Where has the oil come from?

[STU3Y]

I have a Seat leon mk2 2007 2.0 tdi ref sport.

I am convinced it's the most unreliable and jinxed car I have ever seen.

You may have seen my other threads about starting issues etc, blown turbos, etc etc.

Due to the issues I have purchased vcds to try and help diagnose any problems and in doing so I have discovered problems with actual boost and egr readings being way to high compared to those specified.

Less than 6 months and 4k miles ago I had a recon turbo fitted from turbo technics, along with new return pipe.

All turbo pipes were checked and cleaned at the same time.

Today whilst taking the egr off I discovered it had alot of oil in the bottom of it, not carbon actual fresh oil. There was also a small amount on top of the small pipe below the egr.

I therefore removed the small section of pipe below the egr and to my horror I discovered an even bigger puddle of oil in the lip of the pipe.

As a result I cleaned and dried everything then refitted the egr. I went for one drive about 20 min long, then came back and removed it all again.

This is what I found (excuse me talking to myself I was just shocked)
https://vimeo.com/110166720

Now the question is, where has the oil come from?

Have the oil seals in my turbo gone and if so what do I do next?

 

[Dan FR]

Is that pure oil? Is it loosing oil / are you needing to top up?

Personally i would pull the crankcase breather off, and vent it to atmosphere or a makeshift catch can, block up the intake where it usually plumbs in to, and see how much oil you get

Alternatively, take the turbo intake pipe off and check for oil. I would check both pre-turbo (to see if it's coming from the breather) and post turbo (the first boost pipe off the turbo). I doubt there's any on the exhaust side as it probably would have clogged your DPF by now.

 

[STU3Y]

It seems to be reasonably clean oil and liquid rather than vapour. I don't have dpf.

I think there may be too much oil in there which is what concerns me more. When i pull the dipstick the oil level is on the bubble above the max mark.

I'm going to try and do an oil change today and see if it helps?

I'm not sure of ive overfilled it when topping up or something else.

What should the oil level read on mm via vcds.

 

[Dan FR]

Maybe check the exhaust for unburnt oil too?

A tiny bit above max won't cause you any issues. Keeping an eye on oil level and checking to see if it is rising may be an idea

No idea on oil level shown on VCDS, never looked, much prefer an old fashioned dipstick

You need to identify if tis is due to breathing or of the oil is originating from the turbo. Any oil smoke from the exhaust?

 

[STU3Y]

Well I just did an oil and filter change. I'm not sure of the exact max capacity as one book says 3.8l and the other say 4.3l.

I have put about 3.8l in and appears to be on max on dip stick. I would say around 4.3 came out so possibly overfilled.

Had a quick look at the turbo whilst under there. (Didnt take any hoses off)

This is what I found!!!!

Oil appears to be leaking from the bolt hole, and has spread back slightly.

Took a few photos just for the sake of it. The turbo was put it in June, and has done a just over 3k miles.

 

[Dan FR]

Which bolt hole is it leaking from? The one next to the droplet?

Did you take the intake pipe, boost pipe or exhaust downpipe off?

 

[STU3Y]

Yeah the one right next to the oil droplet. You can also see the staining next to it where the oil runs off.

I didnt take any pipes off just had a look at the outside. I couldn't see oil anywhere above that bolt or around the return pipe.

 

[Dan FR]

Are you sure it's not coming above from the core? I'd clean it up and check again in a few miles.

Getting the pipes off is next port of call to see if it's leaking from the turbo cold side which I suspect it may be. Also need to rule out a blocked breather as the cause, as well as too much oil

 

[STU3Y]

As far as I could see there was nothing above but its difficult on your back under the car. The bolt is the lowest point on the turbo. I will try and look again in a few days.

I really dont know much about cars, how do I tell if there is a blocked breather?

 

[Dan FR]

Breather pipe comes out of the top of the engine and feeds in to the intake, pull this off and check theres plenty of gas/vapour coming out of the engine side, especially when revved

 

[GlanzaV]

An extra 1/2 litre of oil shouldn't make too much of a difference, but if it has been overfilled it can be forced back through the Crankcase ventilation system (PCV). Overfilling can also increase the oil pressure (which "can" mean oil pushes past turbo seals etc...)

Think you need to work out where it's coming from as Dan suggested in Post #4

Popping off the turbo seals would give you an idea.

 

[STU3Y]

Breather pipe comes out of the top of the engine and feeds in to the intake, pull this off and check theres plenty of gas/vapour coming out of the engine side, especially when revved

You mean this?

So pull it off on the right hand side and see if there is vapour?

 

[STU3Y]

Ive pulled the left side of the pipe off leaving the right still connected (didn't have any tools to hand). Vapour comes out and more when revved. It's not loads but kinda like steam on your breath on a cold day just not as obvious. I put my finger in the left side of the pipe and its coated in oil

 

[STU3Y]

An extra 1/2 litre of oil shouldn't make too much of a difference, but if it has been overfilled it can be forced back through the Crankcase ventilation system (PCV). Overfilling can also increase the oil pressure (which "can" mean oil pushes past turbo seals etc...)

Think you need to work out where it's coming from as Dan suggested in Post #4

Popping off the turbo seals would give you an idea.

Do you mean turbo pipes rather than seals?

 

[GlanzaV]

Just re-read my message - Yeah pop off the turbo pipes! If there's oil in the compressor side pipe (like lots!) it may be a problem. There will always be small amounts of condensed oil / oil vapour passing through the whole system though.

Not sure how much extra pressure adding 0.5l of oil would really make, but given the VW Spec oil is 5W30 it might make the odds.

There's old horror stories of Diesel "run-away" when people inadvertantly overfill the oil and the engine starts to combust the oil/vapour getting passed through the intake and the car starts to rev itself faster and faster until it either throws a rod or the engine gets choked...