jakeleclair2000

So yesterday i pulled off my heat shield and saw this....and honestly i don't know if i should be concerned or not. The car is running great and pulls good, and its 100% stock. Any ideas what may be causing this discoloration? Im new to turbo cars so dont kill me if its something obvious. Thanks.

SilverShadow03

iTrader: (19)

I'm not familiar with Evo X engine bays but what sits directly below the heat shield? Turbo? Down pipe? Exhaust Manifold?

Looks like exhaust soot...so possible exhaust leak at your manifold or at the turbo....like I said..I'm not very familiar with Evo X engine bays but that would be my first guess.

If you are concerned, your dealership should look at it seeing how you are still under warranty.

sr20det91

iTrader: (59)

looks like an exhaust leak to me.

ravenjam

I think its from the internal waste gate flapper arm. When it opens to bleed off I believe some exhaust seeps through. I have notice this on my X since i got it 3 years ago. I wouldn't worry about it.

jakeleclair2000

wouldn't an exhaust leak be audible? i haven't noticed any change in sound or power (which would be affected by exhaust leak correct?) Could this be from engine/exhaust flex? i haven't exactly babied the car.

jakeleclair2000

@ravenjam - position of discoloration is right about where the flapper is. But super glad to hear i don't need to run back to the dealer****. Those guys suck.

ravenjam

You're fine. Dealers are always a last resort.

Kendogg

How many miles on your car? I have 10k on mine and recently had the heat shield off for a turbo swap. Mine didnt have any soot on it.

jakeleclair2000

Just turned over 5k today

Kendogg

Well hopefully some others who have taken theirs off, can chime in. 10k and clean for mine.

Scootypuff86

iTrader: (3)

I took mine off at about 35k miles and had the same build up, I am pretty sure it is from where the actuator arm attaches to the waste gate flapper. I attached a picture, hope it turns out ok

Also I drive a Ralliart with stock turbo for reference.

Kendogg

Its hard to tell for sure from the pic, but yours looks like less build-up than the OP's. And your car has 7x more miles

Scootypuff86

iTrader: (3)

Yeah he definitely has more build up, was not even thinking about him only having 5k miles on his car. I thought maybe because it was a bigger turbo that it might have more soot but I think that is pretty low mileage to have that much build up.

kosteniuks17

what kind of oil are you running? Just curious...

Scootypuff86

iTrader: (3)

Not sure if this is directed at me or OP, but I use Castrol Edge Titanium 5w-30.