My '91 300td 2.5 has recently developed a serious smoking problem (as in exhaust). Driving home (at highway speeds) I saw blue smoke coming from my car. upon arriving at my destination 10 mins later it seemed to have cleared up. I made two more stops with no problem. Upon starting the car the next morning it started smoking (oil smoke) which increased to the point of undrivable. It belches huge clouds of smoke. In trouble shooting the problem I removed the turbo. It seems to be fine. I noticed the the was a large amount of wet oil coming into the exhaust manifold. This seemed to come down all five runners. Additionally, the exhaust side of the turbo was "puddled" in oil. My next thoughts are to check the oil pressure regulator and/or a vacuum problem. Anybody have any thoughts or suggestions ?
All are appreciated. Thanks!

P.S. Almost forgot. My oil pressure gage goes to the top (3) and stays there untill the engine is shut down

[Edited by mmilner on 07-15-2001 at 11:42 AM]

To me it sounds like a turbocharger problem. Can you take the turbo to a turbocharger shop in your town for check out. Sometimes the seal goes bad in them and allows oil to enter the intake. It is a relatively easy fix for a turbo repair facility.

__________________
Jim

The turbocharge does not really have oil seals. There are metal rings around the axle on both sides. The ring is more less like the piston ring in the engine keeping the air pressure out, not much for oil sealing. Oil enters the oil housing filling up the gaps outside and inside the sleeve bearings and the axle is inside the sleeve bearings; then oil leaks into the open space inside the oil housing. Therefore, the axle is actually "floating" in oil. When the rate of oil flowing out of the bearings is faster then the rate of going down the oil pan via the oil return tube, the oil is overflowing inside open space of the oil housing. Since the sleeve bearing on the exhaust side is lower than the compression side (air intake), oil will leak thru the exhaust side first.

There are two reasons that I know causing the oil overflow.
1. There is too large a gap between the inner surface of the sleeve bearing and the axle, and/or between the outer surface of the sleeve bearing and the oil housing causing a lot of oil flowing into the open space inside the oil housing.
2. Clogged oil return tube.

If that is your problem, you need to rebuild the turbo. Rebuilding a turbo is an easy job for a turbo repair facility. Shop around for the best price. Improper engine shutdown overheating the turbo, dirty or lack of oil are the root of the problem.

David



[Edited by be459 on 07-16-2001 at 07:08 PM]