Oil leaks and smoke from turbo side

[B5204T]

Hi everyone! I'm new to this forum. I have trouble with my '98 S70 T5 and ı bought this car 2 months ago.

A few days ago, the engine temperature indicator began to drop while in traffic and I immediately pulled aside and looked under the engine and saw oil leaks. I called the tow truck and brought the vehicle to my garage. Now when I start the car, smoke comes from the turbo area. Also, a lot of oil drips from the same area. What could cause this? Where exactly could the oil and smoke come from? Your comments are very valuable to me, thank you all.



Note:my english is not very good sorry for mistakes.

[Sveedy]

Welcome to the forum !
Hopefully someone with more experience will chime in, but the main things that come to mind are the oil return line gasket on the turbo, internal turbo seals, or possibly a cam seal leak. I would look at the oil return line first. I think some folks suggest using two gaskets for that but I'm not sure.

[scot850]

Sorry but I am having difficulty figuring out where the pictures are you have taken. Fist one I recognize as the turbo feed pipe to the intercooler from the top of the turbo housing. These turbos leak as they age and the short rubber pipe between the turbo body and the and the pipe to the intercooler starts to get oily and wet. The rubber becomes porous or the pipe becomes loose.

Sveedy has made a couple of good pointers to check for.

It is hard to get into this area to see stuff so often a mirror on a stick and flash-light can help to see where leaks are.

I would look at the short rubber pipe. You may want to replace it with a new one or silicon hose. Clean the area off as best you can before installing the new pipe. You may find even tightening the hose clam may be enough to reduce the leak for a while but it will return but at least it will prove if this is the issue.

Much of these issues are caused by worn engines or the crank case breathing system being clogged/choked building pressure in the engine and pushing it through the PCV pipework system into the turbo. Carry out the 'rubber glove' test on the oil filler to the engine to see if the glove inflates. If it does the system will need serviced. There are write up on MVS for that.

Removing the turbo intake pipe (again hard to access) will allow you to be able to get your finger to the end of the turbo shaft. See if you can move it side to side to see how much play is in it. If there is a lot then oil will leak past the turbo seals causing oil to get into the intercooler system.

Again if you remove the turbo intake pipe, clean the PTC nipple to make sure it is not blocked while it is off.

If the PCV system is blocked then it may force oil into the area where the spark plugs are and there is a drain at the rear above the turbo and the oil will leak down there.

Finally do a check of the oil filler cap seal to make sure it has not shrunk allowing oil to fill the top of the spark plug area.

Good Luck.

Neil.

[B5204T]

Welcome to the forum !
Hopefully someone with more experience will chime in, but the main things that come to mind are the oil return line gasket on the turbo, internal turbo seals, or possibly a cam seal leak. I would look at the oil return line first. I think some folks suggest using two gaskets for that but I'm not sure.

Hi sveedy! Thanks!
When I looked at the turbo oil turnline, I saw it was dry. But today I'm going to take your advice and check it out again. I suspect an exhaust cam seal. I'll try to throw away detailed photos of the area during the day. Thank you so much for your help.

[B5204T]

Sorry but I am having difficulty figuring out where the pictures are you have taken. Fist one I recognize as the turbo feed pipe to the intercooler from the top of the turbo housing. These turbos leak as they age and the short rubber pipe between the turbo body and the and the pipe to the intercooler starts to get oily and wet. The rubber becomes porous or the pipe becomes loose.

Sveedy has made a couple of good pointers to check for.

It is hard to get into this area to see stuff so often a mirror on a stick and flash-light can help to see where leaks are.

I would look at the short rubber pipe. You may want to replace it with a new one or silicon hose. Clean the area off as best you can before installing the new pipe. You may find even tightening the hose clam may be enough to reduce the leak for a while but it will return but at least it will prove if this is the issue.

Much of these issues are caused by worn engines or the crank case breathing system being clogged/choked building pressure in the engine and pushing it through the PCV pipework system into the turbo. Carry out the 'rubber glove' test on the oil filler to the engine to see if the glove inflates. If it does the system will need serviced. There are write up on MVS for that.

Removing the turbo intake pipe (again hard to access) will allow you to be able to get your finger to the end of the turbo shaft. See if you can move it side to side to see how much play is in it. If there is a lot then oil will leak past the turbo seals causing oil to get into the intercooler system.

Again if you remove the turbo intake pipe, clean the PTC nipple to make sure it is not blocked while it is off.

If the PCV system is blocked then it may force oil into the area where the spark plugs are and there is a drain at the rear above the turbo and the oil will leak down there.

Finally do a check of the oil filler cap seal to make sure it has not shrunk allowing oil to fill the top of the spark plug area.

Good Luck.

Neil.

Hi Scot! Thank you for your valuable comments. I did PCV job about two weeks ago. All hoses and breather box is change and PTC nipple is clean. Also oil filler cap seal is new. Today I will check rubber hose top of the turbo housing. With the Probe camera, I'll try to look at the turbo part and the rear of the engine block. I'll write down the developments here.

[scot850]

Once you did the PCV system service, did you re-test it to make sure you have cleared any clogged oil residue. You would not be the first person to have done that (How would I know?) to find I had not fully cleaned all the holes in the block and PTC nipple.

Good luck!

Neil.

[B5204T]

Hi everyone! I found problem, it was rear cam seals. I changed both gaskets. No oil leaks and smoke now. Thank you all for your help.

[scot850]

Well done! Great detective work.

Neil.