LBZ oil out tailpipe

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Deleted member 32467

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Could really use some input..

I have oil coming out of my exhaust. My oil level will go from full, to off the dipstick, in about 15 minutes of driving.

Oil drips from each exhaust connection, and right out the tailpipe, the back and undercarriage of the truck are covered in oil.

It started a month ago, was towing an empty trailer to California when I noticed the smoke, the smoke is a thing to behold. I can smoke out the whole highway. It smokes when warm at idle, and worse and worse as load is applied. It took about 15 quarts of oil to limp back home to Utah.

When I got home the intake side all looked dry and the down pipe and exhaust side of the turbo were wet, so I pulled and replaced the turbo. Up at the turbo shop we could not see too much wrong with the turbo, we decided it was pouring in from the VGT actuator shaft. To be safe, we took a brand new garret cartridge and installed my parts into it.

Truck did not smoke the first two easy test drives, then it came back the first time I took it on the freeway.

I checked compression, 350 and above in each cylinder.

Trying to decide where to turn next. Can anyone point me in directions where oil could be entering in such a volume?
 
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Truck runs great by the way, though getting a bit hot on my bigger tune.. I can see 1420 degrees if I really get into it, say, full throttle 0 to 85 mph. It cools right down

Injector balance rates are under 2 or 3 and very even.
 
DAVe3283

DAVe3283

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Sep 3, 2009
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Pull an exhaust manifold and see if it is wet there, but I'd be willing to bet the turbo blew a seal again. If that's the case, verify the oil feed line is factory. If it has an aftermarket line, it might need a restrictor.

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Deleted member 32467

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I had all the manifolds and up-pipes off the engine last week when I replaced the turbo. All the flanges were warped so I set them up in the mill to true them.

Everything really looked like it was dry. I had the glow plugs out last night to do the compression test and they were dry as well.

I did notice a bit of oil in the bottom of the intercooler at the cold side, but figured it was the typical residual amount one would see with a PCV system in place.

Stock turbo oil feed and returns, though I did not check for any blockages.

Blow by, my cap really does not jump around and flip over when on top of the fill tube like I have seen on youtube videos. Driving it this afternoon I got it good and hot and at maximum smoke, and saw only a trace puff out the fill tube.

I also should mention my PCV, I currently have it bypassed from the intake, it dumps into a catch can which is not getting any oil in it.
 
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Deleted member 32467

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Worth mentioning, truck has 130K on it. It was all stock until last year whenI developed an up-pipe leak and decided to rebuild original turbo etc.

Compression was 350-400 on all 8 cylinders. When the manifolds were off I had plenty of time looking into the exhaust ports on the motor while I cleaned off old gasket residue etc. I did not notice any abnormal oil in the ports, all were carboned like you would expect to see and the same color.

Is the exhaust side hot enough the oil would be flashing off and hiding from me making me ignore the motor internals?

Should I see ANY puffing from oil fill tube? I do see a faint trace, but the blow by is not enough to flip the oil cap over or anything.
 
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Deleted member 32467

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Blowby:

<div style="position:relative;height:0;padding-bottom:56.25%"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Upfj8VXE9Bc?ecver=2" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" style="position:absolute;width:100%;height:100%;left:0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
 
Dozerboy

Dozerboy

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Jun 23, 2009
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Sure sounds like the turbo again.

All the oil wouldn’t cook off the manifolds if it was going through oil like that pre turbo.


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Deleted member 32467

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It actually seems to be using more oil with the new turbo, maybe that is telling me something?

Yesterday with a good hot lap up and down some back roads it went from full, to off the dipstick. Maybe 20 minutes of driving, when I turned up to my bigger tune and launched it good and proper, I smoked out the whole county road for at least a thousand feet.

On the way back from California with the old turbo, I was dumping a gallon in every 150 miles or so, just trying to limp it home.
 
JoshH

JoshH

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Feb 14, 2007
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When you say you installed your parts in a new Garrett cartridge, what parts did you install?
 
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Deleted member 32467

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In the new cartridge went my compressor and turbine wheels, by exhaust housing, and my compressor cover.

It was done with me standing there, at a very reputable shop here in Utah.

Maybe I distracted him and something was missed, but I remember seeing the ring seal installed on the exhaust turbine, and the seal between the compressor backplate and cartridge went in. Everything was cleaned, blasted, balanced, etc.

I did not check for a blockage in my return line.

Thinking I will pull my downpipe, though I know what I will find, and drop the up-pipes off the turbo this afternoon.

Worth mentioning, I have a brand new VGT actuator straight from Garret in it, I replaced about 500 miles ago thinking it was causing an issue. The issue ended up being my up-pipe leaks, I could not keep anything tight in my up-pipes. Which is why I set everything in the mill and trued it.

Used all new GM gaskets on everything this time.
 
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Deleted member 32467

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Shaft play on turbo seemed excessive for it being new.. just under two hours later it's on the bench.

Up pipes dry as a bone, exhaust turbine housing full of oil and shaft play has noticeable "thunk" as you move the shaft side to side. There is more oil than when I tore it down for the rebuild.

Not jumping to conclusions but c'mon.

They gave me a warranty as I bought the new cartridge, so I didn't pull the wheels yet, but it will be hard to wait. I don't have time to run back to to their shop for a few days.

The turbo I built went 15K miles, and I am convinced it was running too hot as I was chasing my drive pressure leaks, and it killed it.

This is pretty much my typical luck.
 
LBZ

LBZ

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If everything is dry pre turbo, it seems the problem would be at the turbo. You can find used stock ones for fairly cheap to use as a test mule to confirm.

Good news as it was all just apart, the bolts shouldn’t be too bad to remove.
 
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Deleted member 32467

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Should there be a big "woosh" of air when pulling off the oil fill cap like a bunch of pressure is being released?

Reading Garrets website for technical reasons oil could be forcing out of the turbo they mention a restricted drain line, or blocked PCV system could cause this.

Spoke with the turbo shop, they were surprised I was having issues and immediately started questioning the truck. I almost agree, seems odd two in a row with the same symptoms.

Listen to the sound when I pull my cap off at 5 seconds in this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Upfj8VXE9Bc

Is that normal?

I blew into my pcv hoses and they are clear, my oil return for the turbo is clear.
 
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Deleted member 32467

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Wouldn't a cracked piston show up on a compression test?
 
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