Quote:
Originally Posted by slovcan
I'm afraid it's not quite that definitive, Rev. If the turbo seals start to leak you will get the blue smoke on startup - same situation as worn valve stem seals on a NA engine. With the engine off for a while the oil that is naturally there in normal operation leaks past the worn seals into the turbo to be ingested into the engine when it is started (or in the NA engine, leaks past the valve stem seals directly into the combustion chamber). Once that residual oil is burned off, no more smoke until the next time it sits for a while and is restarted. This condition doesn't affect boost or performance.
In your case, new seals and a general cleaning of the turbines while it's apart may be all you'll need. Have you noticed any increased turbo noise. If not, the turbo bearings are probably not damaged, yet. You could probably get a rebuilt core (the innards) swapped in for a sensible price. That would be virtually the same as a new turbo (seals, bearings, cleaned). The simplest thing may just be to swap out your turbo for one from Mickey or one of the other guys here.
I really doubt the problem is valve stem seals at your mileage. Turbo seals can go prematurely with repeated shutting down of a hot turbo after a workout or long highway run - any scenario, really, that works the turbo a bit - without letting the engine idle for a few minutes to cool the oil and turbo (maybe a previous owners use). People used to use turbo timers that would leave the engine idling for a few minutes after turning off the ignition, locking the car and walking away.
I went through the turbo seals thing with my old Quattro Turbo Coupe.
Hope this helps,
Glenn
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Many thanks Glenn, your prognosis sounds about right, I am not too good at stripping engines down, getting the Turbo out for a stripdown is not within my remit.
Was really hoping someone on here could show and help.
Many Thanks.
Julien.