turbo seals?

supratkfy

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Mar 30, 2005
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i got some kind of a leak bleow my turbo wwhere the accordian hose connects? is it the seals? i changed my old turbo to another used turbo which is this one when i did my HG becuase the old one had chipped fins...i did boost 12 psi on occasion since I had an EBC....do you think i should just go upgrade turbo and get the 550's or should i just replace it for another used one since i'm not sure what i want to do in the future....? let me know what you guys htink Thanks
 

IHI-RHC7

"The Boss"
Apr 1, 2005
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Rings...
Or the compressor seal is leaking. I'd get a mechanical vaccum gauge and use it to diagnose the condition of your motor. There's a tech page around here that tells how to read a vaccum gauge to tell if your valve stem seals are leaking, an intake manifold leak, worn rings, etc. A comp test and leakdown test will tell you a lot as well.
The easiest way would be to clean the accordian hose, and TEMPORARILLY disconnect the PCV system. Drive the car around, and see if 1. the pcv hose is blowing oil all around, and 2. the accordian pipe stayed clean.
If the accordian pipe stays clean, the turbo is ok, and the rings are letting some compression past, and blowing oily vapor into the accordian pipe.
If the acordian pipe is still oily, then the compressor seal is leaking, and the turbo need a rebuild. If the above is true, and the PCV pipe is leaking, then you need to recondition the turbo, as well as freshen up the engine.
Hope this helps.
-Jake
 

supratkfy

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Mar 30, 2005
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thanks IHI-RHc7 i understand what you are saying....but i forgot to mention that i just changed the HG and had the head rebuilt about a year ago and maybe 8000-10000 miles ago not sure about the mileage. when i did a compression test before i took the head apart the rings were still good...leak down test showed good results so i thought the rings were good...but maybe after the 8000 miles the rings could have gone bad? i'm only thinking turbo because i put in a used turbo that i bought from the forum that the memeber claimed was low mileage...so yea thanks
 

supratkfy

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Mar 30, 2005
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ok i doubled check the accordian pipe when i did my FMIC install this weekend...the accordian had only a thin residue...no big oil spots or anything...so i'm guessing its the rings.....? its actually not as bad because my cars has been down for about a week and oil level is still 3/4 full.......i check my engine oil level every other day to make sure.....the only thing is i'm worried that my rings are bad......one thing i noticed is i have a blitz DSBC installed and one of the hoses connecting to the wastegate when u squeeze it a little, a little bit of oil comes out of it? any info on that?

i fill about maybe 1.5 quarts per oil change which is every 2500 miles i also did plugs and no oil on the tip, very little on the threaded section? so it can't be valve seals?
 

MDCmotorsports

Offical SM Expert: Turbochargers
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Mar 31, 2005
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Not sure why you are loosing that much oil between changes.

But if your turbo seals leak, there will be large pools of oil in the accordian hose, and the car will smoke like mad.

As for the thin film, it most prob. from your PCV system.
 

supratkfy

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Mar 30, 2005
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i don't know either....im just hoping its not the piston rings....but when i did the HG about 7000 miles ago, the rings were fine when i did the leak down.....so i'm guessing it can't be that....i'm gonna rebuild the turbo and see whats up.