Gyrhead
12-13-2012, 06:28 PM
So, lets flash back to about 6 months ago. I was out in the Bolo car and the turbo blew (no need to rehash the details of that fiasco here). I limped it home, fogging 20 miles of interstate and barely got it home before the oil was pretty much evacuated into the exhaust tract. After tear down, it was readily apparent that the turbo CHRA suffered a catastrophic failure. This lead to a few posts and a well placed missile to my wheelhouse by Messrs. Fleming and Pearson that perhaps this would be a good time to tear it all down to inspect mains and rod bearings and perhaps R&R as necessary. I thought this would also be a good idea in the back of my mind hearing the words oil starvation repeating due to my rather cavalier action of driving it home as opposed to calling AAA.
This I did and the rebuild has been well chronicled elsewhere. Yesterday I buttoned it back up, set base idle and TPS and timing and broke in the new Bo-Port head/cam combo per Fleming recommended procedure ("FRP"). Then I noticed the Timken race that I neglected to install in the new FMS steel bearing retainer when I installed the new clutch. So this AM I shook off the oh crap mantra that I had been singing all night and dropped the tranny and installed the missing race. I got it back together around 1600 local time and after buttoning up the shifter and console, took it for a ride. Now mind you, during breakin and miscellaneous idling, the exhaust was pretty much normal with minimal smoke that I assumed was the oxidization process of motor oil being combusted off surfaces I couldn't reach from the initial debacle. (See video exhibit A for the last of the 2,500 RPM break-in)
http://s918.photobucket.com/albums/ad21/fish1erp/?action=view&current=IMG_0165_zps65136ae8.mp4
Well let's just say the car did not smoke at all till I got into the boost. I will also tell you that despite being able to hear the new turbo spool up a bit, I really saw no pressure above 5psi on my aftermarket boost gauge. Then all hell broke loose. I literally blew so much blue smoke from the exhaust that you could not see the road in front of my house. Honestly, it WAS that bad.. Sheepishly I crept the car back into my shop and got back to work. Suspecting a kinked oil drain line, I compared the stock line's routing to my original 86' and found no major exceptions.
1999
I disconnected the turbo drain and cranked the car over (no coil plugged in) and oil poured from the bottom drain opening on the turbo CHRA so I know it's flowing. I also upended the drain line (a bit...the stock ribbed ones aren't too flexible you know) and nothing poured out.. suggesting oil isn't collecting in there. Also I blew some air down into the line and it flows all the way to the block without obstruction.
Next, I disconnected the VAM to turbo ribbed hose and here's where it got downright messy.. Dirty oil started pouring from the VAM, from the turbo inlet, etc, etc. So, now all the piping comes off from my FMIC. As suspected, everything was soaked in oil. I set my shop vac on blow (yes Jerry...it does blow), stuffed it into the high side inlet of the FMIC and turned it on. Watch out cause here's when it got real interesting. Immediately about 2 qts of filthy oil poured , or should I say SHOT out onto my floor. After about an hour of this "forced induction" and a 5 gallon bucket of Speedy-Dry, it finally stopped dripping. I checked my dipstick and it was filled up to the full mark with fresh, goldenly (is that a word?) goodness. Not 2 quarts down or anything.
2001
My hypothesis: My new turbo is fine.... as is the drain line. I never got the old oil out of the FMIC. When the turbo blew in the Spring it was never making pressure (or enough) to force this residual oil into the combustion circuit, or perhaps this is where it ended up when I shut it down.
With the new T3/T4, the minute I got into the boost, a non-compressible column of oil was forced to the TB and out the exhaust producing copious amounts of blue smoke. The 2 qts left in the FMIC when I pulled it apart was residual from my 2 mosquito fogging trips around the block this afternoon, which means I started with more than this. With this much oil in the intake tract, would the car make any boost, or do I need to check the WG again. I did check for smooth actuation at 10 PSI before I put the motor in the car.
So much for the new set of plugs I put in there...:mad:
This I did and the rebuild has been well chronicled elsewhere. Yesterday I buttoned it back up, set base idle and TPS and timing and broke in the new Bo-Port head/cam combo per Fleming recommended procedure ("FRP"). Then I noticed the Timken race that I neglected to install in the new FMS steel bearing retainer when I installed the new clutch. So this AM I shook off the oh crap mantra that I had been singing all night and dropped the tranny and installed the missing race. I got it back together around 1600 local time and after buttoning up the shifter and console, took it for a ride. Now mind you, during breakin and miscellaneous idling, the exhaust was pretty much normal with minimal smoke that I assumed was the oxidization process of motor oil being combusted off surfaces I couldn't reach from the initial debacle. (See video exhibit A for the last of the 2,500 RPM break-in)
http://s918.photobucket.com/albums/ad21/fish1erp/?action=view&current=IMG_0165_zps65136ae8.mp4
Well let's just say the car did not smoke at all till I got into the boost. I will also tell you that despite being able to hear the new turbo spool up a bit, I really saw no pressure above 5psi on my aftermarket boost gauge. Then all hell broke loose. I literally blew so much blue smoke from the exhaust that you could not see the road in front of my house. Honestly, it WAS that bad.. Sheepishly I crept the car back into my shop and got back to work. Suspecting a kinked oil drain line, I compared the stock line's routing to my original 86' and found no major exceptions.
1999
I disconnected the turbo drain and cranked the car over (no coil plugged in) and oil poured from the bottom drain opening on the turbo CHRA so I know it's flowing. I also upended the drain line (a bit...the stock ribbed ones aren't too flexible you know) and nothing poured out.. suggesting oil isn't collecting in there. Also I blew some air down into the line and it flows all the way to the block without obstruction.
Next, I disconnected the VAM to turbo ribbed hose and here's where it got downright messy.. Dirty oil started pouring from the VAM, from the turbo inlet, etc, etc. So, now all the piping comes off from my FMIC. As suspected, everything was soaked in oil. I set my shop vac on blow (yes Jerry...it does blow), stuffed it into the high side inlet of the FMIC and turned it on. Watch out cause here's when it got real interesting. Immediately about 2 qts of filthy oil poured , or should I say SHOT out onto my floor. After about an hour of this "forced induction" and a 5 gallon bucket of Speedy-Dry, it finally stopped dripping. I checked my dipstick and it was filled up to the full mark with fresh, goldenly (is that a word?) goodness. Not 2 quarts down or anything.
2001
My hypothesis: My new turbo is fine.... as is the drain line. I never got the old oil out of the FMIC. When the turbo blew in the Spring it was never making pressure (or enough) to force this residual oil into the combustion circuit, or perhaps this is where it ended up when I shut it down.
With the new T3/T4, the minute I got into the boost, a non-compressible column of oil was forced to the TB and out the exhaust producing copious amounts of blue smoke. The 2 qts left in the FMIC when I pulled it apart was residual from my 2 mosquito fogging trips around the block this afternoon, which means I started with more than this. With this much oil in the intake tract, would the car make any boost, or do I need to check the WG again. I did check for smooth actuation at 10 PSI before I put the motor in the car.
So much for the new set of plugs I put in there...:mad: