D22 Oil Leak. Around the turbo

[STUTE]

Greetings,

Has my Nav for 3 years or so. Mechanically, perfect, cannot complain (touch wood).

However, coming home from Easter weekend with the van on the back, stopped over for a driver reviver and could smell oil. Popped the bonnet and checked the oil, was pretty low, brought some from the servo and chucked it in.

The car doesn't drop oil, not a drop.

I am losing oil and I know its through the turbo.
Its got tell tail signs, and theres even oil in the intake BEFORE the front of the snail.
Theres oil around both of the rubber intake pipes and dribble behind the turbo, near that oil intake pipe (between the front and rear of the compressor)

Ive taken the front off the turbo and felt for play, its perfect, not a millimetre.

So im a bit lost, I do understand it could be a few things, but can anyone give me a starting point on where to check.
Would a blocked vacuum line do this, so not letting the oil return back to the block?

And thinking about it now, its a tad difficult to start and I rekon theres a loss of power, but not much.

I havent done the EGR mod and I havnt got a catch can.

Any help much appreciated.


Thanks

Stuart.

 

[Old.Tony]

I wouldn't panic straight away. Your PCV is returned in FRONT of the turbo, so the turbo and intercooler get all the oil mist that isn't caught by the engine's oil separator. The catch can ought to fix that particular issue.

A particularly strenuous workout would cause a rise in the amount of oil being tossed out of the PCV, which may explain the loss and the smell.

The only thing I'd be careful of is the oil that you choose to use in the engine - make sure it's at least fairly low ash stuff. You don't need to go to JASO-FD like those of us with DPFs, but you should still try and reduce the chance of particulate build-up on valves and the turbine, which are the ones who'll wear a lot of that muck.

 

[STUTE]

I wouldn't panic straight away. Your PCV is returned in FRONT of the turbo, so the turbo and intercooler get all the oil mist that isn't caught by the engine's oil separator. The catch can ought to fix that particular issue.

A particularly strenuous workout would cause a rise in the amount of oil being tossed out of the PCV, which may explain the loss and the smell.

The only thing I'd be careful of is the oil that you choose to use in the engine - make sure it's at least fairly low ash stuff. You don't need to go to JASO-FD like those of us with DPFs, but you should still try and reduce the chance of particulate build-up on valves and the turbine, which are the ones who'll wear a lot of that muck.

Im a little worried, its not much oil, but its enough to be a tad concerned.
I think viscosity is the word, would a thicker oil make a difference??

 

[Old.Tony]

Yes it will make a minor difference, but it will do other things as well. Best to stay within the specified ranges - I think the heaviest recommended is 20W50 for 40C+ environments and the lightest is 5W20 for -30C or below (although the 5W20 carries a special note "Not recommended for sustained driving").

The further note states that "10W30 is preferable for ambient temperatures above -20C".

I think the catch can is the first thing I'd look at. If your turbo is spinning freely and the shaft feels like there's no side play, the bearings are probably good. There might be a seal giving way, which would require dismantling the turbo to fix - but really, that's a cheap solution compared to losing the turbo!

If you're losing enough oil to be concerned, take it to a mechanic and get them to look at it. It's possible that a turbo bearing seal has come loose and it needs a bit of work.

 

[bullwinkle]

My mechanic tells me that every D22 he has worked on has a leak around the turbo. It's not unusual and usually not a problem. He also tells me that he has never seen a turbo let go. He's on his second D40, so he knows what he's on about.

 

[Old.Tony]

Unfortunately we've had people on this forum whose turbos have let go, and sometimes with disastrous consequences.

Those without an intercooler have found parts of the impeller (compressor) drawn into the combustion chamber, so the damage isn't just the turbocharger, it's a full engine rebuild.

The most common cause of turbo failure is bearing failure (you hardly ever hear of the impeller fragmenting on its own, although that's happened once to someone here).

Premature bearing failure is usually caused by varnish build-up inside the bearing, and THAT is caused by the oil overheating with no oil flowing - the oil literally cooks.

Now while that might sound like a fault in the turbo, it's not: it's the responsibility of the driver to ensure that the turbocharger is cool enough to shut the engine down. That's why we have things like EGT monitors and turbo timers - because these failures HAVE happened, and the cost of an EGT gauge ($80 at Jaycar if you are handy with a soldering iron) is much more appealing than the cost of a new turbocharger. Even the $200 turbo timer (which technically isn't legal) is decidedly better!

 

[bullwinkle]

Tony, I have no doubt that it happens, but he was at pains to point out that the D22s have an unjustified reputation for turbo failures. He services lots of farm utes in his business that don't get the attention they deserve - he's got several D22s on his books that are well passed 500,000 kms and not one of them has had a turbo go bang.

It's the old story - look after something and it will look after you. My mechanic is also my brother in law - married to my wife's sister. He just serviced my ute and changed all lubricants including trans and diff oils, filters etc, tightened torsion bars and adjusted the remote central locking. This cost me a piece of furniture, a timber TV cabinet, that my wife has been wanting to get rid of for a couple of years. Gotta love contra deals!

 

[Old.Tony]

Therein lies a lesson many of us don't learn until AFTER we needed to learn it: look after your equipment. Whether it's your chainsaw, your ute, or anything else.

Unfortunately for many it's a matter of not knowing. They step into the turbo-charged world thinking it's just another vehicle with a different motor. The lesson is often painful, and I wish we could help more people understand this, without the pain.