IIRC, most of these rod-benders bend the rods because the #1 cylinder (primarily) becomes ovaled due to the increased stroke of the engine and the weak connecting rod design, thus making it impossible for the rings to seal the cylinder. The combustion gasses escape into the crank case, and oily vapor starts to pour out of the crankcase vent (on top of the valve cover), which returns to the intake pre-turbo. This oily vapor then mixes with soot from the EGR and creates some nasty stuff inside of the intake manifold and crossover pipe. Oil also gets past the oil control ring due to the out of round cylinder(s), thus bending the offending rod(s) even more. It's really a vicious cycle.

I've read a few threads where owners of these engines have replaced a turbo to try and control the oil consumption, but to no avail.

Before you replace your turbo, do a compression test on the engine.