I replaced my kinked oil draintube the other night, I was kind of suspect of the turbo being bad, but I crossed my fingers and tried the tube first. I let the car idle and warm up for a while, and it smoked some, nothing like when the drain tube was kinked and dumping oil into the exhaust. I took it for a ride, runs good with just a little bit of throttle, put it to the floor and as soon as I start to feel the boost come on it falls flat on its face and starts pouring smoke out off the exahust. What do you guys think, do I need to start shipping for a turbo?
I think I need a turbo
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Jerryl
Tall Unvaccinated Chinese Guy
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You could have multiple issues going on.
Smoke can be an indication of a bad turbo, but that is not necessarily the case.
The "falling on its face" could be lot of things as well, including KR, especially if there is oil in the intake/chambers.
Remove the DP and look into the TB and see if they are wet with oil.
Also, see if there is "up and down" and "in/out" play on the turbo while you have the DP and TB off.
Report back.
Oh, if you don't have a scan tool or a way to monitor KR, don't floor the car/get into boost. :wink:
racemybuick
Hot Air Teacher/Student
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what color is the smoke? that is a huge indication of what issues you may have... grey is usually oil, white or blue is usually water/antifreeze, black is usually a fuel issue, or heavy, heavy oil!
if your turbo down pipe is covered in oil on the inside, you can narrow down your issues... A compression test may also need to be performed to make sure you didnt hurt any of your pistons.cylinders/valves.... the fact that you say it is falling flat leads me to believe you have major knock issues, or you may have lost valves/compression on cylinders... Also, is your spark plug wire order correct? Sorry to seem remedial, however, i have seen it twice where my students mix up spark plug wires (i dont fix their problems, I make them do it), and when the mixed up the wires, the cars usually ran fine at idle/little throttle, but hit the pedal and BOOM, the cars/trucks SUCKED!!!!
Good luck, keep us posted... post pix of your turbo to us if you can!
John:biggrin:
if your turbo down pipe is covered in oil on the inside, you can narrow down your issues... A compression test may also need to be performed to make sure you didnt hurt any of your pistons.cylinders/valves.... the fact that you say it is falling flat leads me to believe you have major knock issues, or you may have lost valves/compression on cylinders... Also, is your spark plug wire order correct? Sorry to seem remedial, however, i have seen it twice where my students mix up spark plug wires (i dont fix their problems, I make them do it), and when the mixed up the wires, the cars usually ran fine at idle/little throttle, but hit the pedal and BOOM, the cars/trucks SUCKED!!!!
Good luck, keep us posted... post pix of your turbo to us if you can!
John:biggrin:
Thanks. I will check out the things that you both mentioned this weekend.
Let me give you the back story on this car.
I got it about a month ago from a guy that new nothing about workign on cars. The turbo shaft had broken, and he had a "rebuilt" turbo put on by a "mechanic" that did it in his front yard for $50 cash. After the new turbo it started smoking really bad and he just gave up on it. After I got it home I found the oil draintube to be kinked and cracked. It had been spewing oil all over the back of the motor and obviously blowing it into the exhaust through the turbo. Before replacing the drain tube I pulled the Down pipe and elbow off, both were full of oil. I also did a compression test, all cylinders were between 144-147 psi. I noticed the spark plugs looked like they had been burning oil, but who knows how long they have been in the car. I replaced the drain tube the other night, I saw some oil in the intake but not alot. I appreciate all of your advice and will keep you posted, I'm sure I will have more questions.
Let me give you the back story on this car.
I got it about a month ago from a guy that new nothing about workign on cars. The turbo shaft had broken, and he had a "rebuilt" turbo put on by a "mechanic" that did it in his front yard for $50 cash. After the new turbo it started smoking really bad and he just gave up on it. After I got it home I found the oil draintube to be kinked and cracked. It had been spewing oil all over the back of the motor and obviously blowing it into the exhaust through the turbo. Before replacing the drain tube I pulled the Down pipe and elbow off, both were full of oil. I also did a compression test, all cylinders were between 144-147 psi. I noticed the spark plugs looked like they had been burning oil, but who knows how long they have been in the car. I replaced the drain tube the other night, I saw some oil in the intake but not alot. I appreciate all of your advice and will keep you posted, I'm sure I will have more questions.
I let the car run today for a while. I wanted to make sure that the smoke was not just left over oil from my previous problem. After a while it wasn't smoking at idle, but as soon as I gave it a little throttle, smoke poured out of the exhaust. I'm going to pull the turbo off tomorrow. I also verified that the firing order was correct
racemybuick
Hot Air Teacher/Student
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hmmmm...sounds like a turbo seal is gone... i had that with 2 turbos!!!
John:biggrin:
John:biggrin:
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You can send your current turbo to John Craig with Limit Engineering. He can turn it into a TA-33 or just do a stock rebuild...I just had an 86/87 rebuilt by them and it came back looking like a work of art...almost felt bad bolting it on! Quick turn around time too!
Here is a link: :: Limit Engineering ::
Here is a link: :: Limit Engineering ::
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racemybuick
Hot Air Teacher/Student
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frirz has a 33c in MINT condition, never used for an amazing price!!!
I want it real bad, but im hurtin till mid september probably, maybe even later for the $$$!!! hard summer for us teachers!!!
Anyway, check his turbo out, it is the limit t33c... That is so far, the best bolt on aside from alky for our cars!!!
John:biggrin:
I want it real bad, but im hurtin till mid september probably, maybe even later for the $$$!!! hard summer for us teachers!!!
Anyway, check his turbo out, it is the limit t33c... That is so far, the best bolt on aside from alky for our cars!!!
John:biggrin:
Wow, that is nice work, I would just put that on my mantle so I could admire it.
As far as the turbo that Fritz has for sale, I would love to step up to that, but, it's just not in the budget right now. I have a baby on the way, and as far as my wife is concerned I shouldn't have gotten into this project in the first place.
Any ideas what limit engineering would charge for a stock rebuild? I have a local guy that I deal with at work, that will do it for $250. Any idea where I could find a good used turbo?
Jerryl
Tall Unvaccinated Chinese Guy
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Sounds about right, if there is no damage to the wheels or housing.
Having paid for a few rebuilds (All by Limit BTW), I would have the local guy rebuild the turbo.
IMHO, it is just not worth sending it accross the country for a stock rebuild.
Make SURE they get the correct seals in it.
I got ahold of a good used turbo from a member here. Installed it today, and my car is no longer a mosquito fogger. It runs pretty good, but it's still not right. The next step will be to check/replace the vacuum hoses, and plugs, wires and filters. Thanks for all the good advice, I probably would have given up on this car if I didn't have this site.
