Turbo Guys- tell me

[d.o.h.c]

I brought my car to the dealership to get an oil pan gasket replaced. I guess when we rebuilt the motor it was not sealing 100%. SO I pick my car up last night look underneath the car and notice oil, like alot of oil on the battery tray, now where the intercoler hoses are. So i called the dealership and they said that the drainline for the turbo came off when the guy was test driving the car. How long cant the line be off before it messes the turbo or even the motor off. There is oil even on my back wheels. I think I need a new turbo. My guy at the dealership the guy that writes up the car, he is pretty cool and says that if its bad to just let him know. I think I might just tell him I need a new turbo cause there is alot of shaft play. I just spent 600 rebuilding this thing.


M

[d.o.h.c]

Well the turbos shot, now they are going to buy me a BB. I just need to check the motor. If the drain line comes off what how long till the bearings in the motor run dry.

M

[CobraCDR]

The drain line goes into the pan not into the main bearings........as long as there was oil in the pan for the pump to pick up I don't see why your bearings would be dry.....did you check your oil?

Ken

[d.o.h.c]

The oil level is fine now, the technician must have filled it back up. I am going to the dealership at 3 so in 1 hr and will see what really happened. I don't know how long he drove it for with hose off thats the thing. If he started it up and it popped off, then its not a problem, but if he was driving with it off then we can have some serious problems.

M

[Joseph Upson]

I forgot to reconnect my oil drain to the turbo after doing some work once on a 3100 and after less than a minute of idling there must have been at least a quart of oil pumped on the driveway.

If the car was driven at least a quarter of a mile chances are you'll need more than just a turbo before long. Oil on the rear tires suggest a lot of it was pumped out and who knows how much time passed before he realised the mistake, make sure you investigate.

[pocket-rocket]

I can see on the rear tires with low driving time. That could have happened after pulling it off the lift in the garage. Now slung off into the wheel wells would be another thing, as in being driven down the road.

[Joseph Upson]

I can see on the rear tires with low driving time. That could have happened after pulling it off the lift in the garage. Now slung off into the wheel wells would be another thing, as in being driven down the road.

Yeah, I looked back over his post and it states it happened during a test drive and I'm willing to bet that it wasn't an ordinary test drive knowing you have a 3.4 DOHC sitting in front of you with a turbo on it. Who needs to test drive a properly installed oil pan. Be afraid.

[d.o.h.c]

Well I went up there this afternoon and told explained the who story to the service writer. He showed me the oil on the ground from the turbo, he was actually pulling into the dealership as it happened. I know the turbo is shot and they are going to replace it, I am just worried about the motor. I know that there must have been 2 quarts lost. The service tech said that if the motor blows up in a couple months he will replace that as well. I left it with them tonight to look it over, but I am not letting them get off easy. I am getting a full detail, new turbo, and have them fix my mysterious code 171. And if the motor is trashed then they will fix that too. I will keep you posted.

Mark

[ForcedFirebird]

First time I started a turbo car I built, unknowingly there was a severe leak where I welded the bung in the pan. The rod was knocking after a few moments, actually just as I looked under the car and realized there was a leak

Be cautious, don't even like bringing my cars in - even for an oil change. Last time I brought a vehicle to a mechanic, they stripped my pan plug (porbably used an impact to get the truck out faster).

[pocket-rocket]

I don't see an engine blowing from loosing 2 quarts of oil. Now had the pump run dry, that would be another story.

[Joseph Upson]

The real concern is if the turbo bearings were damaged from this incident the engine almost certainly had to run out of oil for this to happen because the pressure is pretty much the same at the turbo as it is in the system unless there is a restrictor in place. If the turbo was starved it is almost certain the engine was also. My Turbo oil feed is right off the filter mount so it gets oil before or at the same time the rest of the engine does however this is on a pushrod motor.

[pocket-rocket]

I thought most people had to put restrictors in place to keep from blowing oil out of the seals in the turbo?

[d.o.h.c]

Well, thats not 100% true. If there is oil being picked up by the pump the engine should be fine. The turbo is shot, there is oil on the compressor side just leaking out. I just rebuilt that too. They are taking care of me, basically they are going to give me a new turbo, I am getting a BB this time, and a detail. He said that if it blows up in a couple months, to come back and he will replace the motor, basically that means that he will take it out for me, my dad and I will rebuild it and put it back in, no stock remans FOR SURE.

M

[CobraCDR]

Well, thats not 100% true. If there is oil being picked up by the pump the engine should be fine. The turbo is shot, there is oil on the compressor side just leaking out. I just rebuilt that too. They are taking care of me, basically they are going to give me a new turbo, I am getting a BB this time, and a detail. He said that if it blows up in a couple months, to come back and he will replace the motor, basically that means that he will take it out for me, my dad and I will rebuild it and put it back in, no stock remans FOR SURE.

M

If you are getting all this work done for free, while they have it taking the turbo out make them drop the pan again and pull a main cap off and inspect the crank journal for any galling or abnormal wear. It is hard to say where you are at without doing that.

Ken

[d.o.h.c]

I went to pick my car up today and they cleaned everything. The service writter told me that the techs looked at the motor and the turbo and found nothing wrong. I told him that when oil is coming out the turbo there is something wrong. He said get it replaced and bring me the bill.

mark