Please Help - Turbo Leaking!!

[ChevyNo1]

I've got a twin-turbo Chevrolet, and I hear you guys are the experts on turbos if anybody are.

I've got a low-hanging turbo, lowest point in the oil system. The passenger side is dripping a few drops of oil each nite, and then in the morning about 30 seconds after startup, blue-grey smoke for a few minutes, then it's cleared up and no smoke at all. Are the seals gone and that's why it's leaking? Or is this just the result of another problem, such as the turbo not getting scavenged properly? There is a scavenge pump to push it back to the oilpan. It's an Incon kit, not the greatest design.

I'm at my wits end trying to figure this one out. If I have the seals redone by Limit Engineering and I put it back in, I may be back in the same boat. Am I correct in assuming that even with good seals, a turbo will leak if oil collects at all in it?

Thanks!!!

- Doug

 

[ChevyNo1]

Thanks for all the help!

 

[ross87t]

Originally posted by ChevyNo1
Thanks for all the help!

No problem.

 

[litdog83z]

where is it leaking from? like into the exhaust, into the intake, or onto the shop floor?

 

[ChevyNo1]

Originally posted by litdog83z
where is it leaking from? like into the exhaust, into the intake, or onto the shop floor?

all 3! the longer it sits, the worse it is. So it's slowly making it's way into the turbo.

- Dug

 

[Worthog]

Yes, the problem could be from the turbo not draining properly, the seals could be fine. Do you have any way of running the scavenge pumps for a bit after you shut the car off? I'd imagine the oil is running out of the feed line, backing up behind the scavenge pump, and then leaking out of the seals.

I had a similar problem on a formula car, and running the scavenge pump for a bit after shutdown helped.

If you do run the scavenge pump after you shut the car off, make sure to crank the car for a bit before letting it actually fire. That way you can get some oil back in the feed line and the turbo won't starve for oil on startup.

May not help you at all, but its something to try.

 

[ChevyNo1]

Thanks a lot for the suggestions . . . I can run it for a bit longer, I will give that a try.

- Dug