turbo leaking oil - 03 ALH - how long to replace??

Diesel Mania_26 · Jan 2, 2012

I have a 2003 Golf TDI - ALH - the original stock VNT 15 turbo the car has 260k kms on it.

Everything is in good shape and is fairly stock. oversized nozzles... cleaned intake. EGR has been ported off. regular maintenance etc has been done.

The turbo and egr are covered in oil... it didnt originally look like this - I didnt think the turbo was leaking all that badly but it appears that it is starting to...

so.... suggestions? do I simply replace the turbo and be done with it? how long do I have till the turbo gives up??

and my main fear is losing oil into the intake system... and hydro-locking the engine and bending the rods and making a mess.... any thoughts on how possible this is??

the turbo still spools up quite nicely and there is lots of pull... had some issues where it would go into limp mode but after changing the nozzles and spraying in some oven cleaner it seemed to loosen the vanes up and the problem seems to have gone away....

arne487 · Jan 2, 2012

A little oil is normal. Do you have a CCV putting oil in the intake pre-turbo? Most of it could be from that. Unless it's a lot of oil I wouldn't worry about it.

Diesel Mania_26 · Jan 2, 2012

I havent added anything. I cant recall if there is a stock Crank Case Vent...?
there is a fair bit of oil.... the turbo sounds fine and feels fine. If I had the extra money I would be doing an upgrade to the turbo anyway - I just dont want to have a catastrophic failure knowing that it can be avoided....

arne487 · Jan 2, 2012

There is a stock CCV. Depending on how the car has been driven lately it could be venting more or less oil vapor than before.

How much oil are you seeing? Have you been adding more than usual between changes?

Diesel Mania_26 · Jan 2, 2012

I have noticed that I am adding more than usual top ups between oil changes.... Im not quite sure how to rate the quantity - defininetely noticeable - its dripping off of the egr for the most part and the turbo housing.

arne487 · Jan 2, 2012

The oil is on the outside? I was thinking you pulled hoses off and found oil inside them (normal).

A leaky EGR valve is fairly common, but not an oil covered turbo. Is the oil on the outside of the turbo getting onto it from something else? Drips from the EGR, valve cover, loose oil supply line, residue from the CCV?

Diesel Mania_26 · Jan 2, 2012

when I pull the hoses off there is minimal oil resiude inside the intake boot.

All the oil I am referring to is visible on the outside - but I was assuming it was leaking from a turbo seal as it appeared to be excessive. I didnt realize the EGR could put through that much oil?? where would it be leaking from on the EGR?

shuld I put on a EGR delete pipe instead?

Niner · Jan 2, 2012

rhader said:
when I pull the hoses off there is minimal oil resiude inside the intake boot.

All the oil I am referring to is visible on the outside - but I was assuming it was leaking from a turbo seal as it appeared to be excessive. I didnt realize the EGR could put through that much oil?? where would it be leaking from on the EGR?

shuld I put on a EGR delete pipe instead?

No, stuff a paper towel at the upper vent on the front side of the EGR pot, between the EGR /ASV pot and the cylinder head, to absorb the oil loss. Or spend the money and replace the EGR pot /valve, about $180 in parts. A paper towel changed every time you add some oil is more cost effective.

The J · Jan 3, 2012

My EGR was leaking enough to cover the EGR and drip onto the cyl head and turbo below. Driving for 10 mins would provide burnt oil smell once the engine parts were warm enough. Your turbo may be fine. I was surprised at how much oil the EGR was leaking.

Diesel Mania_26 · Jan 3, 2012

yeah thats basically what I am getting. I have had teh EGR out several times and cleaned it out - to no avail...
might have to try the 'paper towel trick'...
I have also contepmplated a PD intake and would be forced to use a PD EGR anyway so that should do the trick as well.

AndyBees · Jan 3, 2012

You state that the "EGR has been ported off." So, all you need to do is:

Now plug the hole where the EGR Valve stem goes thru the body! No more oil!

Diesel Mania_26 · Jan 3, 2012

thats more like it!
thx Andy!

so basically you modify the EGR so that is a straight through EGR delete??

AndyBees · Jan 3, 2012

rhader said:
thats more like it!
thx Andy!

so basically you modify the EGR so that is a straight through EGR delete??

I left the ASV (throttle) in place. This application will be used on my "off-road" Vanagon conversion project!

Actually, I plan to thread the hole for a boost gauge!

For the record, that hole contained the "seal" that goes kaput thus the weeping oil on the outside of the EGR! The seal cannot be replaced! All that stuff is "stamped" together!

Canadian_Grizzly · Jan 3, 2012

Drive more worry less, my original turbo has 610,000 km on it...

Diesel Mania_26 · Jan 4, 2012

Canadian_Grizzly said:
Drive more worry less, my original turbo has 610,000 km on it...

thats amazing!! I keep wondering just how long to go with the car... 500k kms? 600k kms? 1mill kms? how much is too much....

yeah some get lucky and the turbo just keeps going... I have replaced a couple for people that blew oil into the intake and the engine ran away on them.... it was a big mess. just made me nervous about my own car.... with only 260k kms on it the car has lots of life left in her!

VeeDubTDI · Jan 4, 2012

You might want to consider saving up some money and preemptively replacing the turbo with the upgrade of your choice. It's a nice choice if you're looking for peace of mind and a bit more performance, especially if you're noticing your oil consumption going up... you've already identified that it's ending up in the intake system, which isn't good.

Diesel Mania_26 · Jan 4, 2012

/\ /\

yep my thoughts as well!! Just wish I had an extra $1500 kicking around...

arne487 · Jan 4, 2012

rhader said:
/\ /\

yep my thoughts as well!! Just wish I had an extra $1500 kicking around...

Triple or quadruple that and you can have even more fun.

Diesel Mania_26 · Jan 4, 2012

yep! I keep telling my wife she would make a quick buck and I could do some car mods... she's never too impressed with that.

SmokeFree · Jan 4, 2012

Canadian_Grizzly said:
Drive more worry less, my original turbo has 610,000 km on it...

This annoys me whenever it is said. We all worry, and don't want to be stranded. We can only ask our peers when we feel it is nessecary, in your case friend, ask aWay...

Canadian_Grizzly · Jan 4, 2012

SmokeFree said:
This annoys me whenever it is said. We all worry, and don't want to be stranded. We can only ask our peers when we feel it is nessecary, in your case friend, ask aWay...

Very true however too many replace parts unnecessarily with the belief that they are about to explode. I'm just sharing my experience and I AM not a a mechanic or engineer, however I don't like seeing folks spend needless money replacing perfectly good parts.

cleaver · Jan 6, 2012

Canadian_Grizzly said:
Very true however too many replace parts unnecessarily with the belief that they are about to explode. I'm just sharing my experience and I AM not a a mechanic or engineer, however I don't like seeing folks spend needless money replacing perfectly good parts.

I whole heartily agree. I am at 598,000km and haven't replaced anything yet except when needed. Pretty much everything is original including the turbo.

The original poster said that his oil loss is on the outside of the EGR (and dripping onto the turbo) and not in the intake. His turbo sounds like it is perfectly fine. There are big differences to wanting to replace the turbo for increased performance, for preventative maintenance, or from fear mongering...all are legit reasons, you just have to make sure YOU know why YOU are replacing the parts.

Shizzell · Jan 30, 2012

yep! I keep telling my wife she would make a quick buck and I could do some car mods... she's never too impressed with that.

rofl? prostitution?

dr64ml68 · Sep 1, 2014

Niner said:
No, stuff a paper towel at the upper vent on the front side of the EGR pot, between the EGR /ASV pot and the cylinder head, to absorb the oil loss. Or spend the money and replace the EGR pot /valve, about $180 in parts. A paper towel changed every time you add some oil is more cost effective.

Did you put the paper towel in the valve cover vent hole or in the bottom of the EGR/ASV pot? The internal baffle on the valve cover would prevent the paper towel from getting into the valve area.

AndyBees · Sep 1, 2014

Dr64ml68 ............. Niner was talking about placing a piece of paper towel on the outside of the EGR to absorb the oil leaking out of the vent hole.

Do not put anything inside the EGR or under the valve cover to absorb oil!

dr64ml68 · Sep 1, 2014

AndyBees said:
Dr64ml68 ............. Niner was talking about placing a piece of paper towel on the outside of the EGR to absorb the oil leaking out of the vent hole.

Do not put anything inside the EGR or under the valve cover to absorb oil!

Ok, that makes a lot more sense. I couldn't quite picture where he was describing where to put it. I'm so tired of the stop gap measures. I would really like to find a more permanent solution to this problem. Thank you for info.

Jettascuba · Sep 2, 2014

Rear of my engine, turbo, actuator etc is covered with oil from leaking EGR to intake manifold o-ring. And repeated a week after cleaning everything.

turbo leaking oil - 03 ALH - how long to replace??

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