MrPorsche951

I talked to a porsche tech. he said that 99 percent my engine problem and hesitation in 1st gear is the cause of a bad turbo seal. I have an appointment for next thursday... is it okay to drive the car with a bad turbo seal?

anders44

doubt it, you would just see smoke then if the seal breaks and oil enters

MrPorsche951

what do you mean, The smoke comming from my engine couldent be caused by a bad turbo seal? The smoke dissapears after 15 min of running. Thanks for any help.

Darwantae951

Usually if you have a bad turbo seal you'll get blow by. The engine will be sucking in oil from the turbo and you'll have blue smoke in the exhaust. If he thinks your surgeing is due to boost leaks, then you may want to check all your rubber connections at the intercooler, turbo, and throttle body. Also throttle bodies tend to leak as well as they get older. Rebuild kits can be had for ~$20.

2bridges

Similarly
At idle I had intermittent periods of heavy smoking that turned out to be bad oil seal in turbo.
verified by heavy oiling in hard pipes

oddly enough as long as there was change in rpm or forced idle above 1500ish rpm it would not oil enough to make visible smoke


as long as you are not driving it too far - it should be fine... I would keep it in low boost

Darwantae951

Hmm...why do you think the smoke went away as RPM increased? Wouldn't an oil pressure increase actually enhance any leaks that were present (not arguing, just discussing). I've never broken down a turbo so I don't know what seals are actually in there.

2bridges

At idle you have highest vacuum.

Apparently In my case the determining factor was the vacuum.
Once the vacuum decreased (off idle or revving) the oil contamination of intake charge reduced enough to not be evident at the tailpipe

It was getting worse and worse, but I did not allow it to completely "fail" before replacing. can only speculate it would have progressed to leaking more and more with less and less vacuum until it always leaked.

I have never seen or heard a turbo seal failure quite like this. It was a challenge to get a handle on what was happening. I would have to think this failure is uncommon.

More typically when they fail, they fail. The two previous turbo failures (non P car) I experienced were unquestionable, immediate, constant, and significant leaks.


"Freckles" is a never ending source of head scratching..... part of her charm

Josh B

I don't know what to think of a Porsche mechanic that makes a diagnosis over the phone without even looking at the car(if I understand correctly). Granted it could be the turbo but I think you have said you are getting smoke right on startup. When I had a turbo on my car with bad seals I only got smoke on startup and idle if I had previously run the car real hard under boost. Also I think you've mentioned smoke from the exhaust manifold side of the engine - I doubt that is caused by the turbo....

Keithr726

Have a the mechanic remove the IC pipes and intercooler and clean them out. Check about a week later for any puddles of oil in them. Also do a visual inspection of the turbo for leaks.

My turbo seals are known to be bad and my IC pipes get a lot of oil however I do not get blue or black smoke but my AFRs are quite rich under boost but that is probably my chip set.

Phil R

you might get away with driving it but if that seal really lets go you'll make more smoke then rescue smoke grenade in a parking structure. best to avoid driving the car if you know its broken.

Darwantae951

It is not something that will cause a catastrophic engine failure or put his life in danger. There is no reason why he cannot drive the car to a shop where it will be repaired.

OTOH it wouldn't be a good idea to drive it daily in its current state.

hosrom_951

When my turbo went bad, it just smoked under boost. But off/low boost (under 5 psi) everything was fine.

If the engine smokes, do you mean from the engine bay or the exhaust?

I had an exhaust smoking blue, on start up only, turned out to be incorrectly installed valve stem seals.

MrPorsche951

The smoke is comming from the passenger side of the engine shortly after startup. After about 10 minutes the smoke goes away.
When I press on the gas in 1st gear the engine cuts out for a second. Car runs good in 2end-5th gear.

kevincnc

The smoke is not from the turbo, it's not even on that side of the engine. It's probably oil slowly leaking from the cam tower onto the exhaust manifold that burns off when it heats up. I doubt that the hesitation is from a turbo seal leak either. If the shop that you're taking it to diagnosed that over the phone, I'd pick another shop.

MrPorsche951

I just asked him if I'd be okay to drive it in. he said yeah, I wish I knew another place to take it. Noone will touch it though. hes a Porsche tech, so Im sure hes good.


Off the top of your head, what could be the reason for the hesitation. I have no idea and don't want a absolute disaster. I thank you for any help sir.


---You are right though, the oil drip is in fact comming from the left side. I think the drip is comming from under the exhaust connection.