Pics of SF's bad Turbo .... what to do ???
 

Ok I got the turbo removed from the car. It cleary shows that the oil is leaking from the turbo. Besides that everything else is fine. No play in the shaft or anything like that. All bolts are tight.

I have the oil restrictor and the drain point in the oil pan is as high as possible with an almost vertical pipe. So no problems on that side either.

What could be the problem? I dont need guesses, only guys who know what they talking about please respond to this post.

Thanks

And of course SF is performing the disappearing act once again.... :tdown:

Can you get some pictures that aren't so close to the turbo?

Cant do that as the turbo is back in the car (still leaking). This car is my only ride at the time being so I had to put it back.

Not for nothing, I am not defending SF at all, but they did not make the turbo. The manufacturer of the turbo, Garrett or whoever is at fault for it. Did you try contacting the manufacturer?

ahtasham,

If there is no shaft play and no wobble, the most likely cause of the leak is the oil drain itself. Either the drain line is kinked, placed too low in the pan, or goes uphill somewhere. If either of these three happen, the turbo will leak.

Also, another rare occurance we have seen...
If you park your car with the nose facing down hill, and let it idle, it can sometimes leak. This again is due to the oil drain.

The oil drain has to be at the highest point possible to be above the oil level. If it is under the level in the pan, the turbo will not drain correctly and will either smoke and/or leak. If the drain line itself is somehow kinked or routed uphill (dips down then comes back up) the oil return flow is reduced which will cause the same problems.


Sorry it took us a while to respond. We were at SEMA all last week and did not have access to a computer in our hotel rooms.

I know SF didnt make the turbo. But they sold it to me and therefore they are the ones responsible for it. I have no proof of purchase for the turbo unit alone except the payment sent to SF for the whole kit.

I should contact the manufacturer and tell them what ??? I dont have any receipt or bill info or even a date of purchase ... for what I know SF could have had this turbo with them for a year before shipping it to me.

SF should at least help me out by guiding me in the right direction. For now, they are not even answering my mails.

Does anyone here knows what could be wrong with this turbo ???

Ok finally you guys respond ....

Mike, I relocated the drain point to be as high as possible. Look at the pics and tell me if there is anything wrong there.

That should work fine, Is the drain angled down though?

Yes it is and the drain pipe is as straight and as vertical as it could be!

What size of line is the drain? 6,8,????

I am using the drain pipe that comes with the SF kit ... dont know the size, sorry.

Make sure the line doesnt have much slack in it. Try to make it a direct shot to the oil pan fitting.

An idea would to make sure its free of any kinks, and make sure there is no restrictions in the return hose. Whats your oil level at? is it full, possibly a little over full?

im sorri that i cant be of any help!! sorri to change subject, but catalsyt i live in vegas i asked if u could help me out..would of been very easy for u and me to discuss this matter and bring the parts! still have yet to answer. im sorri ahtasham i hope sf helps out!

The oil level was at full when I changed the oil and now its a little below full coz of the leaking. I am using 5W-40 fully synthetic. The pipe is pretty much as straight as it could be, however I'll double check it to make sure.

Also I was thinking about using a transparent see-through pipe (if available) for the drain as a test. Leave the car at idle for some time and then observe the behavior of the oil in the pipe. That would make everything clear .... wont it ???

i remember someone saying before that they were using synthetic and they switched to non synthetic and their leak stopped...

someone correct me if i am wrong...

^ Yep, a mechanic once told me that as well. Also...I use 10w-30. Isn't that supposed to be for turbo applications?

don't use synthetic. I ran 15W-40 on most occasions and it worked well. 10W-30 is fine for daily driving.

I agree with dezod. Cats right too about the oil.. synthetic isnt always the ebst.

Ok just to prove it to you guys I switched to 15W-40, drove it for a few days and the problem is still there .....

NOW WHAT??????