Archived Oil in turbo?

[rteig]

I had my truck in for an oil change yesterday and the owner called me out to look at the turbo, there is oil ( more than just a film) in the turbo. What we were looking at is where the intake tube attached to the front of the turbo. What would be the cause of this? Am I looking at a whole new turbo? I just had the VP-44 replaced about a week ago. Could that be the culprit? It spools good and has good pressure. And ideas? Thanks

 

[DHayden]

I don't know the fix but be very careful with oil entering the turbo, it could cause a run away which could get very exciting and dangerous to say the least.

 

[Missouri Mule]

Seems your oil seal is about to let go, it is time for new turbo or have this one repaired.

If the oil seal blows all the way it will cause "engine run away" and then you will need to rebuild the engine! :{



Engine run away: Rpms go way up, won't turn off and then engine quits running for good. :--)

 

[DPetrey]

how many of you have ever seen a runaway. I have been working on diesels, large 16k hp down to 371 detroits and have only heard of one and that was on a 2 stroke which are more prone to this problem. Anyways i would get it fixed but all you gearheads know that, that senario is highly unlikely.

 

[Eric_77]

Had a run away on my 92. The fuel pump recall issue. I shut the engine off by blocking the exhaust with a board, boy was there a lot of pressure both feet pushing on it and I could barely get the engine shut off. I did not have a FE to spray in the intake and did not want to get anywhere close to the motor. run away lasted about 20-30 seconds felt like 5 minutes

 

[chuckwilson]

I have replaced three engines in big trucks that run away with oil in the charge air cooler. The problem is the oil builds up in the charge air cooler over time from a seeping turbo shaft seal, then a good shot of boost carries it in the intake and away it goes. Once the engine starts running on oil the boost gets higher then in comes more oil until a rod lets go!!! Rebuild or replace turbo and remove charge air cooler and clean it.

 

[Joe Mc]

"Have Fire Extinguisher Will Travel" - "Don't leave home without one" . . .

 

[CrazieAbe]

I see runaways at work some of the time. get it fixed a. s. a. p. as of right now, it is possible that oil hasn't reached the air to air yet. check it, steam clean if there is oil in it. Ussually, the seal blows out and the driver notices low power, looks at his gauges, sees no boost pressure and shuts it down before it runs on oil. Good luck...

 

[fkovalski]

"Have Fire Extinguisher Will Travel" - "Don't leave home without one" . . .

What type of fire extinguisher should be used? A dry chem A,B,C is easily portable, but I could see the ingredients causing damage. I would think that a Co2 would be best, but usually they are in large heavy containers... . Opinions?

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

In the 7 years I've been on this board I've read of at least 3 Dodge Cummins have a runaway. A couple of 12-valves and a 3rd Gen. In all 3 cases the engines had major damage. The guy with the 3rd Gen buried the tach at 5000 RPM.



Vaughn

 

[DPetrey]

like i said before it is highley unlikey but i would still get it fixed i spoke with a field mechanic for Cat and in his 32 yrs he has only seen one and he said it was weird because it was on a 4 stroke and the same thing happened the oil seal went and here is the funny thing once the intercooled has oil in it even the fuel shut off won't work so you have to feed it some rags. On most large diesels like 3512 and 3516 there is a airshut off on top of them but they will still run by sucking the seals out and all the gaskets if it under enough of a load if i had to use a extinguisher i would use a co 2 from a distance dont shoot it right inside or feed it something plastic bag just my . 02 thanks

 

[Extreme1]

Is the hose between the turbo and the K & N clean or oily?

 

[dpuckett]

If your blades are clean, and the oil is only on the outer rim of the turbo where the hose connects, I'd be tempted to think it is the K&N filter oil getting in there. Check the inside of the hose, and take the impellar housing off and look at the wheel. If there is no oil or signs of oil, I'd run it. But, if I saw anything suspicious, I'd rebuild it. A rebuild kit is cheaper than an engine.



Daniel

 

[rteig]

Thanks for all of the info so far. I had time yesterday to look at things a little closer. When I tried to wipe the oil out of the intake side of the tubo I noticed it was very dry/sticky. The impeller blades were fairly clean. I didn't have any cleaner and didn't really want to spray any around the turbo anyway, so I used some WD-40 with the straw on the can and gently sprayed around the outer edge and kept wiping the black out and cleaned out the intake tube, cleaned and re-oiled the filter. I will run it a few days and see if the oil has a red tinge to it. When I had it apart I spun the impeller by hand and there appears to be no play or rough spots in it.

 

[TAdamsCT]

What made the mechanic look at the turbo in the first place? Was your truck using oil? Was he doing other work which had him remove the tube???

 

[JUrish]

What made the mechanic look at the turbo in the first place? Was your truck using oil? Was he doing other work which had him remove the tube???

10bux says they guy took the airpipe off for easier access to the oil filer for a top access removal. . Getting to the filter from the bottom really sucks.

 

[rteig]

I am sure he took it off to get to the oil filter. They took it off before I had the K&N on there and they did the same thing with my '92... ... .

 

[TAdamsCT]

I must be the only one who still lays on the ground and reaches up with that nice Genos filter wrench.

 

[dpuckett]

Hey, if ya got it, use it. I take my air intake hose off for oil changes, too. Makes it easier to get the filter out, plus I can check out the turbo and make sure the filter is doing its job. Front suspension gets in the way on my 1st Gen for coming from underneath.



DP

 

[Extreme1]

I will run it a few days and see if the oil has a red tinge to it.

If there is oil in the hose between the turbo and the filter, it's filter oil. I don't think you'll see a red tinge to it (but you might) because the K&N's do let a little dirt through and that usually makes the oil look darker.



Disclaimer: If you use a K&N filter and like it, that's great. I don't like using ANY oiled filter because if it's over oiled (K&N cones usually come that way) the intake tract (including the turbo) gets oily.