Turbo Oil Leak Dripping On Header = Stinks!

[Marko R1]

hi guys,

last night for the 1st time i could smell an unusual burning under the bonnet & noticed a very slight bit of smoke - i checked it out as i put the car on ramps & noticed that there is a very slight & slooow oil drip from the bottom of the rear turbine housing (hks gtss setup) & the oil actually drips on the exhaust header hence the bad smell...

even if i look at the front turbine there is a little bit of oil on the bottom of that turbine as well which is relatively common as i also had this on my previous gtr. my mechanic also advised this is nothing unusual on a gtr.

what really bothers me is not the pissy little leak BUT the oil drips on the header & the stench is not good - what could this be (oil seal in the turbine itself)? has anyone else had a similar problem?

regards.

marko

[R31 POWER]

I'd be checking the cam cover gasket and or oil feed's to the turbos.

[Marko R1]

good starting point - are the cam cover gaskets rubber & reusable 'if' they are not cracked or broken?

if it is this problem i can probably use gasket sealant to fix this

[WARLORD]

oil feed to turbos. (don't worry about it) lol

[The Dan]

good starting point - are the cam cover gaskets rubber & reusable 'if' they are not cracked or broken?

if it is this problem i can probably use gasket sealant to fix this

don't use sealant, you'll only make the leak worse.

Replace them.

The oil at the front of the turbo is likely to be coming from the rocker cover breather that vents back into the pipe on the intake. Fit a decent catch can to eliminate this. Oil from the turbine housing could be an oil seal but is probably coming from the oil feed etc. as stated above. Have it checked out or clean it down and check it again in a couple of days. You be able to see where the leak comes from easier that way.

[WARLORD]

use some pink chewy for the gasket

[Marko R1]

hi guys,

here is the latest update: i had my mechanic look at my car today on the hoist & he said that this is 'blow by' which is common with most gtr's which he has seen in the past, both turbos are actually leaking from the back of the turbo housing.

reason for this - you get a build up of oil in the intercooler plumbing which eventually is pushed through the turbos hence it then leaks through the housing with pressure & heat. i did notice the oil in these pipes, question is how does the oil end up in the intercooler plumbing?

[Swiper the Fox]

question is how does the oil end up in the intercooler plumbing?

through the rocker cover breather pipe as mentioned above

Edited October 7, 2008 by DiRTgarage

[Marko R1]

ok i will block off the breather that runs from the rocker cover to the intake pipe. do i also need to clean out the oil that has collected in my plumbing & intercooler or will this continue to blow out over time?

if i look at the way i installed my catch can, i have fitted the catch can hoses to the rocker cover fittings which are pointing toward the front of the car & the driver side rocker cover fitting which points to the right wheel is still connected as per factory with the black hose - i assume i dont need to alter these fittings as well?

[femno]

What? How does oil from blow-by end up dripping off the rear housings???

[Marko R1]

What? How does oil from blow-by end up dripping off the rear housings???

it makes sense - i am running a catch can to collect blow by but i did not block off the plumbing that runs between the rocker cover & intake pipe which is between the air filter & turbo, the way i had it setup meant that whenever i'd push the car the blow by on the exhaust side would be split with 50% going to the catch can & the other 50% going into my intake pipe which in fact plumbs to my leaking rear turbo. when i took this pipe off it was full of oil.

the reason it leaks out of the turbo housing is because it is designed to take oil from the intake opening thus leaks from the housing

[Marko R1]

through the rocker cover breather pipe as mentioned above

i have blocked off the breather pipe & took the car for another drive after wiping down the front pipe from the leaking oil - there was oil still dripping onto the front pipe but it didnt appear to be as much...this must be the left over oil in the turbo housing, how long should it take for the remaining oil in the housing to be expelled?

[The Dan]

i have blocked off the breather pipe & took the car for another drive after wiping down the front pipe from the leaking oil - there was oil still dripping onto the front pipe but it didnt appear to be as much...this must be the left over oil in the turbo housing, how long should it take for the remaining oil in the housing to be expelled?

You need to make sure the crankcase can actually vent. Does the catch can have a filter on it? If not, then don't block that fitting as the engine will build up pressure and pop the dipstick out or blow an oil seal somewhere or it can make the turbos leak from the seals.

Primary objective is to let the breathers vent to a neutral pressure system. If you have two of the breathers going to a can that has no vent filter, the one that points to the passenger wheel is blocked and the one that points to the driver's wheel goes to the PCV Valve, then the crankcase cannot expel the pressure build up so it will escape another way....a more undesirable way.

[Marko R1]

You need to make sure the crankcase can actually vent. Does the catch can have a filter on it? If not, then don't block that fitting as the engine will build up pressure and pop the dipstick out or blow an oil seal somewhere or it can make the turbos leak from the seals.

Primary objective is to let the breathers vent to a neutral pressure system. If you have two of the breathers going to a can that has no vent filter, the one that points to the passenger wheel is blocked and the one that points to the driver's wheel goes to the PCV Valve, then the crankcase cannot expel the pressure build up so it will escape another way....a more undesirable way.

yes, my catch can does have a filter so it can vent to atmosphere, i have blocked off the breather plumbing between the rocker cover & intake pipe...im just wondering how long it should take for the remaining oil in the turbine housing to be expelled out, what are your thoughts?

[The Dan]

yes, my catch can does have a filter so it can vent to atmosphere, i have blocked off the breather plumbing between the rocker cover & intake pipe...im just wondering how long it should take for the remaining oil in the turbine housing to be expelled out, what are your thoughts?

I would expect a week at most.

You can detach the pipe and clean it out if you want. That oughta sort it out.

[BezerkR32]

you realise the oil has to pass through two seals and run along the shaft to pass from the compressor cover to the turbine housing. sounds like wishfull thinking too me.

yes, my catch can does have a filter so it can vent to atmosphere, i have blocked off the breather plumbing between the rocker cover & intake pipe...im just wondering how long it should take for the remaining oil in the turbine housing to be expelled out, what are your thoughts?

[Wheezy]

You should also be aware that you need to sufficiently vent the crank case, just because you have one breather does not mean that it is venting enough. You may still get a pressure build up.

And the pressure usually goes out the easiest route (turbo seals etc)...

Personally I would clean and dry your intake / intercooler piping / intercooler. And let it dry properly.

[Marko R1]

I would expect a week at most.

You can detach the pipe and clean it out if you want. That oughta sort it out.

i have removed & cleaned the intake pipe for the rear turbo, is this the pipe you are referring to cleaning out?

btw this intake pipe was filthy, it had pools of oil in the rib lining & when i slipped it off the front of the turbo oil oozed out of the opening & also had a puddle of oil at the bottom of the turbo intake - i can see how the breather hose was the issue here

[The Dan]

You should also be aware that you need to sufficiently vent the crank case, just because you have one breather does not mean that it is venting enough. You may still get a pressure build up.

And the pressure usually goes out the easiest route (turbo seals etc)...

Personally I would clean and dry your intake / intercooler piping / intercooler. And let it dry properly.

I'm not sure if anyone else noticed it but if you read his first post he mentions the rear turbine housing. But if you think about it, the turbine housing is going to be just as hot, if not hotter, than the manifold. I don't see how the oil could run along the turbine housing, drip onto the manifold, then burn on the manifold. It would be burning on the turbine housing before it even dripped.

That is why I deduced that he was actually referring to the compressor cover but called it a turbine housing.

I could be way off though.

[Marko R1]

i blocked off the rocker cover plumbing but with a crap bung which started to leak when i was driving toward the cbd & the amount of smoke was scary to say the least & embarrassing (so i could only imagine how much oil was forced into the intake pipe with the original plumbing setup)

i then bought a hose end cap & did this properly & since it is still leaking from the turbo onto the front pipe but no where near as much - i may need to pull out the entire plumbing & intercooler to clean out the oil if it keeps dripping the way it is...maybe i just need to give it a bit more time until the oil eventually dissipates from the plumbing - any thoughts here guys?