Oil everywhere from my turbo down

Greenwing7 · **Posted:** Tue Feb 03, 2015 2:49 pm

I've been battling an oil leak for about three months now and it hasn't magically gone away. Dug in yesterday and found oil below the oil feed line on top of the turbo, down through the middle of he turbo down the oil return line and the whole side of the block. It uses about a quart per tank.
I checked the turbo intake shaft for movement and only very slightly noticeable movement in any direction.
I'm in the process of cleaning all the oil up and replacing all the gaskets to try to keep it simple and cheap. This is a fairly new turbo with highway miles. Not a much towing and approx 30k miles and two years old.
Some questions.
There is some soot on the linkage arm. Is this normal?
If oil is leaking out of the turbo between the exhaust and intake wheels does this indicate iminent failure?
Am I tackling this problem correctly? I plan on cleaning all the oil out when I install the new parts to be sure I can tell where the leak is coming from.

I'd rather not leak oil but I'd also rather not spend 1k on a new turbo. TIA :BANANA:

GreenDieselEngineering · **Joined:** Sun Jun 07, 2009 5:10 pm **Posts:** 1111

If the turbo oil feed line is leaking at the banjo fitting on center housing, you need two new copper washers and then re-torque the fitting. The drain line has 2 8mm bolts that can be snugged up as well. Hope this is helpful.

gmctd · **Posted:** Tue Feb 03, 2015 4:03 pm

GreenDieselEngineering wrote:

If the turbo oil feed line is leaking at the banjo fitting on center housing, you need two new copper washers and then re-torque the fitting. The drain line has 2 8mm bolts that can be snugged up as well. Hope this is helpful.

Also, try titening the upper oil line connection - it's at engine oil pressure, and likely it's just not tite enuff to seal

Greenwing7 · **Posted:** Sun Feb 22, 2015 8:35 pm

Replaced copper washers and paper gasket and oil remains leaking. It seems to be coming from between the intake side and the exhaust side of the turbo. Is this a possible place for the turbo to be leaking oil? I don't really know the layout of the inside of the turbo to know if oil travels here. The shaft play is near zero. There also appears to be some exhaust soot on the arm linking the vacuum to the vanes. Any thoughts are appreciated.

gmctd · **Posted:** Mon Feb 23, 2015 1:30 am

Could be the oil supply line is defective
- while cool, clean the area with degreaser, AUTOZONE in the orange can is excellent for this as it flushes clean with water
- rinse area, let dry or blow dry
- start the engine, let it run while you observe the suspect area for oil oozing thru crack, etc

Greenwing7 · **Posted:** Tue Feb 24, 2015 5:39 pm

Looks like the turbo is what is leaking. Are there any remedies for this other than outright replacement? Is it actually possible for the turbo to be leaking in between the exhaust and intake sides?

gmctd · **Posted:** Wed Feb 25, 2015 3:09 pm

The center area between the aluminum compressor and cast-iron turbine scroll castings is called the cartridge, is cast-iron, and is not generally susceptible to cracking in vicinity of the drilled\tapped oil feed area, which could result in pressurized engine oil leakage
- if that is the case, replacement is the only option

Can you post a clear pic of the suspect area taken immediately after cleaning with engine running?

Greenwing7 · **Posted:** Thu Feb 26, 2015 12:50 pm

Well. Looks like I had two oil leaks. The one on the turbo side is fixed. Cleaned up the under side of the engine. Ran it up and down the street to get it warmed up after I added some fresh oil and dye in the oil.
The leak is coming from somewhere above the starter. :BINGO:

Any guesses? I've never dug into that side yet and will be this afternoon.
I thought the EGR was cooled by the coolant. Not engine oil. That's all I know what's over there.

papaindigo · **Posted:** Thu Feb 26, 2015 12:58 pm

EGR is cooled by engine coolant. However, it is certainly possible for the oil mist that the CCV dumps into the turbo>intercooler>intake to leak a bit between the flow control valve and the intake which might blow back and drip in the starter area.

Greenwing7 · **Posted:** Thu Feb 26, 2015 4:07 pm

Oh no. Unfortunately this is a serious leak, not just some small amount of oil. It takes a little over a quart every time I fill up the tank and leaves an awful spot every time I stop. Time to dig in.

gmctd · **Posted:** Thu Feb 26, 2015 5:21 pm

Could be one of the rear cam seals in the head cover is leaking, or the sealant between the head cover and head has sprung a leak

papaindigo · **Posted:** Thu Feb 26, 2015 5:39 pm

Then I'd lean toward what gmctd said except I'm not sure that there are any cam seals in the back of the rocker arm cover. Parts listing only shows front seals.

PANHEAD · **Joined:** Thu Feb 26, 2015 7:26 pm **Posts:** 63

Had same symtoms, I have replaced two turbos because the rear seal of the turbo failed, I also changed banjo and oil return gasket but no help, new turbo fixed it, got from Turbocharger Pros in San Diego.

gmctd · **Posted:** Thu Feb 26, 2015 8:48 pm

Basically, there is one plug sealing rear bushing bore for each camshaft - iirc they're 'soft' plugs, as in hard plasticized rubber or hard rubberized plastic

Mike92104 · **Posted:** Fri Mar 06, 2015 3:01 am

gmctd wrote:

Basically, there is one plug sealing rear bushing bore for each camshaft - iirc they're 'soft' plugs, as in hard plasticized rubber or hard rubberized plastic

The plugs are metal and screw into the covers with some sort of gasket. I'll take a look at my engine and see what else could be leaking from around that area since it's in my garage right now.

gmctd · **Posted:** Fri Mar 06, 2015 10:20 am

Good - I haven't seen the rear cam seals aparted, but my first choice, since there was recent head work, would be oil leaking past the head-cover seal - there is at least one passage from block thru head to engine cover to supply the cam bearings and lifters with high-pressure engine oil

Greenwing7 · **Posted:** Thu Mar 26, 2015 11:50 am

So what is the best way to visualize these areas of the engine? Scope? Mirrors' scope of some sort, your phone's camera. Take it all apart?
TIA. If thix can be fixed with wrenches and time. I'm down to dive into this project.

gmctd · **Posted:** Thu Mar 26, 2015 12:36 pm

Inspection mirror and strong light source would be best - more expensive would be inspection camera probe, HARBOR FREIGHT ~$80.

Mike92104 · **Posted:** Thu Mar 26, 2015 8:55 pm

I'd suggest using some UV dye. Dump it in, drive around the block just before dark, then take a good look with a UV light. I just used a fluorescent black light bulb from the grocery store in one of those aluminum clip type work lights. It makes spotting where the leak is coming from much easier. If you have some yellow tinted safety glasses, it REALLY makes the dye stand out.

Oil everywhere from my turbo down

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