Leaking turbo seal...

[87geeinn]

So I fired her up after installing a brand new TA49 and let the car idle for a couple of minutes then noticed smoke coming off the turbo. On closer inspection (see attached picture) I noticed that the seal appeared to be leaking oil. I torqued down the five (I think?) bolts real snug and took her for a very mild run to break the 49 in. I never pushed it over ~10-11psi boost and everything seemed o.k. (i.e.-spoolup, no strange noises). I pulled back into the driveway, let her idle for a few minutes didn't notice any more smoke except for the residual oil that was there just prior to me tightening the bolts down. I also pulled MAF pipe and didn't noticed any visible oil on the compressor wheel and it appeared dry as a bone. I just want to make sure that I didn't ruin my new turbo! Please give me some good news as my back is killing me from putting that sucker in. :eek:

[kenmosher]

I wonder if it was just oil from the assembly process (or dripped from the return drain line? If it was the seal leaking, you'd usually see oil smoke in the exhaust.

[87geeinn]

I did check the exhaust and had a small amount of smoke coming out. I did think, "Oh, maybe the feed line or drain line." However I used a small amount of threadseal tape on the feed line and a new gasket on the draintube fitup. Regardless, if it was the seal leaking and all I had to do was tighten the bolts, would anything be ruined?

[Keller]

Please give me some good news as my back is killing me from putting that sucker in. :eek:
Yeah, us short people have a hell of a time working on that part of the car don't we! :ow:

If a seal went on a new turbo that only has a few miles on it, I'm sure any source would stand behind it. The seal is on the shaft. Unless you've been beating on the shaft or something, you shouldn't have caused any failure. Don't panic yet. If you have good oil pressure and you're fairly sure that it is getting to and through the turbo, give it a few hundred miles before you're convinced there is a real problem.

You did say it was completely new, right? That exhaust housing doesn't look like a fresh casting in the picture...

[87geeinn]

Yeah, I couldn't find a way to get leverage and undo that bottom bolt on the ground strap, so it was real tricky trying to manuever the turbo into place with the ground strap still in place. And yes, the turbo is all new. I thought about that turbine housing as well. After I got the hard part done (removing a 20 year old turbo) I placed the new one into place and let it sit for a week while I was waiting on a new oil feed line and chip. When I popped the hood a few days later the turbine housing already had a nice coat of rust on the outside already! The compressor/scroll side stayed nice and shiny though. I couldn't figure that out. I'll take your advice and break it in thoroughly to see what happens. Full Throttle didn't make me aware of any warranty and given that it wasn't installed by a "qualified mechanic" I got a little preturbed. Speaking of ground straps, why does a turbo need one. Does the internals generate static electricity because it spins so fast or something? And just how do you get that bottom bolt off anyway? :steam: