Turbo Oil Supply Leak

[SilverSH0]

Has anyone here replace the oil supply sealing washer on their rear turbo? Is it hard to get to? It appears that once I remove the downpipe it should free up a lot of room to see. Will that free up enough room to remove the bolt to the supply line?

I was under the car trying to change the PTU fluid. While looking around and debating on removing the downpipe I noticed oil on the subframe. I traced it back and it's coming from right in the center of the turbo. What I can see is dripping off what appears to be a 2 piece clamp between the compressor housing and turbine housing (I think those are correct terms but this is my first turbo car so it may be wrong). It's not coming from the bottom of that clamp, it's somewhere higher up on the turbo. Being the back turbo I cannot see any higher than the bottom half and even that's hard to see.

I've seen the TSB but it seems to be more for a leaking return line that's on the bottom of the turbo. My return line is clean and leak free. So I either have a leak from the supply line on top or from somewhere on the turbo itself. Seeing how it's just now getting nice outside I really don't want to pull the entire turbo so I'm hoping it's just the supply line.

 

[SilverSH0]

Well, it appears no one has personally gone that far into their car so I when in anyways. After about 3/4 day work with multiple trips to town for tools I managed to end up with this parts pile.

All of those parts so that I can get to this stupid little leak.

You can see some oil on the clamp between the turbine and compressor. You can also see some oil on one of the tabs of the compressor housing.
The hardest part so far was figuring out the right combination of sockets/universals/extensions to remove the downpipe nuts/bolts. I tried using a breaker bar and sockets but the nuts/bolts were stuck on there good. Without a good impact wrench I cannot imagine removing the downpipe. My bolts weren't even hardly rusted but they were stuck in place. With the downpipe removed it opens up easy access to the PTU fill plug. So I guess I'm going to change that fluid while I'm under the car.

Next I have to drain the oil, drain the coolant, and remove the heat shields around the turbo. After that I'm hoping I can have enough room to get to the oil supply line seal on top of the turbo. After getting the downpipe nuts/bolts off I really don't want to fight with the nuts or bolts fastening the turbo to the exhaust manifold.

 

[SHOdded]

A LOT of work! Hope the problem is indeed the gasket. The rear turbo is especially difficult to get to, packaging is just a bit too compact nowadays.

 

[SilverSH0]

A LOT of work! Hope the problem is indeed the gasket. The rear turbo is especially difficult to get to, packaging is just a bit too compact nowadays.

Yes, I also hope it's the gasket/seal and I hope I can get to it without removing the turbo. But worst case scenario is I need to completely remove the turbo and replace whatever seal is leaking.

I debated for several hours Friday if I wanted to fix the leak or if I wanted to leave it until next winter. Since this is just a weekend/fun car and I honestly enjoy working on cars, I figured I would tackle the job and work on it a little every day. My biggest concern is actually getting the exhaust manifold to turbo bolts torqued to spec if I have to remove the turbo. Everything else is just accessing, removing, and marking (so I don't forget).

I learned long ago when pulling my first engine to mark everything even if you think you'll remember. At some point you'll forget where something goes or you will forget to connect something. What I do is mark all connections with masking tape and label them. That way I know where it goes and when I'm done I can scan the engine for any masking tape. If I see tape then something's not connected. No tape and everything is connected.

I'll probably make a write up / how to on this when finished. But it looks like several of the pictures I took are slightly blurry and not the best.

 

[SilverSH0]

I have the top of the crap on the engine removed, drained the coolant, and disconnected the oil supply line from the block. I removed the heat shields and the oil supply bolt sits directly below the exhaust manifold and no way to get to it while the turbo is in place. So now I'm to the point where I need to remove the few remaining pieces connected to the turbo and then disconnect it from the exhaust manifold.

While under the car looking it brought up the question: has anyone here actually removed the rear turbo charger? If so, is there a way to remove it with the front subframe in place?

So far I've been able to work around it. But when looking for a location to remove the turbo I'm not sure it can be removed with the subframe in place. I might not have to completely remove it. I might be able to move it around in the area where the downpipe used to be and replace the leaking seal. But since I'm this far I would really like to get it on the bench, clean it up, and make sure it isn't a seal in the turbo leaking or anything because ultimately the only thing I can see is that it's leaking from the top half and I'm assuming it's from the supply line seal.

 

[Sgtmeatsauce1]

Wow. Mine leaks very slightly from the bottom maybe the oil return line...

 

[MustangDave]

I have the top of the crap on the engine removed, drained the coolant, and disconnected the oil supply line from the block. I removed the heat shields and the oil supply bolt sits directly below the exhaust manifold and no way to get to it while the turbo is in place. So now I'm to the point where I need to remove the few remaining pieces connected to the turbo and then disconnect it from the exhaust manifold.

While under the car looking it brought up the question: has anyone here actually removed the rear turbo charger? If so, is there a way to remove it with the front subframe in place?

So far I've been able to work around it. But when looking for a location to remove the turbo I'm not sure it can be removed with the subframe in place. I might not have to completely remove it. I might be able to move it around in the area where the downpipe used to be and replace the leaking seal. But since I'm this far I would really like to get it on the bench, clean it up, and make sure it isn't a seal in the turbo leaking or anything because ultimately the only thing I can see is that it's leaking from the top half and I'm assuming it's from the supply line seal.

Yes, I also hope it's the gasket/seal and I hope I can get to it without removing the turbo. But worst case scenario is I need to completely remove the turbo and replace whatever seal is leaking.

I debated for several hours Friday if I wanted to fix the leak or if I wanted to leave it until next winter. Since this is just a weekend/fun car and I honestly enjoy working on cars, I figured I would tackle the job and work on it a little every day. My biggest concern is actually getting the exhaust manifold to turbo bolts torqued to spec if I have to remove the turbo. Everything else is just accessing, removing, and marking (so I don't forget).

I learned long ago when pulling my first engine to mark everything even if you think you'll remember. At some point you'll forget where something goes or you will forget to connect something. What I do is mark all connections with masking tape and label them. That way I know where it goes and when I'm done I can scan the engine for any masking tape. If I see tape then something's not connected. No tape and everything is connected.

I'll probably make a write up / how to on this when finished. But it looks like several of the pictures I took are slightly blurry and not the best.

 

[MustangDave]

HI SilverSHO did you ever do the write up? I am looking at tackling both the PTU and replacing the rear turbo oil lines on my 2010 SHO. thanks

 

[88blackiroc]

HI SilverSHO did you ever do the write up? I am looking at tackling both the PTU and replacing the rear turbo oil lines on my 2010 SHO. thanks

Hey Dave, I ended up recently doing this work myself. My right turbo (between engine/firewall) had a leak on the supply line. Ended up needing to take the turbo loose on the manifold to get enough room to disconnect the banjo bolt. Not too hard just time consuming.
Now that I fixed that it’s onto the drain line, which appears much more accessible.

 

[MustangDave]

Hey Dave, I ended up recently doing this work myself. My right turbo (between engine/firewall) had a leak on the supply line. Ended up needing to take the turbo loose on the manifold to get enough room to disconnect the banjo bolt. Not too hard just time consuming.
Now that I fixed that it’s onto the drain line, which appears much more accessible.

Thanks! My RH Turbo Supply line is definitely leaking. Just starting to take things apart to access the banjo bolt. To loosen the RH turbo at the manifold did you have to remove the RH Cat first? Thanks for reply!