don356

1996 tt with about 40K miles was shut down normally with no problems then sat for a couple of weeks. Started yesterday amidst cluods of oil smoke which do not go away after a short time. Coming mainly from right (passenger) side which based on what I just found on the web rules out the oil filter bypass and I have to presume results from the loss of a turbo seal. Any experience or guidance before I have it towed would be greatly appreciated.

Don

Steve Weiner-Rennsport Systems

Hi Don:

Based on what you wrote and how many miles are on your car, I'd say that your left-side turbo seals are gone.

I'd pull the intercooler in look inside the intake & IC to see if there is any oil in there.

If this turns out to be the case, I'd strongly suggest that both turbos be rebuilt at the same time since the other side's seals are never far behind.

Kevin

Don have you changed your oil or topped the oil level off lately? If your car has had hot shutdowns in it's lifetime the turbine seal area are allowing oil to pass through the "out of spec .007" seal gap. This gap will allow oil to puddle in the turbine housing and on startup will lead to smoke.. The most positive way to check for turbo age and failure is to pull the plastic inlet tube to the turbochargers.. If you have oil standing in the intake inlet of pipe you need your turbo's rebuilt..

Air Kuul TT

Don,

Welcome to the club... I am having the same problem. However my happened right after my oil change and the smoke comes out of the left (driver side) tail pipe. I just had my oil and both filters changed agin this morning to eliminate the filters possibility. BTW, the pictures below are in sequence...

Kevin,

I might be talking to you sooner than anticipated but I'll know tomorrow when I start the car. I'll call you.

Thanks.

Air Kuul TT

Don,

I meant welcome to the car "smoking problem" club... but also welcome to Rennlist and hope that you will find this place to be incredibly valuable as I have.

Air Kuul TT

Don,

Just curious... where is the oil leaking from? For me I had a couple of drops driping from the left tail pipe.

don356

Now I am baffled. The smoke screen I laid down yesterday lasted long enough to convince me that it was not going to stop (ie oil burn off should have been long gone after a few minutes idling and driving around a short block) Decided to check it today before calling AAA in the morning and the smoke screen is non-existant. There was however a small amount of oil on the floor under the left (drivers) side so I guess the left turbo is leaking. I do not understand how it could be so bad one day and non-existant the next?

dbtk

I had the same problem immediately after having th 45K service done. Apparently, I was not allowing the turbos to cool down after driving and caused a cracked seal. The oil change cleaned out some of the residue that was preventing oil from seeping into the turbos. Hence, with the fresh oil the leakage occured and burn off begun--nearly without warning.

don356

What is the approximate cost of a (non-dealer) turbo rebuild?

Kevin

Don;

It's a matter of time vs anything else.. Give your car a 2 week rest and most likely the same results will show up.. The oil was burnt up in the cat. It's just a matter of time before the frequency picks up.

dbtk

Having ViperBob put in new hybrids with larger exhaust turbos for about $2K for both. Was planning on doing it anyway down the road and this just accelerate the process. Should spool faster especially with the bypass.

don356

Not aware of the Viper Bob mod. Is there a thread on it here?

dbtk

ViperBob is Bob Brooks from Devek in Redwood City, CA. He is a Rennlister and does great work (service, maintenance, mods, etc.). You can check out Devek.net.

Kevin

The choices for most people at this situation is to rebuild your existing turbochargers without upgrading to a hybrid.. Those options would be GT1's or K16/24, this is a best overall street turbo.. Next is my Stage 2 hybrid or one can purchase K24's... Programming of the ECU must be added.. With the exception of GT1's, on can run them with stock programming IF one installs a adjustable 5bar fuel regulator, and keeps the factory boost settings.. If you run higher boost levels you have to upgrade the ECU programming..

don356

Thanks for all the help. At least I have the time to look around and decide what is best. As I understand it the ECU on the 1996 is pretty diificult to alter and even more difficult to alter AND pass CA smog.

Don