T04R consuming oil, need help where to go from here..

[Intothenight19]

So after getting my car back from a performance shop I noticed it was pluming white smoke out the exhaust, upon removing the downpipe I found oil sitting in the exhaust housing. :3d_frown: The turbo is a Garrett T04R and probably has less than 1k miles on it, it was installed professionally with a -4 feed line and an adequate return line. When I took the assembly out of both housings there was just oil sitting on the exhaust side of the turbo, as in beneath the exhaust impeller. Aside from being upset I'm just looking for solutions to resolve my problem, do you think the turbo is being overfed with oil? Would a restrictor be a fix for that? It boosts fine and doesn't have any shaft play at all, nothing out of the ordinary anyways. I just don't want to spend wastefully to rebuild it if I don't have to since I already dropped near 3k to get the car back on the road..If anyone could provide me with any direct links or just any info as to where to go from here it would be much appreciated..:1zhelp: Thanks...

 

[MDCmotorsports]

Which TO4R do you have? There are two different versions. One is ball bearing, the other is not.

Does the unit have shaft play? What does your pcv system look like?

 

[Intothenight19]

Aw, thank heavens I got a pro to respond! It's a standard journal bearing model, no shaft play whatsoever. Had a buddy who builds turbo mustangs check out the turbo and he said it seems fine, (who knows though). PCV setup is pretty standard, two hoses on top of the valve covers y-ed into one which goes to a catch can, and another routed through the intake for suction and back into the catch can. No oil in any of the intercooler piping, I think it's getting over-oiled as my start-up pressure is about 60psi, or around it and according to a guy at gpopshop.com it's too much for any turbo to handle. Shortly I'm going to have a new line made as well as add a restrictor to the end and see what happens. Going to also then run the car and pull the return off to see if any flow is being restricted. Will keep you posted..Once again thank you MDC for the timely response as it is appreciated!

 

[thedave925]

whats the turbo dump line look like?

 

[MDCmotorsports]

Take a picture of said catch can and the oil return line. 60psi @ idle is a little much for a garrett.

 

[Intothenight19]

Alrighty, I got the line made but ran into a snag, can't find the proper fitting to return the -3 line into the block. The guy at the hose/fittings shop couldn't id the the thread on my old fitting, the end going into the block. Also I took a few snapshots of my engine quick, please excuse the water under the hood as it's raining like a mofo right now! Oh and after reinstalling the turbo and everything I noticed that when the shop ran a new return line it definitely looks like it could get kinked pretty easy, I have a shot of it but it's pretty dark..Onto the pics...

Oh and sorry if the pics come in a tad big!!:icon_bigg

Edit: Im going to have a new return line made, the one that is on there is junk and is probably half the reason the turbo was leaking oil. If not the main reason.

 

[thedave925]

Nice location for the coil packs
I don't see a problem with the catch can setup, is it possible to open it and see how the baffles are done?

The restrictor is a smart idea, how is it you've got such high start up pressure?
The dump line looks adequate for its purpose, though how long it'll live against the header is to be seen

 

[Intothenight19]

Thanks man, the return line is being changed for a -10 line with an fittings. When I pulled everything off I could see the return hose being kinked slightly, as far as start up pressure I'm not sure but when the car warms up my electric oil gauge reads about 60psi, could be off though who knows...

 

[MDCmotorsports]

I can't tell from the pictures but make sure the pcv and catch can isn't venting any where to the atmosphere.

Also, dollars to dog nuts the drain line being kinked and or going up hill was your culprit more than the 60psi of oil pressure.

 

[BlackDevilSupra]

A little less constriction on the PCV lines could also help