Turbo oil leak help needed -Fixed.

[wtdash]

Last nite I installed a TD05 on my EJ22T. I started it up, let it idle to operating temp and shut it down - no issues.

This a.m. I drove to the freeway onramp (engine was @ operating temp) and just got into boost b4 traffic slowed me down....the turbo definitely hit boost - probably 10 psi.

I looked in the rear view and smoke/steam was coming out of the RIGHT rear of the car, so I pulled off @ the 1st off ramp and while waiting for the light to turn steam/smoke billowed out of the hood scoop. CRAP!

Got it home (5 mins), popped the hood and it was oily smelling smoke; not a coolant smell. I let it sit for a couple minutes started it back up and the smoke was mostly gone.

I let it sit all day, got a ride to work and when I got home I check the oil dipstick - NOTHING showing! The turbo's coolant tank was still full, so it was an oil leak...

I pulled the turbo this evening and everything looks normal, except for maybe a little bit of oil on the oil drain tube....I can't see an obvious leak??

So, the oil was coming out somewhere around the turbo and the leak was made worse by getting into boost....

Where should I be looking?

FWIW, this is @ least my 5th turbo swap in the last year,but this is the 1st time I've seen this.


The TD05 had approx. 50K miles, from a JDM WRX/STi....not an ebay turbo.

One other question/concern....I poured some oil in the turbo's oil hole, thinking it might 'prime' it for install, but it didn't flow out- it just filled up the hole and never did drain out the bottom. Is that a bad sign?

Thanks
Td

[brweber352]

About the new turbo, so you saw smoke coming from the right rear so not coming out the exhaust just burning off up front and traveling back? In the past when i swap turbos it usually smokes for a lil while because of oil residue from the install, but i don't think this is your problem if it just happened all of the sudden. Did you check your oil after the install,you sure it was full to begin with? Just checking.

Are you sure you got the copper washers on the oil feed line? I have dropped mine several times on some of my swaps and barely caught it before tightening up. So you don't see a bunch of oil on the turbo, hmm maybe it all burnt off? More than likely the boost didn't make it leak worse it was the rising oil pressure. If you left out the bottom washer on the oil feed line it might not have leaked at idle but maybe pushed out around the threads when the oil pressure rose, IDK. I believe all the turbos i have used all have a little ring rubbed on the turbo where the washer sits, i've looked before and could have sworn the washer was there but it was this little rub spot i was seeing.

As far as pouring oil in the turbo i tried this when i got mine and it did the same thing just filled the hole and sat there, i was trying to flush it out but it didn't work. My turbo is still running fine. There is a gasket between the oil drain TUBE and the turbo, before I installed mine i unbolted it and the gasket looked fine but i smeared just a little black RTV silicone on it to be sure and tightened it down, still not leaking.

The only thing i can suggest is to reinstall the turbo, make sure the washers are on, replace the oil drain HOSE if you haven't yet, make sure both clamps are tight, check the gasket for the oil drain TUBE, start it up and look for leaks. I'm sure you already looked for leaks but this is all i can offer. The only other option is something else is leaking when the oil pressure rises. Have you checked the rear cam support for oil around it(back of the passenger side head where the oil from the turbo drains to),these tend to leak. When they leak it drips right on the upipe and smokes like a bitch.

I hope some of this is helpful, Brian

[wtdash]

Brian,
I appreciate the feedback...esp. since I owe U one for ID'ing my Boost drop issue.

I just finished reinstalling.

Yeah, smoke was on the right rear; exhaust exits on left rear.

Definitely due to a new leak after I installed the turbo, as I've had small leaks on other Subarus and this wasn't one of those.

Oil was near full whe the turbo was installed initially and took about a quart to fill it back up.

I double-checked the copper washers - they're all intact.

I snugged up the oil drain tube bolts - they weren't loose, but not snug, either.

I found a small nick on the (new) oil drain hose, but it didn't appear to go thru - I put the old one on anyway.

All the other seals on the engine appear dry.

Thanks!

[brweber352]

Keep us updated on your current oil situation and I'll try looking at my car tomorrow and try to think of other possibilities for you to check.

Later

[wtdash]

Another day same issue - smoke from turbo area after getting into just a little boost.

I'm thinking turbo seals, but still can't see the leak, since it's burning it off.

Damn.

[brweber352]

I was trying to be optimistic about the seals, but it may be the problem. I did notice on my TD05 that there is a couple plugs on the side of the bearing housing, passenger side of turbo when installed, they look like little freeze plugs, these could be sealing oil or coolant not sure.

I did some searching and ran across this old post, you may want to PM Arctic Assassian as he probably has more exp. with this. If your bearings are good it may be cheaper, but while you got it off you might as well do the whole thing. From what I've read, Deadbolt is a really good outfit with state of the art balancing equipment, I believe the website is boostedplanet.com or boostplanet.com, if you google search, deadbolt turbo, it should pop up. Considering local people wanted $600 to rebuild my VF11 when it took a shit, this sounds like a great deal. I was gonna send my TD05 to deadbolt before I installed it but was too impatient, I'm still thinking of taking it off and sending it to them before it goes bad. If you have extra money(which i'm sure you don't, economy and what not) you may want to consider other upgrades like ceramic coating, P&Ping , etc.

Good Luck and let me know how it works out, Brian

Here's the old post:

Arctic Assassian
Third Gear


Joined: 13 Apr 2007
Posts: 936
Location: Anchorage, Alaska
Status: Offline
Posted: Mon Jun 02, 2008 1:46 am Post subject:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The td05 I just bought was leaking oil from the rear seal, so when I get my stimulus payment, the turbo's going to deadbolt to be rebuilt. It's odd that it would leak coolant too. When I called deadbolt they said it would be 299 for a full rebuild and balance, plus about 50$ shipping from where I am.
Too bad about your trouble.
_________________
Kickin' it old-school.

[wtdash]

Pretty sure Deadboltis dead, which is too bad as they had a good reputation.

I'll see what the eBait Seller of the TD05 wants to do. If I get stuck w/it I may find another place to rebuild it.

thnx

[RJ93SS]

the reason i thnk your seeing smoke is because oil is leaking down from outside the turbo onto your uppipe. replace that oil return line with a silicone one, and use some good clamps. that line can be a bitch to get on.

[Mattheww044]

hey Todd, off topic but what did you do with your TD04?

[wtdash]

hey Todd, off topic but what did you do with your TD04?

Hijack my thread will you??!

Keeping as a backup...just for this very reason!

[wtdash]

Here's the reply from the seller:

hi, ok This is not right as i removed this from a good engine. i trust what your saying an dont worry for one min as we will sort this.

only thing i that will make it smoke from under the engine bay is the oil feed and return. if there is no smoke out of the exhaust then its a connection error. Oil mist will no escape from the compressor housing into the engine bay.

So he sounds cool about it, except I told him that this was my 5th (or so) swap and this is the FIRST time I've had an oil leak, so I still doubt it's a 'connection error'.

I guess I could take the oil drain tube off the turbo, swap w/another and new gasket, and see.

[wtdash]

Is there anyway to test the oil return tube on the engine/head? If it were plugged it would cause the oil to backup and flow out of the top of the turbo drain hose, correct?

I may put the TD04 back on to compare.

(Oh, BTW my up pipe studs are getting stripped w/all the turbo swaps..beware!)

[brweber352]

I think about a year ago deadbolt had a falling out or something, they changed their website.

I found their website boostplanet.com but it brings up something about a child molester!

If you click on this site:
http://www.boostplanet.com/customer_reviews.htm

it shows what the site should look like. but if you click on home it brings up the child molester thing again. Man i hope the dude that was building all these turbos wasn't a child molester. I'm kinda bummed now thinking I'll never get a deadbolt turbo. I haven' tried calling yet so you might want to, might not.

[brweber352]

I just called the number on the website and got a voicemail for some girl named Amanda Huggins. The website says the founder is Jerry Hagen, so he's not the one in the mugshot. Maybe someone hacked their site, IDK but something is definately wrong.

[wtdash]

yeah the link above - DEADBOLT - states a bunch of non-responses to emails and such.

[RJ93SS]

let's get this thing fixed eh? i need to know how well your stg 2 works with the td05. kidding, but do want to know. the oil is coming from the outside of the turbo for sure, and it sounds like alot. try revving the engine in nuetral to around 4500 to create boost while you look under the hood, the thing is it's such a shitty area to work around with the confined space and heat.

[brweber352]

It's been awhile since I looked back there but I thought the oil return tube on the engine/motor was integrated into the rear cam support, only three bolts hold this on. If you change your oil regularly I highly doubt the tube is clogged up. If you do pull the cam support off make sure you replace all the o-rings, there's a big one for the cam and there's two little ones for a coolant and oil passage, I believe the two small ones are orange. There may be another o-ring but I think that's all of them,its been awhile. This area is very prone to oil leaking and leaks right on the upipe, that's why I suggested this earlier.

I still think it maybe the feedline. You say you have installed alot of turbos so the line has probably been bent back and forth quite a bit, you may need a new one. Have you checked where the oil feed line bolts to the motor, may have worked loose from all the swapping, IDK just something to check. When I swapped to the TD05 I had to work the line over quite a bit to get it to fit, and I'm still not using the little bracket that holds it to the side of the turbo.

I had swapped turbos several times before the TD05 and always reuse the copper washers. The TD05 seeped slightly at the feedline on the turbo after the install and some driving, just snugged the shit out of it and all is good. Is yours tight enough? I'm not saying break the bitch off, but damn snug. You may need to get some New washers.

About the oil return HOSE, I've driven 30 miles home and 30 miles back to work once before I remembered I forgot to put the lower clamp on . I don't think there is as much pressure on the return side as there is on the inlet, or I got damn lucking as it didn't leak a drop. You don't need to use silicone for this, rubber hose is just fine. I usually put the hose on the turbo first and lower it down lining the tube up with it, push slightly and it goes right on. Silicone is gonna be softer and bend easier than rubber so it will probably be a bitch with silicone hose.

You may need to put the TD04 back on to see if it leaks when it's installed now. I'd hate to see you get rid of this turbo and it not be the reason.

I never have problems with the uppipe studs it's always the dowpipe studs, and I always soak them in PB Blaster.

Oh and one more thing, how did you route the F-pipe for the pcv sytem. If you accidentaly cracked/broke this it could get oil everywhere.

Good Luck, if you have any more questions i'll try my best to answer them.

[Mattheww044]

hey Todd, off topic but what did you do with your TD04?

Hijack my thread will you??!

Keeping as a backup...just for this very reason!

haha my bad, just figured Id ask.

[brweber352]

How old are your valve cover gaskets? If you don't have access to a lift, run your hand underneath the pass. side valve cover and feel for oil even if it looks dry on top. Have you checked the pcv lines that are connected to the pass. side valve cover, for that matter all pcv hoses? I recommend only using Fel Pro Perma Seal valve cover gaskets, these are solid blue and will last twice as long as anything else including OE. Any Napa can get these.

Sorry if i'm repeating myself but i'm running out of ideas to what else could be leaking oil in that area. Are you 100% sure the smoke is coming from that corner of the engine bay? Have you actually seen smoke with the hood open or just seen it from the right rear and through the scoop? You may need to just put the TD04 back on to rule out the turbo.

later

[wtdash]

I think it's FIXED!

I pulled the modded heat shield off the turbo, and started it up after sitting again today. After it warmed up, I revved it up to 4K RPM and it started to smoke, but not too much.

The smoke was coming from the heat shield on the up pipe. I removed the lower heat shield on the exhaust manifold under the up pipe so I could look up....thinking maybe it was the valve cover gasket.

After about 10 mins the smoke diminished, even when I revved it up, and when I crawled underneath I couldn't see anything dripping or leaking.

I turned it off for 10 mins, cleaned the garage and went back and checked the oil level - FULL.

So, I took it for a drive around the block got into boost just a little
and no smoke - neither out the back nor out the hood scoop when I stopped.

I decided I was on a roll and headed for the freeway onramps.

Ran great, 17-18+PSI, and No Smoke!

My best guess is that on the 1st install, the new hose I put on the turbo's oil drain got bent or squished, and either blocked the flow of oil and it backed up or similar, and the oil drained down the down pipe and under the heat shield.

After installing it the 2nd time w/the older, rigid hose, my guess is the smoke was just left over from what hadn't burned off yet.

Brian,
Thanks for taking so much time for your feedback.

Todd

[wtdash]

haha my bad, just figured Id ask.

No worries...you're allowed...(dang locals!)

[wtdash]

i need to know how well your stg 2 works with the td05. kidding, but do want to know..

So far it works well. It boosts an extra 1-2 PSI w/the bigger TD05, but doesn't hit fuel cut, which I believe is 19ish due to a limit of the 2 Bar MAP sensor (not MAF).

PM in a week (unless this isn't fixed) and we'll see how I like it
overall.

I should stick my wideband on to see what it's doing, too.

Thanks

[brweber352]

SWEET....
I'd be careful around 18psi unless you got Mike to completely remove the fuel cut, if not it should come on just under 19psi. I hit fuelcut everytime I open my cutout, I try to leave it closed but with it being electric it's so tempting. Also, Mike told me in a email that the TD05 maxes the JECS out around 16.5psi. MAF maxed equals 100% IDC and no control. I've done this a couple times and seems fine just rich, but you never know what might happen. Hopefully the Nissan N60 MAF will be supported soon along with a larger MAP.

Is 17psi freakin awesome with the 16g and chip or what? It's really nice with the FMIC too.

Are you having any oscilations with the BCS like I was having, I'm thinking my BCS could be bad. I've just been using the MBC, I think I mentioned this to you before.

[Mattheww044]

glad to see you god it all figured out Todd... and defiinately keep us updated on your opinion on the TD05 vs. TD04. I will be doing the TD04, but not sure what to look for after that (once I get more money coming in, and supporting mods).

[wtdash]

Also, Mike told me in a email that the TD05 maxes the JECS out around 16.5psi. MAF maxed equals 100% IDC and no control. I've done this a couple times and seems fine just rich, but you never know what might happen. Hopefully the Nissan N60 MAF will be supported soon along with a larger MAP.

Is 17psi freakin awesome with the 16g and chip or what? It's really nice with the FMIC too.

Are you having any oscilations with the BCS like I was having, I'm thinking my BCS could be bad. I've just been using the MBC, I think I mentioned this to you before.

I'll try the wideband again soon to check the AFR @ full boost. I think I'm mega-rich, based on how brown the exhaust/turbine wheel was when I removed the last turbo (VF30).

I need to double-check the Octane Factor, too. I was having issues w/it dropping below 50% w/the TD04. 92 w/10% Ethanol is the max around here.

No oscillations...but haven't driven it much.

Thanks,Td