is there easy test in order to check if everything is fine with return hose or PCV?
Check the PCV system again and any check valves. Any of those not working properly can cause issues.
You should do a compression test or leak-down test to the cylinders. You may have some blow by on your piston rings. Or the new chra may not be top quality. There are some very very bad turbo parts sold on ebay. If it’s cheap,,, it’s cheap… A new chra or high quality will not be cheap. I see man seller claiming OEM on ebay when i know for a fact they are knock off.
Hi mate ive got a turbo diesel landcruiser. I was towing my trailer and noticed a big cloud of white smoke from the exhaust. On inspection i noticed the pcv hose was kinked. So obviously I sorted that out and have not had any smoke since. But what i want to know is will that cause the seals to fail straight away or could the excess pressure have pushed oil past the seal without damaging the seal. So no oil can get beyond the seal when normal crankcase pressure is present.
This is a good question. It is usually not a problem if you correct the PCV system. The seals are pretty durable. But, they will leak if the oil has no where to go. If the smoking has stopped, I wouldn’t worry about he turbo for a wile. You are not going to damage a tool steel piston ring with a little oil. There is actually no oil pressure against the seals. What happen is the turbo CHRA got flooded with oil and had no where to go but out. Sounds like you fixed the problem.
Hi my pal has an Audi A 3 with a hybrid turbo, it recently blew, dealership replaced and it lasted 2 weeks ,again they replaced, a further 2 weeks that’s blown?
After reading your blogs how do I go about increasing the return line capacity, obviously now I will check pcv and crank pressures first
What Hybrid turbo are you running? You may have a turbine wheel very undersized for the larger compressor wheel. As to the oil return line, That won’t blow the turbo. It can make it smoke. But, if you fix it the turbo should be fine.
I have a International 175 track loader. The outer exhaust manifold cracked and blew hot gasses on the trubo return line and turbo itself. The turbo is now dripping oil out. If the shaft runout and endplay is acceptable with no damage to the turbine wheel, can I buy a seal kit for it? Thank you
A seal kit rarely will fix the problem. If your bearing are going out, that is usually the oil consumption. The seals sit in one place. If the shaft is in contact with the seals it can wear them out. For example the bearings having to much slop in them. But, you did say the exhaust leak burnt you return line. I would fix that problem first. If the return line has any kind of back up the turbo will leak. Even with good seals.
I got a turbo that doesn’t smoke at allbut leaks a little oil in the compressor side I for the love of God I can’t figure it out
I need more info to help..
i have a seat altea xl 1.9 tdi . It was leaking oil from the middle of the turbo between the two turbines , where the oill feed and oil return lones are . literally pouring out of that area.unsure if it was a crackwed pipe or blown turbo. The turbo was taken off and checked at a turbo specialist who found no faults whatsoever, the oil feed line and oil return pipe were changed along with the gaskets as a diagnostic / process of elimination measure . all reassembled the turbo is still leaking , although nowhere NEAR as badly . its sort of bleeding out of the same area of the turbo , accumulating and dripping once maybe every 20 mins or so when running. i have no turbo symptoms either , no smoke in the exhaust , no loss of power , no noise. …
so whats my next step . The turbo specialist says there is no issue with the turbo , the mechanic seems to have hit the limitation of his knowledge and is blaming the turbo… reading elsewehere maybe checking the return line further beyond the pipe ? crank case ? sump ? i dunno . stumped here. Many thanks in advance
Those turbos and intake get really clogged up with sticky carbon. Its from the EGR dumping right in to the intake. This can cause all kinds of problems. check all the intake tubes and oil return line. See if you can blow down the turbo return line. The turbo could also be stuck in a certain vane position. Those do have some actuator problems. If your PCV lines are not right it will feed back through the oil return line.
I have a 2008 E320 Bluetec turbo diesel. It is in the shop getting an oil cooler seal repair that required pulling the turbo unit. They called and said the turbo is leaking oil and it would be $2500 to replace. Could the oil they are seeing be coming from this leaking cooler seal? The car runs fine. Could this be a PCV problem? Also, doesn’t that seem a little pricey? They said there would be no extra labor charge.
That sounds about right one the OEM price. It could be a PCV issue But, that’s easily checked. Get back to me with a part number on that turbo. We rebuild alot of those. They run into carbon Vane issues alot.
Hi, got myself a carport ornament / project 1990 sunbird 2L turbo. Having problems with cooling system violently poping into the over flow reservoir. So I pulled the air pipe from the turbo to the intake to get at a spark plug to see what the plugs looked like,(little on the lighter side, lean) took a look inside that pipe and noticed oil in it. Now I’m wondering if I’m dealing with a possible head gasket or the turbo or heaven forbid both!
It could be both. Easy to test though. Check it with a leak down tester or compression gauge. Or you can take it to a shop and ask them to do a coolant sniffer test( it a chemical test). It will pick up hydrocarbons in your coolant if you have a blown head gasket.
Hi i have problem with my Audi A4 2002 Tdi it backflow oil to the exausted please help
The TDI cars have a lot of problems with the EGR dumping gum in the intake. This can cause thrust failure to the turbocharger. Also the vane can get jammed up from carbon deposits. This can causing a chain reaction to the heave sticky oil problems.
Hi Tim, my Audi has been in the shop for two months. It has a twin GT35 setup that was removed from the car for the past couple months while they used the car for some fabrication work. When the shop put the car back together they noticed it is smoking at idle and under load now, mostly from the exhaust exit on the passenger side. Wasn’t doing this before it was taken in to them.
Does this sound like the turbo(s) need to be rebuilt?
I think you should do some more investigation. What type of work was done to the car? Is there a sump pump for those turbochargers?
Well the guy that has the car insisted it must be the turbos so he had them rebuilt. On one the bearing had overheated, the other had damage to the compressor wheel that had supposedly been there for a while since the housing was changed but not the wheel. He got it all back together last night and had me take it for a drive while he followed me. For about the first 5 minutes or so I didn’t see or smell oil burning but after driving it around for a little while, I looked back over my shoulder and could see oil coming around the back of the car. Got it back to his shop and shut the car off and it was smoking for about a minute afterwards.
The shop just took my turbo kit off and built his own (had to do an install in another country so needed to build the kit first).
As far as the sump pump Im not really sure. Its an R8 with a dry sump. I will get in touch with the shop that built the car and see if I can get any answer from them on that.
I just put a cartrige kit in my turbo (hx35 ) on a 1997 6bt cummins. Ran it on the stand for about two hours and pulled the intake/compressor housing off to re clock and paint to find a film of engine oil around the face of the turbo. Should I be concerned?
What type of test were you running? Was the turbocharger clocked in the proper position?
I have a Garrett t3/to4e that has about 15-20k miles on it, I had a little oil residue on the PCV valve, so I replaced the valve and hose, but now the car smokes out of the exhaust and the hood vents and burns oil fairly quickly. I think I’m losing oil from the turbo, but not sure what to do if seals won’t fix it. Had a local turbo shop tell me it was because my feed and return were vertical and not clocked to 45 degree angle. Is this the problem?
I recently caught my turbo leaking excessively. It ran fine before the engine build. I found the return line pinched. After removing the turbo there was quite a bit of oil in the exhaust header. Being I fixed the return line, what are the odds themail damage is more extensive due to the amount of oil in the exhaust header?
I have a 2010 focus 92000 miles on the clock. Regularly serviced. Its running a bit sluggish. Garage told me the turbo is leaking. They plugged her in to check reason why she is running sluggish nothing else found. How long will she run with a leaking turbo? How has this just happened n not been picked up before? Do you think I should get a second apinion. Regards Josie Barrett Mrs
Hi Tim, I have a 07 Acura RDX that’s all stock components. The vehicle was brought to me originally for large amount of oil in the exhaust and the factory turbo was bad ( excessive play on turbine shaft) and customer opted for a used one off line to save some money against my recommendations of a new one. I installed the new (used) turbo and all was well with performance and did smoke a lot for first two days burning the massive oil deposits out of the exhaust system. Customer then picked it up before I was ready to release it as I wanted to drive it till smoke stopped. They drive for few days and said smoke had stopped. On the fifth day they drove a longer distance and found the smoke had returned after long drives. Short drives around town nothing but longer drives 20 plus minutes straight driving then come to a stop and clouds up around the vehicle. Performed compression test and cylinder leakage test and found leak down on all 4 cylinders to be more than 20 percent. Removed the engine and rebuilt it bottom to top. Replaced all bearings ( Honda has a bad way to identify bearings by the way) and replaced all the rings being sure to place the rings correctly in the Pistons to avoid any issues there. Rebuilt the cylinder head, used new deal, stems were good, ground the valves and had them seated perfectly to the head. Got the engine back together and replaced the pcv valve as final piece to the puzzle and test drove the vehicle for 3 days with no issue. On the fourth day I drove it for a longer straight drive test drive and again smoke started coming from the exhaust. Driving around town here and there is fine but drive it 45 mph or faster for more than 15 minutes and the smoke comes back and will disappear while driving short distances in town. It seems there something that is being caused from long term vacuum/boost. I have disassembled the intake plumbing finding minimum oil and only at the tube that comes over the top of the motor where the rubber elbow attaches to it. It is a small strip of oil laying against the neck of the aluminum pipe inside the rubber elbow but it does not seem excessive to me. All other lines are dry. I’ve checked the vacuum line to brake booster as well and it’s dry. The smoke seems to me to be white but no antifreeze smell only smells like rich exhaust. Any ideas to test anything at this point would be GREATLY appreciated. I have done compression checks since rebuild 165 across the board, cylinder leakage test is 5 percent and coolant system check at 18 psi for 36 hours straight with no indication of leak.
I have a 2003 chrysler PT 2.4L Turbo leaking oil to the atmosphere (engine compartment). Can the seal be replaced or do I have to replace the turbo itself.
can a 03C145701T turbo be replaced with a 03C145702C turbo? thanks
hi , i have probelm with my cruze 2.0 vcdi , the turbocharger leak oil & engine gets high temperature at normal speed & white exhause smoke , is it failure of head gasket ??? beCaUse whEn m deaL with some engine head works earlier have been reused the old head gasket .!
This sounds like a head gasket problem.
Hello I have a vauxhal zafira 2 tdi mk 1 changed egr and cleaned out manifold and flaps now have oil leaking out of turbo and the spanner light comes on if revs go below 2500rpm can you help please
I have a 2003 VW New Beetle TDI. I recently had a runaway and my engine survived. The mechanic stated I had oil in the intercooler but they didn’t think my turbo was going bad. They thought maybe there was an overfil of oil which caused this. I do have a rear main seal leak which I have not fixed bc I watch the oil levels closely and I take caution in not to overfill with oil bc I know this is very bad for my engine. So, back to the turbo….the tech found that my wastegate actuator was stuck open and they worked it back and forth to free it up. At that time I expressed my concern and asked if this could cause the oil to have been in the intercooler but they said they didn’t think so. My question is do you think this could be the reason for my recent runaway and would it be wise to change the turbo before I experience another runaway and lose my engine in the process? Thank you!
greatings to you TIm j have mercedes A170cdi its leacking from the turbo and on exaust pipe was black like it goes out oil what can be? thanks
My Turbo leaks between the core and the exhaust housing when the car is stationary and after 2 days, i noticed the turbo was missing one bolt on the exhaust housing, could that be the reason why oil is seeping thru?.
Thanks.
Oil shouldn’t be leaking through. How is the shaft play?
It’s posts like this that make surfing so much plasuere
Ism leaking exhaust side of the turbo. Second turbo in 2 days. Could excess amount of oil on top of piston cause turbo to leak?
Is it a new, used, or after market turbo? Could be bad rings in the engine if the turbo is ok. How is the shaft play?
Both turbos that were put on were new and never ran more than 5 min. I can tell u that the truck was ran a long time after original turbo went out
Did the second turbo fail or smoke? What truck?
I have a td05 turbo that has oil around the compressor wheel. It’s been like that for 15k miles. Just recently the turbo gradually won’t boost like it is supposed to, and I can only get it to 2-3 psi on full throttle with the wastegate full closed. What do you think is happening.
Check the turbine wheel. You may have chewed up a spark plug head or some other engine parts. If the turbine blades are damaged the turbo can give low boost. Also make it very laggy.
Im not sure if my turbo system is going bad. But my 2013 escape makes a awful noise when ya gas it up. Almost sounds like sonething is scapping together. This mornibg i got a smell of a little oil while driving. The only smell has only accured once before since the problem started.if it sounds like a turbo please let me know i hate to drop money into that if its not the actual problem.
Sounds like the turbo is hitting the housing.
I have a 2007 mazda CX7 i am loosing oil somewhere, i do not have a cloud of smoke coming from the car. I have remove the exhaust and was expecting to see oil blowing out.
I do have a lot of carbon in the exhaust.
After i drive awhile i have oil splater spots on the rear of the car.
HI I have an 2004 saab 9 3 aero I’ve had it for a few months and I recently started to have a problem with a pale white fog almost coming from my exhaust I know that it has a turbo. Was wondering if maybe you could help me out. It has no noticeable oil or coolant leakage but after I start it, it will start to smoke. Just changed my oil and a alternater also when I’m driving it will not want to take off it will jump like it’s missing but my boost gauge is building normally
Theres a boost leak in my 05 wrx im not hip to cars but i can learn fast what could i do and how much would it run me if i did it myself
Great site. My daughters 2011 Nissan Juke with Turbo is starting to use a lot of oil but still performs as usual. It had approx 110,000 miles. I replaced the PVC what else should I look for
I have a Nissan Patrol 3ltr I have a catch can from crank case to turbo, the oil is coming through the compressor side and I’m pretty sure it’s a single piston ring in the compressor side trying to figure out If is fixable or should I buy a new Turbo?
I have a 2013 C250 55,000 miles. Noticed after I had my oil change at dealership turbo pressure line is leaking. Any suggestions?
I have a 70mm Magnum turbo on a on3 kit getting oil in tail pipes and smelling oil when I get into it
Check the shaft play and oil return line for proper flow.
Hi Tim– I’m glad i found your site and blog; i’m now hopeful you can help me solve my oil usage mystery; i think I’m a lot closer than i was yesterday. i have a 2010 Audi A5 Quattro Cabriolet, 2.0 engine i bought used 1.5 yrs ago. It had just over 80K on it–94K now. At the time I was unaware of the oil consumption issues and the class action suit brought against Audi for the POS 2.0 engines. The car had a check engine light on and I figured out the rear main seal was leaking, it was fixed by the guy (a friend) who I bought the car from. 3 months later the check engine light came back on again, and the trouble codes were an under boost turbo failure and also a Cat failure due to too much oil. So yesterday I had the air intake disassembled to the turbo (I’m trying to figure out exactly which IHI model I have), and I noticed standing oil on the lower air intake pipe coming from the PCV valve assembly mounted on the engine block. I wiped the oil away, put it back together—disassembled it again today and it was back again. Logic tells me that it could be the source of my oil consumption- a quart every 700-800 miles, and causing the fault codes on the turbo and cat. Am I correct in that there should not be standing oil coming from the PCV valve? If I replace the valve assembly, any chance I can avoid the new turbo and cat project?
You can try to drive the CAT on the highway and get it really hot. Sometimes it will come back to life. but not always.
You may have 2 problems. The turbo could be going out as well as the PCV system. The A4’s have a funny PCV system. There is diaphragm that can rupture. It will pull a lot of oil in the intake mimicking a turbo failure. Look up TSB# 2015505/1 E8C. hope that helps..
Hi I have a audi a4 2007 when I pull away and as the turbo kicks in clouds of white smoke come out the exhaust and av noticed the oil has dropped to half I filled it up about 6 weeks ago I had the turbo replaced September last year and it was doing a similar thing before it went before could this be the same problem and if so could there be a cause for this happening again also the car has a horrible smell
You may have 2 problems. The turbo could be going out as well as the PCV system. The A4’s have a funny PCV system. There is diaphragm that can rupture. It will pull a lot of oil in the intake mimicking a turbo failure. Look up TSB# 2015505/1 E8C. hope that helps..
Hi Tim.
Jaguar XF 3.0 V6 diesel.
The problem: When accelerating, at or around 3000 revs, I’m getting blue smoke. Once the revs have dropped to about 2500, the smoke disappears until it approaches the 3000 rev mark again. Whilst not disappearing in clouds of blue smoke, it’s certainly noticeable and embarrassing. I believe the second turbo comes in, at about 3000 revs.
Any ideas?
Thanks, Rob….
You probably have a turbo going out. The oil pressure goes up and fills the turbo. That will cause the smoke. But, when the boost and turbine pressure rise, it can hold the oil back in the turbo. Do the smoke get really bad when you let on the gas?
Hi, I recently had an issue I’m dealing with. Its a 330d e46, it had cracked exhaust manifold, running ok until then, no oil consumption, no leaks,, but low power, black dust all around. I replaced it for a cast-iron one, had to pull out injectors as I wanted to replace the manifold from the vane. So changed it, and started fine. Let it get heat and go for a check. All good, was running excellent but when I wanted to rev it a bit, at around 3000rpm a whole cloud of white smoke came out as the car was shaking, immediately stopped it. Turbine had oil, but there is absolutely NO shaft play. What are your thoughts? Turbo is suddenly gone? Thanks.
Is the smoke blue or white?
I have 3010 srt8 ( Chrysler 300) built 6.1 twin turbo. Ran fine. 870rwhp. @ 15 lbs. spooled up very well. Now one turbo is leaking slot of oil out compressor side. Spools very slowly and will barley each 14 lbs. nothing has changed other than the oil leak. Turbo still spokes freely by hand, not as well as the other turbo. So is the turbo in need of repair?
I see this a lot on newer twin turbo sets. The turbochargers get usually get placed very low to clear parts. Then they run a scavenger pump for the oil return line. when its not set up properly they end up running restrictors for the oil feed line. The SRT8 engines run very hot ( I have one my self hahe) So the turbo probably has lack of oil flow and burnt up.
Hello Tim
I have a bornwagner kkk variable turbo on an audi q5 2.0 tdi. Engine code CAHA 125kw. Turbo code is 03L145701E. It is a remannufactured turbo from a respectable uk company. It was recently bought after the old one blew due to low oil pressure. Everything was thoroughly cleaned (intercooler pipes egr system) Worked fine until car had injectors sticking open issue and oil contaminated with diesel. Had a treatement with engine oil flush and changed oil and oil filter after changing injectors.
It is leaking oil in the exhaust after the car has warmed up even on idle. Feed and return lines lines are ok. Oil pressure ok. Pcv seems ok. Car runs fine turbo operation is ok, no codes
Is it the turbo or you think of anything else..
I major problem with at type of failure is oil contaminate. When you dilute the oil with Diesel, the oil can’t transfer the heat away from the bearings. The bronze in the journal bearings will start to break down from heat and melt. If you pull the turbine shaft out you will see a gold plating next to bluing on the shaft from bronze transfer. Usually the inside journal diameter will be larger on the turbine side to from the turbine heat soak.
Hey there i have mazdaspeed axela, had a smoking issue before and turbo and pcv system was upgraded never had a problem for 3000miles, then smoking occured again, although compression and leak down tests were done no actual faults were established until my brother noticed a crack in the rear housing of the turbo, about an inch long. We cleaned the oil thatd been leaking out this crack with brake cleaner and started it, it backfired alot so we knew the brake clean has made its way through. Any reason oil leaks through that exhaust housing crack? And is it safe to drive it to repair shop if i have sufficiant oil in the sump and no other problems? Thanks.
You probably need to replace the complete turbo. A crack like that can cause lots of problems. Getting the EGT’s to hot can cause an oil fire. Its very rare but, can happen.
Hello there Tim. I have a opel astra coupe turbo Z20LET . It smokes when its hot while idling and when i downshift and release the clutch . Otherwise no smoke while driving or when cold . I have read through quite a few forums and they keep mentioning the high oil pressure of the Z20LET’s also the turbo’s return pipe is sweating a bit. Cant be valve stem seals as i would think it would smoke from startup. Thanks beforehand
Yes, a valve seal usually smokes on start up. A down shift can do a turbine pressure drop. That can cause the turbine seal to leak. You may need a rebuild.
Hi I have a Mercedes C250 TD 97 model I have a problem with where by I see some oil siting in the inlet manifold but when I checked the air induction pipe from the turbo to the intercooler its wet of oil the vehicle is not smoking and performing well
What can can be the problem
You should check your PCV system. They can add oil to the system also making the turbo leak a little. A diesel engine can burn small amounts of oil and not smoke.
Hello there i have a question long winded lol i have a Hyundai i800 style 2.5 diesel it is on 103000miles had a split in the inlet manifold side took the pipe off to change it whilst i was there i cleaned out the intercooler there was about 2-3 eggcups of oil in there so i checked the turbo and there was a good pudding spoon size of oil there. Should there be that much oil in the system.. whilst cleaning it i noticed the impeller shaft has forward and backwards movement easy 4-5mm also side ways and up and down about 1-2mm i can hear it spinning when i just turned the engine off.. Also i am getting rough revs and little black smoke on acceleration but it does fade at constant speed. Told you it was long winded lol thankyou.
Your turbo has gone bad. You shouldn’t have any in and out play. You can have ( a little ) side to side. You will need to replace it or get it rebuilt. You will probably need a chra with that much shaft play.
Hi time I’ve got a 2005 Subaru Impreza Wrx 2.0, with a vf39 Sti turbo in it and I’ve got blue smoke if I let the car sit off for a while and start it there’s a bigger puff of it the longer it sits. Also when u build full boost then let off a huge cloud comes out was wondering how to figure out if it’s the piston rings or not easy or what else it could be. Thanks
It sound like a turbo. But, you can do a leak down test or compressor test for the piston rings. Pull you downpipe off and see if its wet with oil. Then check your up pipe to the turbo.
Thanks for the help Tim have a great day
I have Land cruiser Automatic, the Oil is coming from the turbo horse pipe then connects to the inlet chamber even the inlet also. is it the seal from the turbo causing that problem.The vehicle starts very well but some mechanic are saying the engine is bad needs overhaul advise me that Thanks by Andrew
I would do a compression test first. It may just be a leaky turbo.
My question is the leak is coming from the turbo and turbo horse pipe takes oil to the diagram and inlet, which drops oil down to the self starter could it be caused by the turbo seal, should i replace the new turbo
Turbo horse pipe takes oil to the diagram and inlet, which drops oil down to the self starter could it be caused by the turbo seal, should i replace the new turbo
It probably needs a rebuild. Check the shaft play for side to side and in and out.
Just wondering if anyone can help, I’ve just bought an xtrail which seem to have a noisy turbo. Kinda sounds like a loud whistle\siren, not to sure if it’s the turbo or a leak somewhere, it drives fine and doesn’t really smoke, any advice would be appreciated, many thanks
Your rotor ( compressor and turbine ) blades are probably hitting the housing. It is usually from bearing failure.
Hey I have a turbo that is leaking on the top outside I don’t really know much about turbos and could use some advice
Top side of what? Sounds like your oil feed line may have a crack in it.
My Volvo t5 is leaking oil from the turbo but only while it is driving if you rev the car while its parked it’s ok drive fast For 200m and oil leaks
You could have a bad check valve in the PCV system. ( or a bad turbo). But, make sure the check valves are working properly. If you go under boost with a bad check valve you will fill the crank case with pressure. That in return will cause the turbo to leak oil.
Tim, my 2006 Porsche Cayenne Turbo is burning 1.6 quarts of oil every 700 miles….well below factory spec. I just changed the PCV and air/oil separator. Underneath, I see lots of oil staining of the driver side turbo plumbing, including intercooler. The passenger side is almost dry. Before I begin shopping for turbos – what should I do first?
The driver side turbocharger is probably going out. When that turbo goes it will over work the passenger turbocharger. You should send them in as pairs when rebuilding them.