Help Needed- Newly "finished" Turbo Install

[l_uk3y]

Hey guys.

Just "finished" the install on my Hypergear Atr43i turbo on my R33 (Rb25). I've been very careful in making sure that everything has been connected up / filled etc.

Anyways first test tonight. Engine started straight away, idle was a bit rough, revs dropped very low, then came back upto normal rpm range. Touched the accelerator for a fraction of a 2nd and it felt like it was going to cut out. Then left it idling

Left the car idling for about 1-2 minutes with bonnet up inspecting for any problems. PROBLEM ARRIVED. Smoke started coming from the turbo/dump pipe (white smoke only coming from that location). They were extremely hot after such a short time. Shut the engine down. After a couple of minutes the smoke stopped coming off.

Now trying to diagnose the problem before I have another go. The Oil feed and return lines are definately connected and not leaking. Coolant lines to turbo definately connected, minor leak on 1 side but only like a drip or 2 every week.

The CAS sensor was removed during the install and put back in with the marks lining up nicely (by eye but without timing light). (potential source of problem maybe????)

ECU is power FC. Same tune as was on stock turbo however the car was only at idle so nothing crazy should occuring with the tune I dont believe???

Engine never had any problems before the install. So shouldn't be an issue now. The turbo is the only actual new component other then hoses/lines. (injectors and AFM are still in the cupboard)

Afterwards I checked all my lines and hoses and the only thing that I managed to find was the wire that usually grounds off on the exhaust manifold wasn't connected (just the washer on a flat wire). Didn't restart the car after reconnecting this.

Sorry for the long and broken up post, trying to keep it nice and easy to follow.

Any ideas what a potential source of the problem might be???? Any factors for me to consider and particular parts to test?

Any help would be much appreciated as I have been very careful throughout the install making sure I've double checked everything and dont believe i've missed anything.

Cheers for any help

Luke

[R31Nismoid]

Hrm... interesting. Was is coolant or oil smell?

You didn't get anything on the turbo/dump exterior? Coolant/oil/some sort of lube etc?

That would just be it burning off. I've had that happen to a dump pipe before without realising it, oil down one side and 2-3mins after it started a nice cloud

[TiTAN]

you would also be surprised how quickly exhaust manifolds/turbos heat up.

[l_uk3y]

Unsure with smell. Was far too hot to touch immediately afterwards. After it cooled down just enough I touched the dump pipe and had a really dry feel to it (lol like a piece of steak left in the pan far too long ). The turbo may have a very minor oily mist over it but nothing that stands out. I couldn't tell if the smoke was coming from the inside of the pipework and leaking through a joint or whether it was coming off the surface area. The fact that the turbo and pipework got so hot after such a short period of time considering it was only idling has me rather concerned.

[R31Nismoid]

(lol like a piece of steak left in the pan far too long ).

I can't say i've ever engaged in such sacreligious events...

But given idle temps IIRC are around 300 degree's, fair easy to see why it would be a tad warm

Perhaps have a bit more of a look in better light as to where exactly it's coming from?

[l_uk3y]

Alrightly I'll take a closer look tomorrow after work.

So leaving it idle even though it seems to be getting hot very quickly shouldn't do any major damage?

Im a bit worryed about damaging the turbo if somethings not right. I'll take a closer look tommorow night. I've love to hear any other thoughts of any small tests I could do or things to confirm are right.

If I cant figure it out from there I might try and get it towed to my mechanic (grr as I really really want to finish this myself and just have them double check the timing when im finished)

Either way. I better get back home now before the wife starts getting shitty about me putting the car before this movie we are meant to be watching together tonight. (lmao)

[R31Nismoid]

As long as the turbo is getting oil & water, then there won't be any damage being done.

Perhaps also drop the oil return, and coolant return if you are worried (before continuing). Bit of a pain in the ass - but also a good test none the less either way.

If you start up and oil/coolant is coming out @ a nice rate then you wont be doing any damage by having it idle for a couple of mins to track down the source of smoke and so on.

[rob82]

Is the half moon key still in the CAS and in the camshaft?

[The Dan]

Could have the timing retarded as suggested in above post. It would get it very hot very quick.

Just make sure also that you don't have an air lock in the cooling system at the turbo. Crack one of the lines and make sure there is water coming out, that way you'll know it's def getting water in there. But even no water wouldn't make it get excessively hot. The only thing water does is cool it down when it's really hot.

[NSNPWR]

Anyways first test tonight. Engine started straight away, idle was a bit rough, revs dropped very low, then came back upto normal rpm range. Touched the accelerator for a fraction of a 2nd and it felt like it was going to cut out. Then left it idling

Left the car idling for about 1-2 minutes with bonnet up inspecting for any problems. PROBLEM ARRIVED. Smoke started coming from the turbo/dump pipe (white smoke only coming from that location). They were extremely hot after such a short time. Shut the engine down. After a couple of minutes the smoke stopped coming off.

So whats the problem? As others have covered, aside from the smoke which I would say considering youve been handling your dump etc with oily hands is quite normal...I would let it run for a while, dont be afraid of it, let the smoke burn off, it will, might take a while, just monitor water temp on pfc and check the timing asap...

Edited April 14, 2010 by NSNPWR

[Ruffels]

The funny idle will be from moving the cas, only a timing light will truely get it back to its right position

a bigger turbo (especially the one you have) will not severely affect the idle... it should be fine...

make sure all the banjo's have new washers on either side...

also the smoke you are witnessing will be greasy residue from your hands that you have left on the turbo, burning off! this will take a good 15-20 minutes to go away

also having removed the turbo i hope you've refilled and most importantly re-bled the cooling system of any air as this can cause hot spots and make everything very unhappy

[axe s]

also degreaser will stay on metal untill it heats up and burns off... will only smoke for about 5 mins...

[Thelen]

If you start up and oil/coolant is coming out @ a nice rate then you wont be doing any damage by having it idle for a couple of mins to track down the source of smoke and so on.

Well if it is idling, the turbo won't be running very fast, therefore not require much lube/coolant anyway yea?

[R31Nismoid]

Well not overtly for a min or twp...

But it's also doubling as a check nothing is blocked and so on which is not going to hurt given the situation

[paulR32gtr]

Smoke can also come from certain gaskets, thread and manifold seal / anti-seize etc -- as the other guys have mentioned I quite often find you get a bit of smoke after changing over turbos / manifolds etc. Imagine spending two after work all nighters to change the twins on an old 26, only to have it start smoking furiously at start up.. was ready to drive the POS into a lake - but it burned off after about 10 minutes

Insurance is to make sure oil is getting to your turbo even at idle as ash said drop your return line - I always do this before starting the engine cranking with the ignition and/or CAS disconnected until oil comes out to make sure the turbos are primed first - then reconnect oil drains and start it but don't stress you should be ok.

Just let it idle for a while and keep checking everything and the smoke should stop.

[aerofocker]

spilt coolant white smoke?

[Kwyjibo]

I got smoke for about 20 minutes when I installed a new turbo, and again when I removed it and put it back on. For me it was just residue burning off. Not saying that is defintely it in your carse but if its coming from the dump pipe/turbo it should be a closed system so it shouldn't be coming from within.

[l_uk3y]

Thanks for the help guys. Only had a chance to start it up once more. The smoke appears to be coming from around the flange between turbo and dump but it doesn't appear to be coming from a leak. The first sign of smoke occurs at 3.5 minutes (stopwatch).

This arvo i'll drop the oil drain to double check and just let it run for a while. Im thinking of dropping the split dump pipe and replacing with a justjap bellmouth as I wasn't entirely happy with the way the split dump lined up with the new turbo. (The pipes, not the flange).

For now we'll let the bugger run and see where we end up.

[boostn0199]

Chances are its something burning off and yeah the turbo will get hot thats normal , but if it doenst go away tends to point there being a leak and its causing something to burn

[Kinks]

Exhaust getting hot is quite normal, EGTs are in the hundreds of degrees range even at idle - you can boil water off your dump pipe. Burning yourself starts at only 50C which is about 30 degrees above ambient.. and if you start your car for more than about 30 seconds the exhaust near the manifold will be too hot to touch.

As others have said seeing smoke is quite normal. there will ALWAYS be some grease etc on the exhaust after assembly and the first 5 minutes it will smoke off. you will hear it if there is a gas leak. drop your oil return to make sure there's black gold coming through if you're worried about the turbo getting oil, otherwise it sounds like you have nothing wrong

+1 for bellmouth dump as well. heard too many reports of problems with split dumps and wastegate fouling or boost creep. I bought a JJR belmouth dump in stainless and the welds were really good - neat and TIG'd. very surprised for a cheap chinese dump to come out that good and I get 180rwkw with no boost mods so it must be doing something right.