So I have an oil leak at my turbo outlet. GTurbo Green Wheel with about 35k miles on it in the last 3 years. Engine is a 1HDT running PDI intercooler. I also run a Mighty Mouse catch can.
If my memory is correct, the leak started as oil weeping out of the silicone outlet hose and then dripped onto the turbo housing. I could be wrong about that, but that's my memory: a sticky, oily outlet pipe. At some point it intensified and I was noticing oil on the frame and traced it up from there. There is very little to no oil in the airbox, so it's not the CCV pushing oil in (that's the whole point of the catch-can after all).
I emailed GTurbo about it and their response was:
"If the oil isn’t coming from the crankcase ventilation then there must be oil being pushed past the collar seal in the bearing housing. Catch cans are notorious for causing excessive crank case pressure and cause oil to be pushed past seals on the motor. i would suggest cleaning the turbo, changing the silicone piece and the clamps, then disconnecting the catch can and plumb it to factory location or to atmosphere. Test this out and see if it resolves the issue, this has been the cause for hundreds of leaking turbos that i have seen, so it’s a good spot to start."
My catch can has a flap (which I will be testing this afternoon) that is supposed to vent pressure through a filter to atmosphere but allow vacuum in the intake to the crankcase. I will post pictures of my catch-can set-up this afternoon as well in case anyone thinks it's too high or there are other flaws in my design/routing.
I have literally ZERO other oil leaks on the motor. Not the VCG or anywhere else. Everything was resealed 3 years ago and has performed flawlessly.
Assuming that the catch-can/venting set-up doesn't have any flaws, how would I be pushing this much oil through the turbo outlet? Is it possible that something failed internal on the turbo?
Is it possible that my oil pressure is too high the engine? Seems silly, but I'm at a bit of a loss here.
EDIT: I suppose I could install a manometer just to see what crankcase pressure actually IS. But what other factors could be involved here?
If my memory is correct, the leak started as oil weeping out of the silicone outlet hose and then dripped onto the turbo housing. I could be wrong about that, but that's my memory: a sticky, oily outlet pipe. At some point it intensified and I was noticing oil on the frame and traced it up from there. There is very little to no oil in the airbox, so it's not the CCV pushing oil in (that's the whole point of the catch-can after all).
I emailed GTurbo about it and their response was:
"If the oil isn’t coming from the crankcase ventilation then there must be oil being pushed past the collar seal in the bearing housing. Catch cans are notorious for causing excessive crank case pressure and cause oil to be pushed past seals on the motor. i would suggest cleaning the turbo, changing the silicone piece and the clamps, then disconnecting the catch can and plumb it to factory location or to atmosphere. Test this out and see if it resolves the issue, this has been the cause for hundreds of leaking turbos that i have seen, so it’s a good spot to start."
My catch can has a flap (which I will be testing this afternoon) that is supposed to vent pressure through a filter to atmosphere but allow vacuum in the intake to the crankcase. I will post pictures of my catch-can set-up this afternoon as well in case anyone thinks it's too high or there are other flaws in my design/routing.
I have literally ZERO other oil leaks on the motor. Not the VCG or anywhere else. Everything was resealed 3 years ago and has performed flawlessly.
Assuming that the catch-can/venting set-up doesn't have any flaws, how would I be pushing this much oil through the turbo outlet? Is it possible that something failed internal on the turbo?
Is it possible that my oil pressure is too high the engine? Seems silly, but I'm at a bit of a loss here.
EDIT: I suppose I could install a manometer just to see what crankcase pressure actually IS. But what other factors could be involved here?