Minor oil leak after turbo replacement

Recently had my oem turbo re-manufactured and now I've got a minor oil leak that didn't show until about a week and 400 miles later. No oil can be seen from my initial under the hood glance.

 

Going to dig into it tonight or tomorrow at lunch, any suggestions for checking potential oil leaking culprits without ripping anything substantial out?

 

Also worth noting that when I replaced the turbo I had my catted UP replaced with a catless hks, and I flashed stage 1 cobb OTS map. So now pushing more boost than before. I never had any of the common oil being burnt off issues that most seem to have so I am mildly concerned it's coming from my recently rebuilt turbo. Last thing I want is to starve it after I just invested in it.

Can you give us a little more detail about the leak? Is it just a burning oil smell? or is it dripping on the ground? If it is dripping, you can definitely get a better idea of where it is coming from.

 

If its a smell, it is from the exhaust? or is it burning under the hood?

 

If its coming from under the hood, I would check your axles too, it may just be a leaky boot.

After finding some dry ground and using cardboard last night I've discovered there to be 2 spots where it drips on the ground. Have not had any exhaust smoke, or any burning oil smell. The location of the drips is approximately 1 ft apart centered on the lengthwise axis of the car about 2 feet back from the front of the radiator. I figure it is dripping onto the skid plate and then finding its way out. Hopefully I can dig into at lunch today.

You need to get a good light and look up from the bottom. Check the oil return hose from the turbo to the head, check the passenger side valve cover, that's the most common place.

^Max beat me to it

^Max beat me to it

 

Me, too. My money is on turbo oil drain line either not being replaced, or the clamp isn't tight enough. Aside from that, since OP is now making better boost, depending on mileage and wear, increased crankcase pressures can occur, which can place more strain on aging valve cover gaskets.

Turbo oil return line. If there is a next time, I'm just going to pull the engine out to get to it. The vacuum turbo boost is also a pain.

IT WAS THE OIL RETURN LINE!

 

Thank everyone, thankfully the catless up gave me enough room to sneak in there and tighten the clamp up.

You owe me...Hey I'll be in Maine next week...

 

Glad you got it fixed.

This oil return line has to be replaced, when? With what brand?

Anything else related, I'm not asking about? 57k mi.

 

Edit: Search, I'm on it....

This oil return line has to be replaced, when? With what brand?

Anything else related, I'm not asking about? 57k mi.

 

Edit: Search, I'm on it....

 

If it hasn't been replaced since you've had the car, it's a good idea to do so.

 

Hose is 5/8ths, about 8in long.

 

Shit, if you're gonna take the turbo off for any reason, it's a good time to replace the hose, too.

I pretty much replaced everything rubber so when I toss the engine back in there should be less issues 2-3 months down the road.

Sorry to bump an older thread, but I have noticed some oil on my return line, I have a swapped VF52 in an 06 LGT.. would I use the same OEM hose and gasket or do I need to order one from a 08 wrx?

Sorry to bump an older thread, but I have noticed some oil on my return line, I have a swapped VF52 in an 06 LGT.. would I use the same OEM hose and gasket or do I need to order one from a 08 wrx?

 

Welcome, yes replace with new reusing clamps if they are good and we talking up pipe & down pipe gaskets?

 

How did you reinstall the turbo? Hose already attached to turbo return and try to guide it down or lubed the return line with oil and shove turbo into the hose attached to engine with clamp loose and at the base of it?

I guess I should clarify: I bought the car already swapped, noticed it has a very very slight oil leak, can only see it if looking up from the bottom directly at the return hose. I wasn't sure if I should replace the gasket between the oil tube and turbo or just the hose and clamps. I can't really tell if it is leaking from the clamps or the bolts up near the turbo. I think the oil is getting on the exhaust and burning, which is causing a slight odor in the cabin briefly when the car is warming up.

If you are replacing the gasket between turbo and return line, you may as well get the hose as well. When I got my 52 back, JmP already reassembled mine with line on. I take it you already break cleaned areas to see if it comes back?

Might as well check for shaft play same time seeing the turbo is foreign to the engine. Inspect turbo inlet as well if it's the original one put back on.

I can't really get to it so I was planning on pulling the manifold to do TGV deletes, figured I would go ahead and replace the hose as well. I would prefer to do it right the first time which is why I'm considering doing the gasket as well. Since this is a 52 I wasn't sure what parts to buy (hose and gasket). Do I use the oem LGT hose with the 52?

Along with TGV deletes, doing the inlet, spark plugs, and IC coupler.

Yes same hose. The returns are different but not by much. I no longer have both in front of me to say gasket material was the same size opening. Here is the returns for both being 52 on the right.

 

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k280/merc6/LGT/C2F19D08-0689-4C20-8E36-542424E044A9_zpsq4fhnufd.jpg~original

Thanks so much for your help! So when this leaks, is it typically the clamps? Or is the gasket usually the culprit? Just trying to figure out how it is leaking and what I should order/replace.

So I got under the car last night and found that the bottom pinch clamp was still high up on the hose, so the installer forgot to move it down after putting the turbo in. The pinch clamp feels pretty weak, I could basically squeeze it with fingers fully open. I wiped up all the oil and went for a spirited drive, it seems that the burning oil smell comes after a hard right turn. Got back under the car and it seems like the leak is from the turbo drain gasket, not the hose. I guess I'll pull the turbo and redo the gasket and see if that fixes it. I'm just wondering why turning right would cause the smell?

Are you able to see if the screws on the drain are tight from that angle?

 

Smell of oil in cabin only on right turns?

I can't tell if they are tight just by looking, and i'm not able to reach them very easily. I was thinking of pulling the turbo and visually inspecting everything to see if I can tell where the problem is.

 

As far as the oil smell, I would say maybe it was a coincidence that a hard right turn (like pulling into a sloped driveway, which causes the car to kinda roll to the left, soft suspension) caused the smell afterwards. now that it has been cold, I am starting to smell the stinky/burning oil smell for a little bit as the car is warming up. After the car is warmed up, it doesn't come back. I was thinking maybe it was possible that oil was dripping onto the downpipe or even the turbo itself when I was making a hard turn, otherwise I have no idea. Right now I'm assuming the burning smell and the oil leak are related, hopefully I don't have another problem on my hands.