Hey guys. I have been burning thru turbos quicker than I have been doing oil changes! So far the tally is 3 turbos in less than a year with the current one letting go after only 2 months. the turbos have all been rebuilt by a reputable company and they have swapped turbos out for me on warranty so I dont even have the origional any more. every time is comes back as "oil contamination" which makes little sense as i have been running mobil 1 15w50 year round and have great oil pressure (20 psi at idle, 45 ish cruise, 60+ under wot and the upper rpms) i have been using a wix filter with no issues and the oil come out looking grea each time. i have primed the turbos each time.....frustrated!:cry:
High oil pressure killing turbos?
- Thread starter MKIIINA
- Start date
maybe your turbo doesn't have a oil restrictor in it.
here is one, fairly cheap.
too much oil pressure will kill a turbo's bearings.
http://www.atpturbo.com/Merchant2/m...OD&Product_Code=ATP-OIL-022&Category_Code=OIL
here is one, fairly cheap.
too much oil pressure will kill a turbo's bearings.
http://www.atpturbo.com/Merchant2/m...OD&Product_Code=ATP-OIL-022&Category_Code=OIL
I'm running 15w50, and yeah, it is thick. I never see 60lbs oil pressure, 40 at the most - because I always start the car and let it idle for a minute or two to warm up before I go anywhere!
No boosting until fully warmed up, as well
No boosting until fully warmed up, as well
I bet they are considering front and rear seal failure as oil contamination (sp?). That is way too much psi for any turbo.
40psi max under full LOAD.
40psi max under full LOAD.
jetjock said:
it was 101 today here in tx and tonight it got down to 85! woot! the turbo came with the install kit of sending and return line from the mfg and was always turbo timed down. never really specified other than just "oil contamination"
I have been running 15-50 in my Supra as well, and it NEVER goes above 45 on my oil preasure guage. It sounds like you have a possible restriction leading to a momentary lack of oil into your turbo, or you have a restriction on the other side, not allowing the oil to escape the turbo fast enough, super-heating, and loosing it's properties. Has the oil ever smelled burnt? That just seems like way to high of oil preasure. My car has never read that high.
*shrug* check your lines?
*shrug* check your lines?
checked over both the lines and theres no restriction. i ran the same oil back when i had my ct26 w/ the same oil pressure and no issues for 80+k miles. the oil never smells burned until it comes out my exhaust when the turbo seals went today the temp was up there around 101 again according to the weather channel.
today the temp was up there around 101 again according to the weather channel.
Adjuster
Supramania Contributor
I would get a restrictor to limit how much oil is being forced into your CHRA.
Basicly it's a hole 2 to 3 32nds in size.
If your running higher than "normal" oil pressure, it likely will put way too much oil into the CHRA, and that forces the excess oil out the exhaust side under boost conditions, and it might be sucked into the compressor side under vac conditions.
This is especially true if your have a ball bearing setup. (They need less oil, and IIRC, Garrett has started to drill the supply side hole to the right size so there can be no possible reason for over oiling the CHRA.)
I bought a AN4 adapter with the restricted hole drilled into it. (So AN4 from the block to the turbo, then the restricter plate.)
Basicly it's a hole 2 to 3 32nds in size.
If your running higher than "normal" oil pressure, it likely will put way too much oil into the CHRA, and that forces the excess oil out the exhaust side under boost conditions, and it might be sucked into the compressor side under vac conditions.
This is especially true if your have a ball bearing setup. (They need less oil, and IIRC, Garrett has started to drill the supply side hole to the right size so there can be no possible reason for over oiling the CHRA.)
I bought a AN4 adapter with the restricted hole drilled into it. (So AN4 from the block to the turbo, then the restricter plate.)
Yes! it does kill the turbo, esp the oil seals, make sure u have a rest. plate im gettin one for mine after the third turbo. :nono: I am running 4 mm shim on oil pump and Rotella oil. With new oil pump, fresh Rotella oil, cold, high rpm im seeing 80 PSI. I dont drive it untill the car warms up a little and the oil pressure goes down though.
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Can't see how it will "kill" a turbo it will just flood it and as soon as you correct the issue it should be fine again as long as you haven't coked the Oil onto the shaft!
I run 90+ psi above 4000.
I run 90+ psi above 4000.
IJ. said:
I have blown out my oil seals twice, IJ you prolly have a rest. in the line or in the turbo
Newer BB Turbo's have the restriction but my point is Turbo's don't have conventional rubber lip type seals that can "blow".....
IJ. said:
Your saying turbos dont have oil seals... ummm okay then what blows out to cause oil in the downpipe and smoke out the exhaust? If its not a oil seal then what is it? a coolant seal lol One of my turbos I had the oil pump running too much pressure around 100 PSI and I hear a big POP!! and oil is everywhere in the downpipe, I replace the turbo and its good to go
Dont you think 90+ PSI is a little excessive IJ!!??
http://www.approvedturbo.com/troubleshooting.htm
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Reading and Comprehension are good things Porter
Of course they have seals just not the type that can fold under like a Lip seal.
Most will have a combination of Seals usually a plain Piston ring type seal and a Labyrinth Seal and Sometimes a Carbon Face seal.
If a Turbo is Smoking like you describe from excessive Pressure/Flow or inadequate/blocked drain 9 times out of 10 it's Flooded the Labyrinth and once you correct this it will stop in a day or so once all of the Oil is burned off.
In the Old days before Water Cooled CHRA's and Good Turbo rated Oils if you shut the motor down without an idle down you risked Coking the Oil one the shaft and Piston ring seal as as this carbon is quite hard it would destroy the smooth shaft and ring and soon enough you'd have the James Bond Smoke screen following you around! (This is why Turbo Timers were invented which I'm proud to say I've never owned one)
I see the "Blown seals" thing posted over and over and have to wonder how much money has been spent needlesly and how many greedy rebuilders have washed a Turbo banged a restrictor in and charged for a rebuild!
If you have a dead Turbo sitting around pull it apart they're really VERY simple
Of course they have seals just not the type that can fold under like a Lip seal.
Most will have a combination of Seals usually a plain Piston ring type seal and a Labyrinth Seal and Sometimes a Carbon Face seal.
If a Turbo is Smoking like you describe from excessive Pressure/Flow or inadequate/blocked drain 9 times out of 10 it's Flooded the Labyrinth and once you correct this it will stop in a day or so once all of the Oil is burned off.
In the Old days before Water Cooled CHRA's and Good Turbo rated Oils if you shut the motor down without an idle down you risked Coking the Oil one the shaft and Piston ring seal as as this carbon is quite hard it would destroy the smooth shaft and ring and soon enough you'd have the James Bond Smoke screen following you around! (This is why Turbo Timers were invented which I'm proud to say I've never owned one)
I see the "Blown seals" thing posted over and over and have to wonder how much money has been spent needlesly and how many greedy rebuilders have washed a Turbo banged a restrictor in and charged for a rebuild!
If you have a dead Turbo sitting around pull it apart they're really VERY simple
I'd suggest that 9 times out of 10 the rings are shaged and theres a positive pressure in the crank case helping things along!
i recently replaced the seals on my ct26 and i find oil in the accordian. could my higher than average oil pressure (7MGE) be doing it?
Adjuster
Supramania Contributor
Oil in your accodian intake pipe is normal. (Your valve cover vents go into the accordian pipe, and this draws off any blowby gases, and oil vapor that comes out the valve covers.)
The idea is to burn off those hydrocarbons by routing them to the intake again.
The down side is that the hydrocarbons condense on your intercooler, and you get a thin coating of oil in your intake, IC and IC pipes as a result.
The upside is that by putting a vacume source on your motor, it makes it easy for the oil to drain out of the turbo back into the oil pan where it can be used again to lubricate your motor. (After the foam goes away. The oil that drains off turbochargers being used at high boost pressures is very frothy. It's just been churned up by a shaft spinning somewhere between 70,000 and 150,000 rpm.)
This "froth" is why the larger drain is needed, and if your engine is not vented well, or builds up excessive blow by pressure in the crank case, it will cause the "froth" to build up and oil then can get around the piston ring seals, and out your exhaust...causing the smoke..
Running your motor with a good vacume on the crankcase actually adds horsepower. (Drag motors run converted pumps to create extra vacume on the crankcase, and that adds up to more power than what is needed to run the pump off a fanbelt actually.)
For our turbo motors, a good catch can between your valve covers and the intake will condense some of the oil vapor, so your drawing less oil vapor into the intake, and coating your turbo, pipes and FMIC with less oil as well, but still have the advantage of drawing off excess pressure from the crank case by simply routing it to the intake pre turbo.
The idea is to burn off those hydrocarbons by routing them to the intake again.
The down side is that the hydrocarbons condense on your intercooler, and you get a thin coating of oil in your intake, IC and IC pipes as a result.
The upside is that by putting a vacume source on your motor, it makes it easy for the oil to drain out of the turbo back into the oil pan where it can be used again to lubricate your motor. (After the foam goes away. The oil that drains off turbochargers being used at high boost pressures is very frothy. It's just been churned up by a shaft spinning somewhere between 70,000 and 150,000 rpm.)
This "froth" is why the larger drain is needed, and if your engine is not vented well, or builds up excessive blow by pressure in the crank case, it will cause the "froth" to build up and oil then can get around the piston ring seals, and out your exhaust...causing the smoke..
Running your motor with a good vacume on the crankcase actually adds horsepower. (Drag motors run converted pumps to create extra vacume on the crankcase, and that adds up to more power than what is needed to run the pump off a fanbelt actually.)
For our turbo motors, a good catch can between your valve covers and the intake will condense some of the oil vapor, so your drawing less oil vapor into the intake, and coating your turbo, pipes and FMIC with less oil as well, but still have the advantage of drawing off excess pressure from the crank case by simply routing it to the intake pre turbo.