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So, my 108K-mile Turbo cab started leaving oil spots.
On the rack, it was clear oil was not locally-sourced, but coming down from the top of the engine. Off to the shop and my long-time tech pulls the intake giblets and points to mucho oil floating around in intake passages. Turbo seal failure. (huge amount pours from the intercoolers when removed)
So, I'm at a crossroads, as I'm sure many have been before me. I'm not eager to buy $5K worth of new K24s... In a perfect world, I'd spend even more and get a custom build from Kevin... but as a semi-retired person, I'm probably at an income level below what's appropriate to own an aging supercar.
So, local rebuilder with a decent reputation reseals at $425, and following the 'while you're in threre' philosophy, I'll do both K24s so I have a baseline... $850, plus all the other stuff (plugs, coil packs, serpentine belt). Not cheap; not heartbreakingly expensive.
THEN, just for fun, i'm prowling eBay and there are "Porsche" K24s for $331.18, outright. So how can that be? No-name, but available with 5 year warranty for another $48. So, I pull the trigger. Turbos arrive, and they are new K24s, alright, but the flange/outlet for the oil tank interface is smaller. And as the oil reservoir is a direct attachment, there's no way to modify either side to fit.
Original oil outlet flange
Oil outlet flange on "replacement" K24 sold by Turbocharger Pros.
Sometimes when something is too good to be true, there's a reason.
So, back to Plan A for now.
I post this in case anyone in a similar situation might consider the K24s offered on eBay by Turbocharger Pros in San Diego (BuyAutoParts).
Please let us know how the re-seal works out, I'm sure it will happen to me someday (56,000 miles currently and no maintenance history, always helpful).
This saga is going into week 13. I had my turbos rebuilt with billet impellers, put them in and suddenly had a leak from the engine, which turned out to require removing the pass side head & replacing a seal. Found coolant fittings about to pop, so that was a plus. Pinned them and it's all back in and I have a new, and growing oil leak... that's been tracked to the intake passages. So I'm back at square one, looking for a source of oil getting into the intake. I don't have a 'known good' set of turbos to test, so can't rule out a bad rebuilding job on one or both.
This saga is going into week 13. I had my turbos rebuilt with billet impellers, put them in and suddenly had a leak from the engine, which turned out to require removing the pass side head & replacing a seal. Found coolant fittings about to pop, so that was a plus. Pinned them and it's all back in and I have a new, and growing oil leak... that's been tracked to the intake passages. So I'm back at square one, looking for a source of oil getting into the intake. I don't have a 'known good' set of turbos to test, so can't rule out a bad rebuilding job on one or both.
Your tech had to remove the camshafts and cylinder head? To check if you have a problematic turbocharger>>you need to pull the pressure hose between the turbocharger and intercooler. Oil will come out of that side or both..
Small rubber elbow oil line forward of the engine oil cooler had a small slit in it. Replacing the remaining rubber lines & I should be gtg. Good news is the engine didn’t need to be dropped again.
I will say that swapping to billet impellers seems to have made a difference by bringing the boost down a few hundred RPM. Not the UMW solution— but I’m saving up for that.
06-30-2018, 10:39 AM
Turbo seal failure - down the rabbit hole
