Does this sound like Turbo seals?

[BHutch]

I seem to be on a losing streak lately. I was adjusting my rack dampener in the driveway last night and listening to some other noises and so the car was idling for 15 minutes or so(I should add that this was after a 30 mile drive home from work, so the engine was already up to temp). The longer it idled the more smoke seemed to come from the exhaust and when I pressed the accelerator a pretty good amount of greyish-blue smoke came out. I took it for a little spin and came back and checked the oil and I was down at least a half-quart from before I started the idle! Prior to this I have used about a quart every 3K. The strange thing is, the smoke didn't really smell like burning oil. I let it sit for about 30 minutes and took it for a 6 mile ride (after adding oil) and everything seemed to be normal(I didn't let it idle first). Normally I have to let the car idle in the driveway in the morning for about 5 minutes or so (VERY steep driveway) to have enough power to get out and I notice a puff of smoke when I leave. No smoke any other time, so idling seems to be the big determining factor. Could bad turbo seals allow oil into the turbo at idle but not as much under load? In the last six months I have had new GP's, rebuilt injectors, valves adjusted, new tank screen and fuel lines and a lot more that isn't relevant to this problem. The car has 89,000 on the odometer (I bought it at 84K). Any ideas? '85 300SD. Thanks.

[Brian Carlton]

Originally Posted by BHutch

Could bad turbo seals allow oil into the turbo at idle but not as much under load?

Just the opposite is the situation. Very little oil will reach the cylinders at idle due to the low airflow and low oil pressure. When the rpm's come up, the oil rushes to the intake manifold and the smoke will clear out the neighborhood.

Furthermore, you must be quite careful in making the determination that it "only smokes at idle". You can easily see the smoke at idle because the vehicle isn't moving. Once it starts moving through the air, the dispersion is significantly greater and your conclusion of reduced smoke might be false. It's necessary to clarify this point because all will be led astray with a wrong set of symptoms (very common on this forum).

[BHutch]

I understand about the smoke dispersal when moving but if get home after a 30 min. drive and put it in park and lay on the accelerator for a second or two and let off I normally see very little smoke. In this particular instance, after idling for 15 minutes or so, I would see a lot of smoke after stepping on the accelerator in park. So I was curious if oil could get into the turbo while idling (little air flow) and then when winding up the RPM's the oil would be injected into the intake causing the smoke? Also, in this instance when I went for a drive after the idling, smoke was MUCH more apparent even with the dispersal.

[Brian Carlton]

Originally Posted by BHutch

I understand about the smoke dispersal when moving but if get home after a 30 min. drive and put it in park and lay on the accelerator for a second or two and let off I normally see very little smoke. In this particular instance, after idling for 15 minutes or so, I would see a lot of smoke after stepping on the accelerator in park. So I was curious if oil could get into the turbo while idling (little air flow) and then when winding up the RPM's the oil would be injected into the intake causing the smoke? Also, in this instance when I went for a drive after the idling, smoke was MUCH more apparent even with the dispersal.

This is a perfect example of the poor symptoms provided by an OP. In your original post, you mentioned nothing about very little smoke at idle. In fact, you stated that your problem is with smoke at idle.

Now, it's apparent that the smoke is not at idle. It's when you increase RPM's after sitting at idle for 15 minutes.

So, we now have a completely different conclusion. The new symptoms that you describe are perfectly associated with the problem of bad turbo seals.

[BHutch]

I apologize if I wasn't clear. I did mention, though, that the longer it idled the more it seemed to smoke and then after idling for a while it would smoke very much on acceleration. To clarify: there is SOME smoke at idle and more the more it idles. When I press the accelerator after idling for a while there is a quite a bit of smoke. Normal driving conditions without lengthy idle=very little to no smoke. Is this still consistent with turbo seals? Thank you for your time.

[Brian Carlton]

Originally Posted by BHutch

Normal driving conditions without lengthy idle=very little to no smoke.

How do you quantify "little or no smoke" when you are sitting in the driver's seat? Does your data come from the rear view mirror?

[kerry]

How does the pressure in the intake manifold factor into this? At idle with the turbo turning very slowly, there would be little pressure in the manifold. Would this allow more oil to enter the manifold from a bad oil seal than at high rpm's when there's more pressure?
Half a quart low seems like a lot. Did you let the engine sit long enough for all the oil to drain back down to the pan?
I'd mimic the conditions a couple of times to see if it repeats.

[BHutch]

I'm not really sure. I was just grasping at straws, trying to figure out how a long idle would cause a lot of smoke when running the engine. And the strange oil consumption. I may be projecting because I really want it to be the turbo and not rings! I did some searches, though and found some examples where sitting at a stop-light would create a lot of smoke at take-off and turbo-seals were suggested.

[BHutch]

Here's where I got the idea:

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=234113&highlight=turbo+seals

[Ether]

On my 300SD, I used to get the big puff of smoke (lots of it) after idling at a stop light or stop and go traffic. This went away when I changed out my valve stem seals.