I ordered 8 quarts of Mobil 1 5w 40 Turbo Diesel oil from the AutoBarn. It should be here in a coulple days, but before I change it... I'm pretty sure my turbo is eating my oil. Looks like about a quart every 800 miles or so. When I first got the car (my first diesel...) I brought it to the dealership shop to be checked out. They informed me that the turbo was not working. They diagnosed it as having a clogged boost fuel pressure valve and fixed it for a cool $275. Ouch.
I know it's not uncommon for the turbo to eat some oil, but is there a way to fix it? Honestly, I can't tell if it even works. I've got good pickup - especially because I'm alda-free - and I can easily pass people on the highway, but I don't hear any spooling or whirring. It doesn't help that this is the only Turbo Diesel I've ever driven, so I have nothing to compare it to.

SO... how can I tell if it is in fact the turbo that is taking the oil? How can I fix that? How can I tell if the turbo works? Is a "boost fuel pressure valve" a different way of saying something I may be more familiar with? If not, how do I check if it's clogged?

There's my first post and first 5 questions of 2007. Thanks for all the help in 2006! Happy New Year, everyone!
-Jim

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1983 MB 300SD Turbo Diesel

The dealership replaced the overboost protection valve on the firewall. Don't know the cost of the valve, offhand, but it's a 10 minute job. It gets clogged with soot and prevents the turbo's boost signal from reaching the ALDA to provide more fuel to the engine.

With regard to oil consumption, it's probably premature to condemn the turbo without any investigation. With a consumption of 1 quart per 800 miles, there should be some evidence of oil at the output of the impeller wheel if the turbo is the culprit. However, you'll need to disconnect the hose from the valve cover and leave it open. This hose is a source of oil to the intake and will definitely be an issue if the engine has a fair amount of blowby.

I've got consumption on the '86 that's about 1 quart every 2000 miles and I also suspect the turbo's oil seals. But, it's difficult to confirm this. On older engines, the consumption can be anything from the turbo seals to the valve guides and seals, to (less likely) the rings.

Dollars to donuts they charged you $275 to replace the electric switchover valve on the firewall sold at Fastlane for $44.10 and taking perhaps 5 minutes to change out.
Take the u-boot off the turbo and try to move the impeller shaft axially. If there is a quantifiable amount of play the bearing is on the way out. This allows oil past the bearing into the intake, which if I'm not mistaken is a dangerous situation. Think 'runaway diesel'.

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'02 BMW 325i
'85 300D 450k
'93 190E 2.6 170k(killed by tree)
'08 Ducati Hypermotard 1100S 6k
'06 Ducati S2R800 14k(sold)

Actually not.

At a burn rate of one quart every 200 miles, the engine still consumes 32X this amount in fuel, so, it's not likely to cause a runaway engine.

I got to a point of one quart every 50 miles with the '87 when I called it quits. There was no sign of a runaway.

I must have been thinking of something else then. Something about the engine using its own oil as fuel sucking it thru whatever doo dad and the revs go unregulated and then the whole thing blows up. But the turbo might suck oil at an increasing rate of not fixed, correct? I think I remember reading a post about turbo oil consumption before. This post said something about a lot of blue smoke coming out of the exhaust.

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'02 BMW 325i
'85 300D 450k
'93 190E 2.6 170k(killed by tree)
'08 Ducati Hypermotard 1100S 6k
'06 Ducati S2R800 14k(sold)

I've heard stories to the same effect, but, unless the engine gets a steady and huge supply of oil (much more than one quart every 50 miles), I don't see a runaway situation happening.

I'm sure it's occurred in the past, but, it's certainly spoken about far more than any experiences are posted.

In my case, it was white smoke........and lots of it.