Turbo oil drain problems w/AAM kit

Jayhovah · 09-26-2017, 09:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dragonbreath

I did some research about a restrictor but apparently the EFR turbo has a built in restrictor according to Borg Warner.

JSur, yep they are the EFR turbos.

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Any noticeable difference in return line length, slack, or routing complexity between pass and drivers side? Any difference in turbo mounting height or drain port orientation?

What size are the feed lines?

I am certain you already know this, but turbo gravity drains can be finicky so even a small adjustment could completely alleviate the problem.

edit: I just reread your post and you mention that the drain line levels out a little on the drivers side... you might consider taking some pics and sending to AAM to see if they have any ideas to adjust the routing? My drain lines also have very little downward slope, but seem to be OK.... even adjusting the drain so that you can get a few extra degrees of slope may solve it.

Have you gotten in touch with AAM and/or Borg Warner? Could be the result of a defect or failure as well.

zguynate · 09-26-2017, 10:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jayhovah

Any noticeable difference in return line length, slack, or routing complexity between pass and drivers side? Any difference in turbo mounting height or drain port orientation?

What size are the feed lines?

I am certain you already know this, but turbo gravity drains can be finicky so even a small adjustment could completely alleviate the problem.

edit: I just reread your post and you mention that the drain line levels out a little on the drivers side... you might consider taking some pics and sending to AAM to see if they have any ideas to adjust the routing? My drain lines also have very little downward slope, but seem to be OK.... even adjusting the drain so that you can get a few extra degrees of slope may solve it.

Have you gotten in touch with AAM and/or Borg Warner? Could be the result of a defect or failure as well.

The drivers side turbo uses a 45 degree fitting for the oil drain, and due to the starter has to be angled somewhat away from the motor. So the line has to curve back to the motor and then somewhat levels out. I've tried to see if I could change the routing of the line to make it better but due to the close proximity of the oil pan to the subframe, the line will always rest on the subframe. It's driving me crazy.

I've done a compression test and all of my compression rates are very good. I'm going to see if I can borrow a leak down tester also to make sure. When I got tuned I was having an issue with the dipstick blowing out... that's why I removed the AAM pcv setup. I haven't had any issues since I removed them. Before I could drive the car and when I parked it and turned it off, I could hear burbling from the motor. When I pulled the dipstick I would hear a rush of air. That has been alleviated but I'm still going to see if for some reason I'm getting leakage through the cylinders causing the line not to drain properly. I'm pretty certain I don't have any issues... but I'm unsure what to do next. I would like to avoid having to do a scavenge pump because I like simplicity.

I did talk to AAM and they said that according to Borg Warner, it's almost impossible for the turbo seals to go bad due to the design. Something about the seals being similar to a piston ring. They suggested that I clean it out and try it again. That didn't work for me obviously lol.

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Jayhovah · 09-26-2017, 11:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dragonbreath

The drivers side turbo uses a 45 degree fitting for the oil drain, and due to the starter has to be angled somewhat away from the motor. So the line has to curve back to the motor and then somewhat levels out. I've tried to see if I could change the routing of the line to make it better but due to the close proximity of the oil pan to the subframe, the line will always rest on the subframe. It's driving me crazy.

I've done a compression test and all of my compression rates are very good. I'm going to see if I can borrow a leak down tester also to make sure. When I got tuned I was having an issue with the dipstick blowing out... that's why I removed the AAM pcv setup. I haven't had any issues since I removed them. Before I could drive the car and when I parked it and turned it off, I could hear burbling from the motor. When I pulled the dipstick I would hear a rush of air. That has been alleviated but I'm still going to see if for some reason I'm getting leakage through the cylinders causing the line not to drain properly. I'm pretty certain I don't have any issues... but I'm unsure what to do next. I would like to avoid having to do a scavenge pump because I like simplicity.

I did talk to AAM and they said that according to Borg Warner, it's almost impossible for the turbo seals to go bad due to the design. Something about the seals being similar to a piston ring. They suggested that I clean it out and try it again. That didn't work for me obviously lol.

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That is kind of scary with the crank case being pressurized and blowing the dip stick out. I'll bet that was quite a surprise the first time!!! Did it just pop out or did it like fire across the room? I feel like that would give me a pretty fierce case of the giggles.

Since you are finding oil in the charge pipe and don't have PCV plumbed, I agree its 100% coming from the turbo, I wouldn't worry about the motor at all. Maybe you have a defect or blockage in the return line plumbing?

One test I can think of is to swap the pass/drivers side turbos... but it would probably be a ton of work... it would rule out a turbo defect though.

You mentioned the problem comes with throttle. Strictly with throttle? Or with RPM? Happens regardless of whether the oil is cold or hot? Wondering if it is dependent on oil pressure.

What size is the return line? Looks like some setups use some relatively small AN lines.... on my kit the returns are some pretty fat hoses which are almost like reservoirs in and of themselves.

zguynate · 09-27-2017, 07:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jayhovah

That is kind of scary with the crank case being pressurized and blowing the dip stick out. I'll bet that was quite a surprise the first time!!! Did it just pop out or did it like fire across the room? I feel like that would give me a pretty fierce case of the giggles.

Since you are finding oil in the charge pipe and don't have PCV plumbed, I agree its 100% coming from the turbo, I wouldn't worry about the motor at all. Maybe you have a defect or blockage in the return line plumbing?

One test I can think of is to swap the pass/drivers side turbos... but it would probably be a ton of work... it would rule out a turbo defect though.

You mentioned the problem comes with throttle. Strictly with throttle? Or with RPM? Happens regardless of whether the oil is cold or hot? Wondering if it is dependent on oil pressure.

What size is the return line? Looks like some setups use some relatively small AN lines.... on my kit the returns are some pretty fat hoses which are almost like reservoirs in and of themselves.

I'm not sure how the oil dipstick thing worked lol. Jon at Z1 tuned it and told me about it. My car had oil all over it lol, but they cleaned it pretty well for me.

As long as I don't boost I don't have any issues. I don't know about the cold or hot thing because I wait until my oil temps are at a good operating temp before I do any hard driving.

The return line on that side is -10.

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