Oil in the charge air cooler pipes and hoses.

bthober · October 2nd, 2011, 16:35

I have an '06 jetta w/ brm engine. I was busy taking out the transmission to replace the clutch. when I took out the air cleaner and related plastic piping there was oil residue inside the pipe. I went ahead and took off the pipe pieces on the passenger side and they too had oil in them. there was enough oil for it to run out when i stood the piece on end. when I was pulling the cv axle(pass side) i noticed that the little rubber elbow hose coming off of the turbo towards the charge air cooler that I replaced 2 years ago has a hole in it now just like the one i replaced. it seems to have a lot of oil on it as well. I am wondering what would cause this. I suspect that it has something to do with the turbo but really don't know. the turbo was still working when I pulled it in to work on it. I has been a little delayed in kicking in recently though. It has also been sucking air ,I believe through the hole in that elbow i mentioned earlier. I love my car and don't mind working on it but I need help figuring out what is going on here. I don't want to just start replacing stuff in order to find the problem. Does anyone out there have any input? thanks, Ben

JSWTDI09 · October 2nd, 2011, 21:31

A little oil in the intercooler pipes is normal. There is always some oil condensation. However, if you find a lot of oil (like a cup or more), it could indicate that your turbocharger seals are failing. Therefore the real question is: How much oil did you fine? A little is pretty normal, while a lot could indicate a problem. Good Luck!

Have Fun!

Don

bthober · October 3rd, 2011, 18:32

I believe the oil has been leaking out of the rubber elbow that i mentioned in the first post. I believe that the oil is the reason that the rubber elbow failed in the first place. The car has 175k mi. on it and I replaced the same elbow 55k ago. there was oil present at that time but not nearly as much. there was standing oil in the airways this time. if the seals are bad do I just replace the whole thing or can it be rebuilt? If I should replace it where is best place to buy a good one for decent price? I dealt with frank'stdis for my cam problem and he had good prices and advice. I appreciate any input. thanks alot Ben

bthober · October 5th, 2011, 17:04

How does a person go about getting more input on a subject? Has this not occured with anyone else's brm? I don't mean to sound complainy but I need some feedback. Yes I am already tearing pretty deep into the car for the clutch and the timing belt but I want to go about dealing with each kinda by itself. is there some thing I should do ? should I take the turbo off and inspect something in particular? Is there a thread out there that I should be looking at instead of starting my own? I appreciate any input, thanks much Ben

Mrrogers1 · October 6th, 2011, 00:24

I did my timing belt and the rear heater hoses this weekend and yes, I found some oil in the mouth of the passenger side intake hose (after the intercooler) and some on the back side of the intake hose on the driver side. Not enough to pour out but I could see it was their.

Unless you are filling with the oil, I wouldn't sweat it.

LBJ (Laser Blue Jetta) · October 6th, 2011, 12:20

I also was wondering how normal it is to find oil in the intercooler. My '09 has 40k miles on it and I noticed the oil on the engine belly pan when I removed it to change engine oil and do the 40k inspections. I did not remove the elbow from the intercooler (where the oil is) to see what was inside. The discharge end of the entercooler shows no evidence of oil leakage. I'm wondering if I should take it to a dealer for possible warranty work? From what I read above, it sounds fairly normal. In fact the dealer just had the pan off to service the DSG and there were no comments made about the leak. It is impossible to miss.

JSWTDI09 · October 6th, 2011, 12:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by LBJ (Laser Blue Jetta)

I also was wondering how normal it is to find oil in the intercooler. My '09 has 40k miles on it and I noticed the oil on the engine belly pan when I removed it to change engine oil and do the 40k inspections. I did not remove the elbow from the intercooler (where the oil is) to see what was inside. The discharge end of the entercooler shows no evidence of oil leakage. I'm wondering if I should take it to a dealer for possible warranty work? From what I read above, it sounds fairly normal. In fact the dealer just had the pan off to service the DSG and there were no comments made about the leak. It is impossible to miss.

1) You would be surprised how big of a problem a dealer can miss. I'm shocked when they actually spot one. If they don't feel like fixing it, they will not "notice" it.
2) I noticed some oil on the floor in my garage and asked the dealer to check for leaks at my 30k "free" service. They discovered that one of the intercooler pipes was improperly put together at the factory and it was leaking oil. They told me that some oil condensation in the IC was normal. Anyway, they replaced the damaged piece of pipe for free. BTW: no new oil on the floor, so I guess it worked.

Have Fun!

Don

straightliner · October 7th, 2011, 10:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWTDI09

1) You would be surprised how big of a problem a dealer can miss. I'm shocked when they actually spot one. If they don't feel like fixing it, they will not "notice" it.
2) I noticed some oil on the floor in my garage and asked the dealer to check for leaks at my 30k "free" service. They discovered that one of the intercooler pipes was improperly put together at the factory and it was leaking oil. They told me that some oil condensation in the IC was normal. Anyway, they replaced the damaged piece of pipe for free. BTW: no new oil on the floor, so I guess it worked.

Have Fun!

Don

Thats funny Don,
The VW dealerships have such a bad name when it comes to service work! I had something similar happen and the dealer said they have to contact VW for the fix? I asked the service writer why he was having the carwash kid do the repair and not a mechanic? (Laughing) The writer said all warranty repairs are reported to VW and VW tells them how to repair it!

My intercooler hose was also leaking and i found it slid very easily on the intercooler piping. The dealer said it was bad and needs replaced. So i told them ok but i would do the repair! They got quiet! I went to parts and bought the replacement hose and installed it at home. Guess what? It fits the same!!! Very sloppy connection and it slides back and fourth. I looked at the old hose and found a compression seal inside the hose that would essentially expand and seal under pressure?

I still have the old hose and i plan on removing the fancy clip connector and installing a hose clamp next time!

Chris Rehtorik

Mrrogers1 · October 7th, 2011, 10:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by straightliner

Thats funny Don,
The VW dealerships have such a bad name when it comes to service work! I had something similar happen and the dealer said they have to contact VW for the fix? I asked the service writer why he was having the carwash kid do the repair and not a mechanic? (Laughing) The writer said all warranty repairs are reported to VW and VW tells them how to repair it!

My intercooler hose was also leaking and i found it slid very easily on the intercooler piping. The dealer said it was bad and needs replaced. So i told them ok but i would do the repair! They got quiet! I went to parts and bought the replacement hose and installed it at home. Guess what? It fits the same!!! Very sloppy connection and it slides back and fourth. I looked at the old hose and found a compression seal inside the hose that would essentially expand and seal under pressure?

I still have the old hose and i plan on removing the fancy clip connector and installing a hose clamp next time!

Chris Rehtorik

HA HA! Excellent! (*but sad at the same time

)

740GLE · October 7th, 2011, 12:11

Instead of replacing that plastic IC pipe, you should have just been able to snag that gasket. I want to say Nhdoc or some other member here was able to replace just the gasket but it didn't do anything.

But agreed it's a bad design (mine leaks just on the belly pan and is loose), but maybe they are uber smart and figured this would be a great place for oil to exit the intercooler!