Turbo oil feed check ball.

[Rich76_911s]

Not sure how many of you saw, but I’ve been having a ticking noise every time my engine warmed up. I posted about it over on the engine rebuild forum.

In an effort to diagnose this issue I started taking my engine apart to root out the cause.

Anyway, as I took the turbo off I noticed an excessive amount of oil in the cool side turbine housing. Then when I removed the heads a lot of oil build up on and in the cylinders.

I think I may have put that 9mm check ball in the wrong way. Allowing excess oil to drain into the turbo.

Is this #1 the correct way? (This is how I did it, and what I think is wrong)



Or is this #2 the correct way?



And lastly what other issues (aside from oil in the intake) could my mistake have caused? Would the 9mm ball have blocked oil flowing somewhere it was supposed to go?

Thanks and hope you all had a good Father’s Day / weekend.

Rich

[Rawknees'Turbo]

You had it right, Rich.

[GJF]

If your running aftermarket pistons, your going to have piston slap until it's up to operating temps. It's normal. I use -4AN check valves to each turbo rather than the use of the factory check ball. But if your using a big single there is nothing wrong using the factory check ball either.

[Rich76_911s]

Well, at least I didn’t screw it up. But I did have a ton of oil in the turbine. Any other reason that would be the case? Bad seals inside the turbo? (I’m using a Borg Warner S362).

Unfortunately my engine gets louder as it warms up. At operating temp is where her noise is worst. Cold it’s actually quiet.

Here’s the oil that was sitting in the turbine.


And here is an example of oil in the cylinder.

[GJF]

You mean the compressor.. Borg Warner’s are kinda loose compared to most turbos as they are mainly used in diesels. Not a necessarily a bad thing but requires better oil scavenging. Are you using the factory scavenge pump?

[Rich76_911s]

Yes I’m running the stock scavenge pump.l, and yes compressor sorry.

Thanks for the data on the BW turbos. If this is par for the course I might have to change things up.

[GJF]

Either a larger scavenge pump, an electric pump or a ball bearing turbo with a stock scavenge will work.

[GJF]

Or rework the exhaust to have the BW turbo higher to allow gravity drain to the timing cover and ditch the pump all together.

[Rich76_911s]

I only see one option there that has the potential to make me go faster. ��

It’s just finding the budget for it.

[GJF]

If you have fabrication skills the reworked exhaust will keep you in budget.

['76 911S 3.0]

I had a similar issue with mine, are you running a drip tank off the turbo? The other thing I found was the drain fitting I had restricted the drain outlet on the turbo and caused oil to back up in the CHRA. I found this drain flange designed specifically for the outlet of the S series BW turbos...

https://prlmotorsports.com/t3t4turbooildrainflangeportedo-ringd-10an-1.aspx



Combined that fitting with a drip tank I made and I haven't had an issue since (I do not run a check valve inline with the oil feed to the turbo):

[TurboKraft]

Are you also positive no oil is being drawn into the air intake system, and that's not where the oil in the compressor is coming from?

[Rich76_911s]

GJF, I have the Fabbing skills of a blindfolded monkey. I wish I had some I have just never had the opportunity to learn the art of it.

Jayson, Thanks for your insight in that. I do have a drip tank. My tank has a pretty wide circular opening that should flow pretty well (see diagram below), but the gasket I had did block a good bit of the oil flow out of the turbo.

My drain is the circular portion of the image, and the rectangle is the outlet of the turbo. My drip tank slightly impedes oil flow at the corners of the rectangle.



You can see here where the needle is pointing where the gasket was blocking oil flow. You think that would be enough to cause a backup in the compressor?

[TurboKraft]

I wouldn't think so, no.
We've never had an un-restricted journal bearing turbo work on these engines (except OEM KKK-series) without either:
* a larger mechanical scavenge pump
* an electric scavenge pump
* adding a restrictor, usually around 60-thou / 1.5mm -- but this will reduce the turbo's bearing life slightly

[Rich76_911s]

Originally Posted by TurboKraft

Are you also positive no oil is being drawn into the air intake system, and that's not where the oil in the compressor is coming from?

Chris,

Well the short answer is no, I'm not going to rule anything out.

The long answer, there was no oil in the intake from the CIS airflow meter down to the turbo. There was oil after the turbo in the intake pipe going to the intercooler. I didn't see any pooling of oil in the throttle body or pancake intake, but did have more oil in the cylinders than I thought should be there.

From what I saw there was no external source that would have contributed that much oil into the compressor. No leaks from the engine at all actually.

I may have to look into doing the restrictor you mention as a temporary fix, then move onto greener turbo pastures.