I know I should probably post in FI forum, but more people read this...

Anyway, ran into a little problem and the return line got plugged...
Oil oozed out both sides of the turbo, (comp and turbine)...
got a little shaft play, turns very smoothly still, maybe a total of 1/8" radial, NO axial play.
Wheels do not hit housings, no housing damge.

Is it dead?

The temp gauge never got above 200 (immediately after turbo), and i use synthetic oil. I could post pics, but they wont tell anythig...


Please help!

 

there's some amount of tolerance built in so a small amount of side to side shaft play is ok. once oil fills the space around the thrust bearing it should tighten up significantly. your turbo should be fine. oil got into the housings because there was no where else for it to go due to your plugged return line. the oil in the exhaust housing will burn out over time.

 

please do me a favor and look at this pic


http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/bags533/v...c=ph%26.view=t


What do you think?

If the oil return line is fixed, think it will be ok, or need a rebuild?

Thank you very much

 

hard to tell from the pic where it's coming from. have you opened up the turbo to look? usually oil overflows into the exhaust and compressor housing if the return line is too small or clogged.

 

No I am not confident enough of how to take it apart and what I am looking at. it is coming out of the bolt.. yes the bolt hole.

it is also in the exhaust

thanks fo rthe help

 

damn, i always forget to log on using my own username when i'm not at home.

do you know if there was a previous oil return line problem on that turbo? is there any play in the shaft, axial or side to side? does the shaft spin freely?

 

yes there was a return problem, it was sent iin and supposidly fixed/rebuilt.

The return line was too small and was bad.

I just pu in a bigger return line. I see a small amount of oil coming from there again. I was just curious if it may fix itself or what.

yes there is a little play... a little up and down.. and less forward and back. Forward and back refers to if your looking at the shaft you can push/pull it.

Is that helpful? Is there ANYTHING else yo might need.

thanks for the help, I am kinda dumb on this subject.

 

there is not supposed to be any back and forth play at all.
you probably need a rebuild if you've fixed the return line problem and are still leaking oil.

 

Thanks for the help

I had a bad feeling you were going to say that.

Another question, rebuilds.... can a moron do it?


I am asking if I should try it or just take it somewhere.

Thanks again sx7r

 

You will have to be careful when putting the cartridge in... if you knock it, drop it, or upset it, the balance will be off and the blades will hit your housing (sooner or later).

 

I have read nothing but bad things about DIY kits, because you dont get a perfect balance when you rassemble... mines worse by the way...

This is what happens when your return gets COMPLETELY plugged...



i sent mine to cheapturbo.com (where i bought it from) and he is rebuilding it at a discount.

This happened because i was careless and, after installing my new clutch, i put the oil return line back on without removing the small paper towel peice i had keeping dirt (and eventually: OIL) from getting into the line...

Dont even ask how ****ed i was/am...

-ctn

 

I agree... send it a professional who can balance the turbo. You pay more, but will have peace of mind that it was done correctly.

 

Why hasn't Hal, our local turbo expert, jumped in to help here?

 

flame someone else. i talked with him about this before you even read the post.

 

Easy big fella, it was an innocent question. I thought that since you were selling turbos, you would have plenty of knowledge to contribute, that's all.

 

so you call me out on a forum for it - I forgot, i am the only one here with any knowledge? why not ask y2kev or nigel/turbo97 etc etc ? i'm under the impression they know about turbos too.

 

Calm down, Hal. Ben's probably wondering why you haven't jumped in and answered Kirk's questions.

So what was the conclusion for the oil leak?

 

Probably just ruined the seals. If that's the case, the rebuild cost should be minimal. $300-ish? Best just to get it done and maybe ask the rebuilder how the seals were(for future reference). Chaulk it up to experience and move on. If you continue to drive w/ the blown seals, it will probably ruin the CAT and 02 sensors. Now you have a blown turbo AND another $250 in repairs.

 

I didn't produce ON_ALERTS turbo setup, i have helped him yes , but thats his own custom deal. and as far as bags a lot - and a larger oil line (believe one of my installers undersized it) is now installed, and turbo rebuild will be underway if necessary but we arenot sure on that yet

 

Thomas if I remove that one bottom bolt off this turbo where is leaking oil will it be okay to put some permagrey or some of that expensive $25 gasket sealant nissan uses on oil pan on the end of the threads of the bolt there for it to stop leaking?

bad idea or good idea?

what I mean top of the bolt is the part where you put the wrench on and the bottom of the bolt would be where you start threading in. Say the first 4 threads like the tranny plug?

 

The reason its leaking is you probably have a blown seal in the centersection, allowing oil to leak into the compressor housing (or turbine, cant remember) then its pooling up in there and one of the places it is going is out the bolt hole. Plugging the hole will solve nothing, and oul only make matters worse.

-ctn

 

yeah That is what I thought. Thanks though for the info

 

it'll just come out somewhere else if you plug the bolt hole. at any rate, i doubt that gasket sealant stands up to the heat the exhaust housing endures. after a hard run, exhaust housings can glow red.

rebuild will probably cost you around $300 as some have pointed out.

 

da mmm you said glow red, no problem thanks for the response

 

Have you tried?