Jump to content

Twin Turbos Leaking Oil


.:Bullen:.

Recommended Posts

Hi Guys

 

Just looking for a bit of advice ive been building a twin turbo kit out of a Jim Wolf kit I purchased and as the manifolds where no good I had some low mount tubular manifolds made. All pipework etc is all complete they are a ball bearing gt25 turbos and are oil and water cooled.

 

Anyways I have plumbed it all in using the oil restrictor from the Jim Wolf kit i believe its a 0.050" restrictor to bring the oil pressure down. Im using a EXA-Turbowerx scavenge pump to sypthon the oil back to the sump. However the turbos are leaking oil out of both sides into the exhaust & cold side housings.

 

When i first set it up the pump was wired backwards from the factory and so oil was being pumped in from feed & drain only for about 30secs-1minute before I noticed the fault. Now could this have damaged the seals & thats why its leaking ? Or perhaps wishful thinking could it be the oil left over from this now being pushed out?

 

My question is really can I tell if the seals are damaged ? Or perhaps a good way of cleaning the turbos if i remove them and clean excess oil out and re try. Or if anyone has any other input ideas that would be great.

 

hanks in advance

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes the pump was wired incorrectly from the factory I should of checked rotation but presumed it would be correct. But I started the engine and then got out of the car peered underneath & noticed the oil coming out the exhaust flexi. So switched it off straight away hoping to avoid damage

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Would there have been excessive pressure generated by the pump running in reverse? turbo seals are pretty strong, they are like a mini piston ring and take considerable pressure to cause failure, a BB turbo uses the same type of seal that a plain bearing turbo , and oil pressures can reach well in excess of 120psi when oil is cold, so I would doubt this is the problem.

 

I would suspect that its just the leftover oil from the pump forcing oil past the seals because it was restricted on the feed side, give it a good few miles to clear, if it doesn't after that then further exploration will be needed.

 

Turbo seals do not depend on air pressure to seal properly, or all turbo engines would smoke during N/A operation.

 

PS. where the turbos new?

Edited by Tricky-Ricky
Link to comment
Share on other sites

No the turbos where not new however had only covered around 5k miles. Oil pressure on startup is 50psi on cold start with the restrictor fitted it brings it down to around 15psi I believe and then the pump pressurising the bottom would be about 30psi I would imagine. So we'll under the 120psi.

 

I have removed the turbos from the car now and tipped any excess oil out any recommendations on how to clean it properly I figured brake cleaner would be ok ? Shouldn't damage any seals ?

 

Also I thought there was a rubber type seal to keep the oil in? At least there is in the rebuild kits they sell for journal turbos

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not enough pressure to cause any damage, it feasible that there is past seal damage but time will tell, as I said it probably down to the back pressure, and the fact that the shaft was not turning.

 

No turbo seals are always metal, the rubber O rings in the kit are for the cold side housing to core,

brake cleaner will be fine and wont cause a problem.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No way to check the seals without dismantling fully, if the turbos are off then just spray cleaner down both cold and hot side, if they are still on the car then just start and run/drive for a while, the oil will just burn off with exhaust heat, if its still smoking after 20 odd miles then you have a problem with the seals.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...