Ok, so after 5 1/2 hours last night and another 2 today I got everything back together and gave it a test drive. The thing that concerns me big time is that it sounds like theres a high pitched metal on metal sound like maybe one of the wheels in the turbo is rubbing. When I rebuilt it though and gave everything a spin before the turbo was back on the truck there was not really any rubbing sounds. Only thing I did notice was it seemed like maybe the compressor wheel was rubbing on the bolts that hold the turbo backplate on. Those bolts were in nice a tight though so I'm stumped. I need huge help. Trucks been down for 2 weeks already. Any thoughts, or suggestions please help.

Edit: Took the turbo back out and when I undid the v-band on the down pipe there was lots of oil. No oil in the up-pipes and none on the compressor side, but what I can't figure out is why this thing is leaking oil through the turbo when I just rebuilt the new van turbo.

 

Anybody have any ideas?

 

Here's some pics of the 2 oil housings I have. The one on the left in all of the pics is the original, the one on the right is the one that came with the van turbo. Something I'm not sure about though is that on the left one the metal cap comes off of the turbine side but not on the van turbo one. Is it supposed to come off?

 

Here's two more pics. I know it's hard to tell anything from pics but any ideas as to why this would still be leaking after a rebuild would be helpful.

 

Yes, the heat shield should come off. The oil housings are the same for both turbos. If you look closely at the two exhaust wheels, you'll see the van turbo's is different. Don't mix 'em up... LOL

I had to re-use my stock oil housing as the van turbo housing leaked on mine also. I think the housing was chewed up a bit from the bushings/bearing being shot...

 

Yeah, I noticed the van turbo's exhaust wheel is slightly different. Is there a way to tell from looking at the oil housing if it will leak? Anything in particular to look for? Also, when the they leak, is it just the split ring on the end of the bearing rod (next to the exhaust wheel) that allows the oil to leak through and if so why? Do they just weaken over time?

 

Yes, the split-ring is the seal, and a rebuild kit should come with a new one. I never looked at mine, but I'm guessing the groove in the housing was worn to the point where the new ring wasn't enough to seal. That's bad news, obviously and is probably from it being driven too long on shot bushings/bearing.

 

Gonna buy some spray on gasket cleaner and get it all cleaned up in case there's coked up oil inside the housing. Hopefully that will work. Got some assembly lube too for when I put everything back together. Got the ideas from a turbo rebuild website.

 

ok, so I rebuilt the turbo using the original oil housing yesterday. No whining rubbing sound but after a short 5 minute drive oil leaking out of the exhaust again. So pulled it back out this morning and am gonna try the rebuild again with the van turbo oil housing. I don't get it, I've followed all of the instructions on rebuilding the turbo, torqued everything to the proper torque, and it still leaks... I'm at a loss here. Any ideas? Is it possible to buy a new oil housing by itself?

 

are you sure it isnt left over oil in the exhaust your blowing out??

 

I'd drop the down pipe and take a look.

 

I thought at first that it might be left over oil but there's too much, and when I pulled the turbo out and disassembled it there is oil all over the turbine side and inside the heat shield of the oil housing. I'm almost ready to give up and blow a paycheck on a new turbo. Any ideas on how to fix are greatly appreciated.

 

Is there any other reason that oil would leak out of the turbo into the exhaust other than a bad seal in the oil housing? If there is other reasons what other symptoms should I look for? There's no oil in the up-pipes, and none leaking from the pedestal. Ideas?

 

a plugged ccv....

 

Check that one already. The hose is clear and the ccv is venting like it should.

Edit: So just finished another rebuild of the turbo, put everything back together and it still leaks. So now the question is, after 4 rebuilds, do I try to buy another turbo for the oil housing from a salvage yard or do I just throw in the towel and buy a new turbo? And if new turbo is the answer, what's a better turbo, the GTP38R or the BD Thruster Turbo?