Turbo Leak

[philmeup1]

Seasons Greetin's Folks:)

Just a quick question regarding a possible leak with my turbo. I recently had an oil change done at the school where I work. I noticed some oil underneath the van just ahead of the exhaust manifold on the right side of the engine. My van just now has 110,000kms on it. It seems to drive out fine. There is a tiny bit of white smoke out of the exhaust when I first fire the van up on colder mornings, but I'm quite certain it's normal. I'm also thinking it has a little less power than it used to have, but I'm not totally sure. I initially thought there shouldn't be any mechanical issues with my van as it only has 110K on it, but being a 1993, there's a lot of years on these parts right??

I love this site, but sometimes I get a little paranoid with all the posts on here about the problems were having with our vans. I start questioning my own vehicle and its potential issues. And I'm always trying to be proactive with the maintenance, so I do really appreciate all of what this site offers, everyone's stories both good and bad.

So I read something about one of the hoses going to the turbo that can leak over time. Sometimes it needs tightning or the hose needs to be replaced entirely? Can anyone shed some light on this for me? Whatever it is, I should deal with it sooner than later. I've also got oil around my transmission case which I'll have to deal with too I guess. It's bringing me back to my VW Bus days.
Oil everywhere always......

Always appreciate the help and advice from everyone on here.

Cheers, Phil

[Growlerbearnz]

*All* the turbo hoses can leak. You say you recently had an oil change? There's nothing turbo-related that should be touched for an oil change, but if they changed the filter they might have hit the oil drain pipe- it's in that area.

The drain pipe is the large diameter rubber drain hose underneath the turbo, it hardens with age and is held on by a couple of spring hose clips. Fitting proper hose clamps might fix it for a while, but I recently replaced mine with a new one (Part number MD012433, about $5) and it's been lovely.

The steel pressure feed pipe can leak too- it runs from the back of the head to the top of the turbo. The head end is a crush seal (like brake pipes) but the turbo end is a banjo bolt. If it's been removed and replaced, the copper sealing washers might have hardened and started to leak. Either fit new washers, or anneal your old ones (heat until cherry red, then allow to cool slowly). DONT overtighten the bajo bolt, the bolt is hollow and will break easily. 12ft.lb is about right.

It might be a good idea to hit the area with some degreaser, and then look for fresh oil leaking.

[philmeup1]

Thanks Growlerbearnz. I just noticed the oil while it was up on the hoist getting serviced for the oil change. I work at a high school, so I'm going to see if my buddy who teaches auto shop will put it back up again and I can degrease the area and look for possible leaks. I know nothing about this turbo stuff on my motor and was hoping that the turbo unit itself is ok. Much cheaper to replace hoses right??

Anyway, thanks for the help.

Cheers, Phil

[Growlerbearnz]

Turbos are pretty sturdy, and if they leak it's usually internally so I wouldn't be worried yet. Still, a clean up will pinpoint the leak.