[HASHIRIYA]

I bought a 1994 9000 cse with a manual trans for 900 bucks. The guy that sold it to me was very honest and told me that it would be a project (which i wanted) and said the turbo seemed it was failing, it had a coolant leak, and it smoked on startup. On my way home from buying it, i noticed that the turbo worked fine and it was making boost, so i ruled out that the smoke was from the turbo and just burning coolant. That wasn't the case because when i started it the next day it smoked like crazy, but went away after it warmed up.i tested it for leaks and the amount of coolant that leaked wasn't enough to cause that much smoke. I started it today and I heard a loud pop from my exhaust (it has a 2.5 inch straight pipe so that might have made it more audible). shortly after that it started billowing smoke from the exhaust so i popped the hood and checked the turbo. there was smoke coming from the hot side of it, but not a lot. I took it for a drive and when I accelerated the turbo was still making boost but the more boost, the more smoke. pretty sure that its the turbo and i sure hope its not a head gasket.

 

[Ryengoth]

Smoke will be blue and smell like 2-stroke chainsaw, coolant will be white and smell sweet. It might be the seals in the turbo housing allowing oil to get into the intake and exhaust. Check the cold-side pipe for oil.

 

[HASHIRIYA]

Smoke will be blue and smell like 2-stroke chainsaw, coolant will be white and smell sweet. It might be the seals in the turbo housing allowing oil to get into the intake and exhaust. Check the cold-side pipe for oil.

The smoke was blue in the sun so it was oil. Ive been thinking pretty much exactly what you said. time for a turbo rebuild....

 

[yolksaab]

I bought a 1994 9000 cse with a manual trans for 900 bucks. The guy that sold it to me was very honest and told me that it would be a project (which i wanted) and said the turbo seemed it was failing, it had a coolant leak, and it smoked on startup. On my way home from buying it, i noticed that the turbo worked fine and it was making boost, so i ruled out that the smoke was from the turbo and just burning coolant. That wasn't the case because when i started it the next day it smoked like crazy, but went away after it warmed up.i tested it for leaks and the amount of coolant that leaked wasn't enough to cause that much smoke. I started it today and I heard a loud pop from my exhaust (it has a 2.5 inch straight pipe so that might have made it more audible). shortly after that it started billowing smoke from the exhaust so i popped the hood and checked the turbo. there was smoke coming from the hot side of it, but not a lot. I took it for a drive and when I accelerated the turbo was still making boost but the more boost, the more smoke. pretty sure that its the turbo and i sure hope its not a head gasket.

I am chasing down an oil leak around the turbo area currently - do you have anyvisible oil on the oil feed, coolant lines, etc around the turbo?

when I removed my compressor housing I found the gasket that is present on the T3 turbos was damaged.

also, welcome to the club!

 

[Ryengoth]

If the compressor vanes look tired or thin I'd just swap out the whole cartridge. I'm kinda glad I don't have a turbo to deal with but I miss turbo tuning fun. That said 508whp was a bit more than the B234 turbocharged.

 

[rawill]

Does the turbo spindle appear to have vertical or horizontal movement, if you test it by "moving it" with your fingers, hand.

If it does it will need rekitted, replaced.

I got mine recored.

 

[HASHIRIYA]

I checked hoses around the hot side and there is a small wrapped hose that runs from somewhere on the engine side to the intercooler. i felt the frayed area and sure enough, my fingers turned black with oil. pretty sure that is dripping on the hot side. im not sure why its coming through the tailpipe though, the oil was just on the outside. any ideas on whats goin on?

 

[HASHIRIYA]

it wasnt that hose, they were just wires. there is oil all around the engine below the valve cover. is there a way that it could be getting into the exhaust manifold and burning in the turbo? i checked the oil, it was low and it kinda looked like light brown sludge, then again im in washington and it could just be cold oil... will change the oil and do more research.

 

[Ryengoth]

If it looks like chocolate milk, check your coolant level. Sounds like it could be a bad head gasket.

 

[rawill]

Seems like a thorough check needed, turbo off, check for end play and leaking seals.

Test compressions, for possible head gasket failure, and do a leak down test to be really sure.

Leak down test is when air pressure is put into the cylinder via the spark plug hole and see where leakage is happening if there is any.

I am sure Google will help here.
No point in guessing.