Interesting Turbo/Engine Oil Issue

[Stephenms]

Hello everyone! I am a long time viewer/creeper, first time poster. I am reaching out for some help.

On my way to work today I had some hesitation. Highway speeds, 70MPH. All of a sudden I have bellows of smoke out the exhaust. It shuts off when I get to a slower speed, I throw it into Neutral and it fires right up. I lug it to work and park it, it's still bellowing smoke. I check the dip stick after a few minutes and it is BONE DRY. I checked it two days prior and it was perfect level. Oil was also all over the top of the "valve cover". Like it blew out of the cap, like a bad PCV.

I immediately dismantle the top turbo pipe, the metal one, and its coated in oil. I look down the turbo and it has a PUDDLE of oil inside. I fire it up to maybe hear or see something and it's spraying oil all over the place. It's a milky/coffee color oil. The oil fill cap has a bit of white residue that looks like moisture discoloration. It's also slightly on the dipstick, the oil is clean but the stick has white residue. Coolant level is good. I even gave it some nice idle revs to push the oil out of the turbo, once its back to idle RPMs it starts to pool back up again.

I initially thought it was a totally clogged PCV since there is smoke coming out of the dipstick, smells like exhaust. The exhaust smell implies head gasket but this is A LOT of oil inside that turbo.

Any advice on where to go next? Vehicle has been running GREAT before this, even with 220k miles. I'm thinking turbo cracked(unlikely), PCV clogged (meh, was replaced 3 months ago), clogged turbo oil return line? clogged PTC? , extreme head gasket failure(most likely)

It is VERY cold where I live in wisconsin and we just had 8inch of snow so it's very moist out. Condensation runs rampant right now

[scot850]

Do you do a lot of short runs or does the car get a reasonable run allowing the engine to get good and hot?

These engines can generate condensation internally if not run hot for a good time. Repeated short runs makes it worse. Clean the cap off and the dipstick and make sure they are clean. Dip the oil. Does the oil from the oil pan come out milky? If the shaft of the dipstick is milky, but the lower part with the oil measure is not, then it may not be a head gasket issue.

No oil is more concerning. Where did all the oil go? Check the timing belt. Is it covered in oil? If so you may have blown a cam seal. If there is oil down the RHS of the engine where the timing belt is the that could be your issue.

Of course cam seals can blow out at the back and even get into the distributor.

Check down the back of the engine and at the back of the engine. The turbo oil lines may have blown.

Is there oil under the join between the engine and the trans? The rear main seal could have blown out.

If you replaced the PCV system, did you make dure the PTC was clear and also the 2 drains into the block from oil separator were clear, especially the lower one into the oil pan?

Neil.

[Stephenms]

Thanks for the reply!

I'll start tomorrow with a compression test just for giggles.

On average the car is driven about 7 miles to work, sits for 10 hours, 7 miles home. Mostly interstate. Some around town stuff but not very often.

As far as I can see, the turbo itself is not leaking oil. It's very dry. The lower exhaust pipe, right off the manifold, has a small hole and I did see a decent amount of oil come out of it. I'll dot all my Ts and cross my Is though and check it all.

The top of the dip stick had the white residue, some slightly on the bottom but I could have touched the tube wall. The oil itself is very clean and clear.

I will check the cam seals while it's apart.

The PTC was fairly clear and I did spray some shmoo out of it. I unfortunately cheaped out and got the IPD kit though. I did clean both holes.

I'll pull the intake inlet and see if oil is on the front of the turbine or if it's only after. What's the possibility of oil pouring out of that PTC? It seems unlikely to me. I'm racking my brain trying to think of HOW that much oil gets into the turbo and continues to do so even at idle.

I'll make sure to snap some pictures while I'm at it.

[Stephenms]

UPDATE: I pulled the turbo intake pipe off and looked inside. The PTC has a bit of ice on it (uh oh) and there was a gross milky substance(oil) sitting at the end of the intake pipe, also frozen. It appears to me the pcv system is majorly clogged. Which implies failed PTC? When I started it and idled it for about 10 minutes the pcv hose that connects to the PTC, started dripping white oil oil of it.

I double checked the front cam seals and they're very clean. Oil is behind the timing cover but it looks like a lot of that came from the fill cap and trickled in.

[scot850]

I just noticed you are in Wisconsin. How cold is it there just now? With the turbo engines when it gets below freezing, it is not uncommon for the oil residue in the intercooler to freeze the intercooler. I have had it where the car just won't move until the car has thawed out a bit idling.

In Sweden they got a plastic 'nose' cover that fitted over the hood grille to reduce the amount of cold air blowing through the radiator and intercooler to try to prevent this happening.

Here we use a bit of cardboard and zip-ties for this purpose. Just don't run this way in busy traffic or at 8-10F over freezing.

Also where possible, point the car down wind when parking to reduce how fast the condensation forms in the intercooler as the engine cools.

The PTC is basically a heated hole for to try to prevent the PTC freezing. The fact yours is could be the PTC has failed, is blocked or partially blocked, or needs cleaned out. A drill bit helps here used by hand or carefully on a drill if hard packed.

Neil.

[Stephenms]

On the day this happened it was a brisk 8F and it had just snowed about 8inches the day before. It is currently 28F.

I ordered a new PCV box due to not trusting the one that's in there. I'll install it Thursday just to make sure it's all cleared out.

The massive loss of oil was definitely from being thrown out of the oil cap. There was SO much on the top of the cam cover. It even has a new seal.

I'll throw some cardboard on the front, or maybe a plastic sheet with some zip ties. 7 miles is quite a short trip. I ran the engine for a good bit without the intake hooked up and no PCV hose. Oil stopped pooling in the turbo and I even drove it around. She was fine.

So from your knowledge you'd assume this was an extremely plugged PCV/intake issue?

[scot850]

Or the intercooler was frozen or froze while driving. It is a lot of work to take the PCV apart again, but I'd check the PTC is clear and has continuity across it.

If removing the hoses reduced the oil being thrown about, then it could be the PCV is blocked, or that with the warmer temperature the intercooler has defrosted.

Neil.

[Stephenms]

Thanks for the insight!

I drove her home after thawing out a bit. Drove totally fine. No more smoke out of dipstick tube or oil cap. Mostly residual oil in intercooler and turbo piping. I double checked the PTC plug and it had a bunch of corrosion. I'll keep an eye on it since it's now cleaned. This was definitely a case of totally blocked PCV and pressure having nowhere to go.