Thread: Turbo Troubleshooting

Hi guys just like to say thanks to all that replied. I have taken all the advice on board and now trialling various options (process of elimination).

Last night I trialled the turbo with no intake pipe connected (i.e off the compressor outlet) and ran the oil return directly into a bottle. There was no positive affect on oil leakage.

I then reconnected the oil return line as previously described and installed the flow restrictor. I noted a marginal decrease in leakage from the turbo.

Tomorrow I will plumb the oil return into the oil pump cover as others have done and report back. Fingers crossed. How frustrating!

Thanks again.

Interesting that you still got the leakage with the drain just going into a bottle.

Might seem like an dumb question, but have you got the oil feed at the top of the turbo, and the drain at the bottom, and close to vertical between them?

Steve

The turbo needs both exhaust and intake sides plumbed up for the seals to work properly, basically it needs to be able to build pressure in the housings. If you have the housings open to view then it will keep passing oil.

What Dougal and Steve G said.

Even better place for turbo drain is the vent side cover, simply drill and tap a 1/2" barbed fitting in

dont forget that a little oil goes a long way and if you have maze seals and they are full of oil they will leak untill the maze empties itself.

Ok so today I plumbed the return line into oil pump cover. I made a mistake in saying the return line is 1/4 in, it's actually 1/2 in which is in line with most recommendations locally and from those on here.

I took on board what dougal said and plumbed the intake side. With the exception of the compressor inlet which is open I.e not connected to aircleaner and exhaust dump pipe which consists of about 35cm long 3in pipe.

I ran this setup for about 20mins in stationary position. I observed oil dripping from the dump pipe at a constant rate (say 1 drop every 5 secs).

Having said that, prior to connecting the intake plumbing I ran the engine for a short while and I didn't observe any oil leaking from compressor discharge outlet which is a positive sign.

The return line becomes warm during operation which indicates to me that oil is flowing within.

Perhaps the oil dripping from the dump pipe is due to zero backpressure in line with what dougal said????

Thanks Joe

If the turbo has enough exhaust to spin it (happens even at idle) then there will be enough pressure in the exhaust housing for the seals to work.

As long as your engine breathers are good and the crankcase isn't pressurising, I would now T a pressure gauge into the turbo oil feed and see what it's getting.
Alternatively or also, run the oil drain into a jug for a fixed time (like a minute) and see how much you get.