Hey guys, Havent been on the boards in a while. moved into an apartment and just been hectic but now that i'm settling in i have a little time to start workin on the car again and its time to get this smoking turbo fixed.

So before i go and rip the turbo out and replace the seals let me know if my latest thoughts on what is causing my problems could possibly be true.

My car smokes.....When i first installed the turbo it was used, but not used for a long time. Some shaft play in and out, minimal side to side, and the turbo spools strong and even, no jumping from 0 to full boost. So when i first installed the trubo i had a problem with oil smoke out of the exhaust worse and worse as the car was running longer and longer. Turned out my 90 degree oil return fitting had come loose and was pointing downward so the oil wasnt draining fast enough and backing up into the turbo blowing past the seals. Fixed that and no more smoke, but since then now i get quite a large cloud of oil smoke out the back of the car after the car has been sitting cold. Definately after sitting in the driveway overnight. Within a minute or two of driving down the street and warming the car up the smoke is gone never to return until after the car is cold again. It does however smoke after the car has been sitting for more than 3 or 4 hours off.

So originally after reading around the internet i came to the conclusion "OK, blown seals, time to rebuild the turbo". However it always kinda bothered me that the turbo isnt terribly old, theres no major shaftplay, it spools and works perfectly, and i have a friend with a t3/4 with equal if not more shaft play which doesnt smoke at all. PLUS, the car smokes after 3 or 4 hours of sitting and i dont believe there would be enough time for a significant amount of oil to get by the seals into the exhaust enough to cause a cloud equal to the size of the one i'd have if the car was sitting overnight. So, when i was out at my car fixing my intake hose the other day i had a lightbulb go off in my head while looking down at my oil drain hose. the oil return fitting in my oil pan is a straight 5/8 hose barb to 3/8"NPT fitting which means that the location of the drain fitting and the location of the oil return on the turbo makes an L shape with the return hose. It goes out the turbo. Straight down and then makes a 90 degree turn and goes flat for about 3 or 4 inches into the fitting on the oil pan.

SOOOOO.....i'm thinking, possibly, because of that 3 or 4 inches of flat hose that maybe, when the oil has cooled sufficiently it is obviously thicker and doesnt flow as easy as when heated up. So is it possible that when the car is cold the oil backs up in that 3 to 4 inches causing it to back up into the turbo and blowby until the oil heats up enough to flow evenly? If so then really all i need to do is pick up a 3/8"npt to 5/8 hose barb 45 degree fitting and that will make it a straight downhill run to the oil pan with no flat spots. If you guys think this is a possible reason for the smoke let me know, or just say naa, its a blown seal

 

To me it honestly sounds like the seals and they should be replaced. I mean, worst case, you rebuild the turbo and its still there, at least you now have a rebuilt turbo which will last you a long time. You can try changing your 90* fitting to a 120* fitting which is what I use. I've never had a smoking issue and my turbo is probably more used than yours. Give that a try and see what happens.

 

Another Idea would be to install a oil catch can, you could be pushing oil from your valve cover into the intake due to to much positve pressure in the head

 

If it were a pressure problem i figured i'd have it at all times, but its ONLY when the car is cold. Once its warmed up i never see one bit of smoke, regardless of how much abuse i put it through And i dont have a 90 degree fitting on there right now. Right now its just a straight fitting, which is why the oil drain tube is at 90 degrees with 3 or 4 inches of it being straight and level with the oil pan. Its worth a shot. i'm just trying to exhaust all other possible causes because its my daily driver, its getting to be wintertime here in NY, and i really dont want to have to pull everything off to rebuild that turbo It was a miserable pain in the *** a month ago when i had to replace a coolant line and a gasket and i want to avoid that at all costs hehe

 

Hmm, not sure then. Yeah, its not fun. However, the more you take it off and put it back on, the better you get at it I've now installed my kit three times First time took 17 hours, second time took 5 hours and third time I did it in 3.5 hours

 

Next issue, haha anyone know an online vendor that sells a 3/8 NPT to 5/8 hose barb 45 degree fitting? i cant seem to find one yet. ATP turbo only has 1/2" npt

 

I've had a hard-time finding one too.... There's some sites but for some reason, I think that's a custom fitting...lol

So Sick? you in Brooklyn now? lol ( it's getting cold...)

 

Ugh yeah, this cold is not fun, especially since the D train is elevated and i'll be outside alllll winter waiting for that damn train haha. car is with me righ tnow but doesnt see much use since i'm tryin to still organize the place and whatnot. Plus its dark out by the time i get home from work now, uber ghey