[007_e350]

I took out downpipes and was surprized the rear turbo downpipe FILLED with oil, I have a puddle on the ground ... oxygen sensor's black vs front's white ... I took pics, can someone pls advise where its coming from ?

From the pics it seems as if its entering from wastegate, the whole area from under WG to turbine is wet with oil ... Here are some pics,

HELP


Downpipes - rear turbo's filled with oil



Downpipes again



Oil puddle from rear DP, front downpipe Dry



O2 Sensor also black for Rear



Front Turbo - Normal

[007_e350]

Here's the turbo with puddle of oil in DPs, oil traces show coming from WG...

The picture is inverted vertically, WG is on top, oil flowing down to turbine due to gravity

[Snaggletooth]

I had a similar situation, are you on upgraded or stock turbos?

[Snaggletooth]

Also, please list your mods.

[007_e350]

Stock everything ... Just installed JB4 two weeks ago, I bought the car 4k miles ago though

No warranty

Rear turbo inlet pipe kept coming off, investigation required DP removal which lead to this "treasure"

[Snaggletooth]

Did you have a heavy bluish smoke? Any smoke? My guess would be your turbo was weak and worn out to begin with due to oil contamination or hard use and the turbo seals are on their way out. he JB4 probably helped expose the weakness in the system and oil is now making its way into places it shouldnt. I would attempt to look into the PCV system failing, try purchasing a vargas or RB PCV valve. If there is excessive crank case pressure, it would force oil into the turbos. That is a relatively cheap fix, so I'd try this first before immediately jumping to new turbos. If that doesn't fix it, your turbos are on their way out. They will work, but you will have high oil consumption and oil contamination.

Honestly, that doesn't look too bad but I can see the oil eventually contaminating the cats. My guess is it's probably not the PCV due to the fact that it's only on one side. If it were high crankcase pressures it would probably be forcing oil past the seals on both turbos. I'd recommend TRYING the PCV valve since it helps oiling issues for relatively little investment and seeing if it improves; if not it seems like new turbos or rebuilt turbos are in your future.

Checklist of things to check in order:
- Verify oil pressure / levels. If too low, probably due to excessive oil consumption. If too high, probably due to overfilling.
-Modify PCV and remove any low-quality catch cans.
-Look into turbo rebuild or replacement. VTT offers some good durability upgrades for a similar or cheaper price than new OEM. If you're on a budget you can take chances with used parts from a low mile car.

Best of luck, sorry to bring about bad news. I'm not an ASE mechanic but these were my experiences with a similar oiling issue.

[007_e350]

Is it possible the WG on rear turbo doesn't close all the way causing boost air with oil entering into the turbo ... ? the front turbo WG seems to be little less open than rear in the pics if u observe

anyway, aren't turbos under warranty to 82k ?

[Snaggletooth]

Turbos are warranteed for waste gate rattle. If you bug them enough it might work but honestly it looks like a blown turbo seal to me, particularly since it's isolated to one turbo and seems to be coming from the exhaust turbine and not the just the waste gate. How many miles on your car / what psi were you running?

Now might be a good time to look into a pair of RBs or VTTs for more longevity. The car will need turbos regardless of if it's waste gate or turbo seal. Hopefully you can get BMW to warranty it. Just delete the tuner codes and annoy them enough about the waste gate rattle if you have it.

[007_e350]

Is there a seal I could replace and fix or they're disposable unit as a whole

[David1]

Time for turbos. The seal is done. The cats will mask a leaking turbo for a long time.

[MikeB@fftec]

I'd say it's time for new turbos. Every time we have a car in the shop with oil in the rear turbo it's usually on the way out. If you're lucky you may still be within warranty, otherwise it might be a good time to upgrade.

[E90Company]

Originally Posted by 007_e350

Is there a seal I could replace and fix or they're disposable unit as a whole

You could rebuild the center sections, but most just replace the whole unit.

[Snaggletooth]

^ What he said. This is why I went for upgraded turbos. It could be a blessing in disguise, especially if you anticipate running higher power levels.

[007_e350]

Talked to Laurel BMW in westmont IL - taking it in thursday, hopefully they'll cover em

[135Hoser]

Originally Posted by 007_e350

Talked to Laurel BMW in westmont IL - taking it in thursday, hopefully they'll cover em

If not, talk to RBTurbo. I bought a couple of known good CHRA's off him for a very fair price when my rear turbo went.

[007_e350]

I'm thinking abt ordering turbo rebuild kit, I htink the piston (bearing) would be shot thats the only seal in the core)

http://shop.midwestturboconnection.c...s-1401-404.htm

[sickem]

Any update?

[007_e350]

well I put everything back and boost is upto 14 psi which is live-able for now - I'm shopping for chargha / used turbo and will swap when I find a good one, what issues are you having ?

[135Pats]

I still need to pull off the downpipes to verify 100%, but I’m basically in the same boat as you. At least one turbo bank is punished turbo seal wise, though as others have said it still will boost perfectly, just a lot of obnoxious smoke and some oil consumption. The consumption has fallen since switching to 5-40W, but the smoking has not. Def. not coolant, never had a low coolant warning ever and the smell is 100% oil and gas.

Saving up for Stg2 offerings, hopefully we can get some real deal VTT STG2 numbers in the next month or so.

[007_e350]

Originally Posted by 135Pats

I still need to pull off the downpipes to verify 100%, but I’m basically in the same boat as you. At least one turbo bank is punished turbo seal wise, though as others have said it still will boost perfectly, just a lot of obnoxious smoke and some oil consumption. The consumption has fallen since switching to 5-40W, but the smoking has not. Def. not coolant, never had a low coolant warning ever and the smell is 100% oil and gas.

Saving up for Stg2 offerings, hopefully we can get some real deal VTT STG2 numbers in the next month or so.

those are rediculously priced, I'm not taking that route.. I'll get mines rebuilt with upgraded internals to boost more, PM me if you want contacts

[JGMODS]

How many miles do you have? I believe our turbos were covered up to 80k even after the factory 50k expired. Could be wrong but I had mine replaced right before I hit 80k by the dealer.

[135Pats]

Originally Posted by 007_e350

those are ridiculously priced, I'm not taking that route.. I'll get mines rebuilt with upgraded internals to boost more, PM me if you want contacts

I'll PM you tonight. Interested to hear your thought process here. Agreed, the price is on the high side considering the gains. But limited market for production, high sunk costs, a largely captive audience in terms of demand. Not a market that's set up for highly competitive price wars, so I don't blame Rob or Tony for pricing as they do.

Originally Posted by JGMODS

How many miles do you have? I believe our turbos were covered up to 80k even after the factory 50k expired. Could be wrong but I had mine replaced right before I hit 80k by the dealer.

I think the extension covers for excessive WG rattle and shaft play, never heard of someone getting new turbos bc the seals were pushing through and burning oil. And I don't even have most of my stock parts anymore, there's no way the dealer is going to do that type of warranty work on my car as-is