1.6TD Syncro Oily smoke

[syncronized]

Not sure if I have a turbo problem or engine problem on my Syncro so any help would be greatly appreciated. Basically the engine is leaving a lot of spots of oil on the tailgate, and is very smokey for about the first couple of miles driving from cold. At night I can see smoke in the following vehicles headlights. Oil is dripping out of both sides of the turbo. Checked the turbo oil return pipe & it was clear. Checked the for a baffle under the rocker cover & it was missing so fitted new one but still exactly the same problem. Oil level is correct. Before i bought the van someone had fitted a new piston, no idea why. I'm wondering if maybe they didnt hone the bore so perhaps its not sealing but then that wouldnt explain the oil dripping from the turbo? The engine is quite powerful (for a T25!) & doesnt seem to have any other problems.

[lloydy]

On my 1.6td syncro I had oil dipping from the turbo and from the exhaust joint below it. The turbo seals had gone on mine. Your description sounds pretty similar to my symptoms

[ewenmaclean]

Hello,

it does sound like turbo seals, but sometimes changing the seals only temporarily masks a different problem. Once the rings start to get worn, the blow-by gasses increase and the crank-case pressure increases, which is dealt with by the PCV on top of the valve cover - this can manifest itself as oil leakage from the compressor side of the turbo as it passes through there. With the angle of the engine in a T25, the return from the turbo ends up under the level of the oil in the sump - the oil return from the turbo is not under pressure - it relies on gravity from a small height differential, and so if the blow-by gasses are high some of the oil will prefer to seep through the seals as opposed to join the oil in the sump.

A compression check might help a bit, but you may be onto something with the replaced piston indicating cylinder wear.

Ewen

[lloydy]

could be onto something there, about 2-3 months after the new turbo piston rings went. Went through 4 litres of oil in 80 miles with a top speed of 30mph. Compression was in the single figures when tested
lloyd

[ewenmaclean]

Hi Lloyd,

sorry to hear that - that sounds gutting. I run an external oil cooler on mine, and the oil level seems to settle down just above the minimum. I reckon that's ok since there's an extra litre or two in the cooler, and it's not getting too hot - this means also that the turbo oil return doesn't have so much difficulty and the turbo seals don't get so much pressure.... I just keep an eye on my oil pressure and temperature.

Hope yours is running well now

Ewen

[lloydy]

used it as an excuse to fit a AAZ
Was over 6 months ago now, so the pain has subdued.... got a 25 row oil cooler now as well, would hate to see how hot it gets without one.

[syncronized]

Thanks for the info chaps. I also have a complete AAZ which could be fitted if the JX is knackered but I would probably need to use the JX turbo so was trying to sort the oil/smoke issue beforehand.