narkotic

iTrader: (3)

We're all having the same problem. Trimming the oil return lines has helped on some cars, but it still happens. It's obviously an issue of the turbos not releasing the oil as fast as it gets it.

Sharif@Forged

iTrader: (92)

Your compression test numbers are perfect for a low CR motor. I highly doubt it is the motor. I've followed the smoking threads, and talked to a few people in PM. It seems that the smoke dissapates with time. As long as your oil level as at the low point on the stick, and your lines are properly trimmed, I would just drive the car around....I hope that helps.

narkotic

iTrader: (3)

Yeah.. thats what I've been doing.. It's a real shame to come to a stoplight with such a sweet lookin car to then throw out a nasty smokecloud all over everyone.

heh

failsafe306

iTrader: (38)

I know, isn't that embarrasing? It is especially for me; I tell people I put it in myself, then they see it smoking at lights and say, "what'd you do wrong?".

g356gear

iTrader: (12)

From the APS install bulletin


Oil Restrictors

Each APS/Garrett GT Series ball bearing turbocharger is fitted with the optimum sized oil flow restrictor to control the volume of engine oil flow through the turbocharger. Under no circumstances should a smaller restrictor be fitted. Smaller restrictors can be easily blocked by foreign debris resulting in damage to the turbocharger's bearings. Fitment of any non-genuine restrictor will instantly void warranty on the Garrett GT Series turbocharger.

g356gear

iTrader: (12)

With regard to oil restrictors...from APS bulletin


Oil Restrictors

Each APS/Garrett GT Series ball bearing turbocharger is fitted with the optimum sized oil flow restrictor to control the volume of engine oil flow through the turbocharger. Under no circumstances should a smaller restrictor be fitted. Smaller restrictors can be easily blocked by foreign debris resulting in damage to the turbocharger's bearings. Fitment of any non-genuine restrictor will instantly void warranty on the Garrett GT Series turbocharger.

RedLeader

iTrader: (9)

I'll be checking the drain angles and trimming lines as needed, but it looks like I need to shop for an oil catch can. What, where, how much? It's getting kinda crowded under the hood and you have to be able to get at it to empty it, right? Do they all function the same?

Plan B is to install a remote oil-pan drain actuator and mount my license plates on a revolving plaque so I'll have the whole James Bond smokescreen, oil slick, different license plates package. With the amount of oil smoke I'm discharging, I'll have to run from the cops, DEQ and EPA. Now if I could just find tires that would survive the "tack strips"........

t32gzz

iTrader: (1)

ARC makes a sweet looking oil catch can and it is well located. Adam from Z1 has it on the website. I am using this one. I could not find a place to easily mont the Greddy catch can.

socalsean

Enlighten me guys.......

I'm not familar with the APS kit, or any ST/TT kit for the Z/G cars. I did turbo charge my N/A 240 Volvo and have had great success!

Where do you guys plumb the oil drain lines to? Oil pan? Is it a custom oil pan with welded fittings? Modified stock? Are the lines high temp rubber or braided SS with AN fittings?

I know the Volvo guys who turbo their NA engines sometimes experience the same problem. Most of the times its due to the placement of the oil drain (I welded some tubing carefully bent in a 60* upward angle so to be ABOVE the oil level, part of a futon frame actually , to the highest point possible on the pan, welded a threaded male bung to the end of that, and bolted on an "AN" equipped line to that for the drain set up) not being high enough above the oil level in the pan.

This sounds like the same symtoms as the fellow board members who posted above have explained. It seems like everyone (or most everyone) is having the smoking problems when at idle or after slowing down from a high speed run. Consider this......when your cruising at a good rate of speed your engine is reving and pumping all that oil throughout your engine, oil cooler lines, oil passages, etc. That oil is being flung around like crazy....especially at high engine speeds. When you slow down or come to a stop, the engine revs obviously drop and the oil isn't being moved throughout the engine as fast as before. More oil is going to be kickin' it in the oil pan since the engine isn't moving it throughout the engine as fast as before. If the drains aren't above this level of oil (the level in the pan at idle/slow speed) the return line will back up...not good. The oil has to go somewhere, so maybe its backing up in the turbo and some how getting past the seals (not good once again) and burning off in the turbine housing. I see many of you talk about "trimming" the oil drain lines. I'm assuming (like I said before I have no idea how the APS kit is set up) you are trimming the drain lines to straighten them up for better flow characteristics.

Some of the people who have had this problem and said that it went away could have just burnt off the excess oil to the point where the drains actually drain with out flow restrictions.

Since the oil level on the dipstick needs to be at the "add" level with this kit it seem like the amount of oil in the VQ, coupled with the angle of the oil drain lines, is crucial to the proper operation of this kit.

I'm not bad mouthing this kit at all (from what I heard the kit is awesome), that's not the reason for my post. I'd like to help you guys out so you can enjoy your cars without the oily residue all over your rear hatch
Good luck!

sean

Madelinot

iTrader: (1)

Where do you get those Bulletins? Are they available anywhere?

Tanhks!

narkotic

iTrader: (3)

hmmmmmmmmm maybe I should just dump the turbo oil return lines to the atmosphere like my BOV.. :-P

g356gear

iTrader: (12)

Here is the lingo. pics are on the APS site.

APS Intercooled Twin Turbo System - Oil Drain Details
This notice is targeted at those who are experiencing light oil smoke emission from the exhaust under deceleration. Whilst APS has yet to encounter or reproduce this problem, it is most likely caused by insufficient oil drainage due to incorrect fitting of the molded rubber turbocharger oil drain hoses and/or overfilling the engine with oil.

APS had always intended that the APS Intercooled Twin Turbo system be installed by authorised APS dealers who are aware of the information contained in this article. The installation instructions are geared towards this fact however due to the increasing frequency of owner installations, the information presented here should be seen as an adjunct to the APS installation instructions.

The following technical article provides more detailed information to ensure the correct fitting of the turbocharger oil drain hoses and details the correct amount of oil to be used for oil changes (drain and fill - with and without oil filter replacement). If oil had entered the exhaust system previously, it may take some time for the oil to be completely expelled after the following procedure has been followed.

Oil is fed into each turbocharger under pressure and then gravity drains back to the oil pan via specially molded turbocharger drain hoses. It is critical that the oil drain from each turbocharger is arranged to ensure optimum drainage back to the oil pan.


Drain hose orientation

Ensure that there are no kinks in either turbocharger oil drain hose and that oil is free to drain without restriction along the entire length of hose. In addition, there must be a constant downward fall along each drain hose, otherwise oil pooling may occur inside the hose resulting in insufficient internal free hose volume and excessive oil pressure inside the turbocharger.

The images below show the correct orientation of the turbocharger oil drain hoses.



RHS turbocharger drain hose showing constant downward fall




LHS turbocharger oil drain forward of engine mount showing constant downward fall.




LHS turbocharger oil drain hose rear of engine mount showing constant downward fall.


Whilst partially restricted oil drainage has no adverse affect on the performance or durability of the turbocharger, oil may be forced through the turbocharger and into the exhaust - resulting in light engine smoke on deceleration.


Drain hose connection to turbocharger

In order to ensure the optimum oil flow from each turbocharger to the respective drain hose, it is important that the top part of each hose is trimmed appropriately (to achieve a constant downward fall as described above). In addition, it is critical that the drain hose (particularly on the LHS turbocharger) is not pushed too far into the turbocharger oil drain fitting. The turbocharger oil drain relies upon flowing oil into a straight section of hose, not into the bend of the hose.



If the hose is pushed too far into the turbocharger oil drain fitting - i.e. well into the bend of the hose, there is insufficient internal surface area immediately after the oil drain fitting to ensure adequate oil flow.


Drain hose connection to APS oil pan

The oil drain fitting into the APS oil pan are of tapered thread construction to ensure the optimum seal. The fitting is inserted into the oil pan and depending on the force used to screw the fitting in, the resultant finished height may vary.

The picture below shows a fitting inserted completely into the APS oil pan.




In some instances however, the oil fitting may be proud of the top face of the oil pan as shown below.



This additional height may result in a reduction in the amount of constant downward fall as described at the top of this article. In these cases, in order to achieve the required amount of downward fall, it may be necessary to trim the lower part of the molded oil drain hose.

Measure the length of the threaded portion of the tapered fitting that is above the top of the machined face of the oil pan. Then trim that same amount from the end of the molded oil drain hose and refit the hose end.


Oil Restrictors

Each APS/Garrett GT Series ball bearing turbocharger is fitted with the optimum sized oil flow restrictor to control the volume of engine oil flow through the turbocharger. Under no circumstances should a smaller restrictor be fitted. Smaller restrictors can be easily blocked by foreign debris resulting in damage to the turbocharger's bearings. Fitment of any non-genuine restrictor will instantly void warranty on the Garrett GT Series turbocharger.


High Crankcase Pressure

Many built engines fitted with forged pistons utilising large piston to cylinder bore clearances (and indeed engines with worn or broken piston rings) can experience high crank case pressures.

Obviously the amount of crank case pressure within an engine is out of APS' control (especially if an engine is built to clearances other than Nissan factory specifications).

High crank case pressure may lead to insufficient or reduced oil drainage from the turbochargers due to the high pressure experienced inside the oil pan. In these situations, it is recommended that the condition of the engine is verified via a cylinder leak-down test and the stock Positive Crankcase Ventilation system's breathing capacity be improved utilizing a full oil catch can appropriately sized to alleviate the higher than stock crank case pressure.

When one is considering forged pistons with large piston to cylinder bore clearances, an efficient catch can system should be considered mandatory.


Engine Oil Capacity

The APS oil pan included with the APS Intercooled Twin Turbo system provides for a greater volume of engine oil. The following engine oil capacity figures are provided as a guide to achieve the correct oil volume. Due to the fact that the oil pickup is lowered by approx 1/2 inch (12 mm) into the larger APS oil pan floor, the correct engine oil level is achieved when the stock dip-stick reads at the low mark after being fully inserted.

NOTE: Litres, Imperial quarts and US quarts are different volumes - please ensure that you utilise the correct units and quantity when refilling the engine oil.


Litres Imp quarts US quarts
Without oil filter replacement (oil change only) 4.7 4.1 5.0
With oil filter replacement 5.0 4.4 5.3
Dry engine (brand new built engine) 5.7 5.0 6.0



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When the turbocharger oil drains are installed to specification with the correct volume of engine oil there should be no oil smoke emissions from the exhaust system.

Sharif@Forged

iTrader: (92)

ROFL...good stuff!

RedLeader

iTrader: (9)

We're checking the oil lines and oil level one final time per Peters' post on the other site. If that doesn't clear up the smoke, I think we'll vent the crankcase into the atmoshphere and see if reducing the crankcase pressure pushs less oil into the turbos.

Narkotic- I'm still thinking about the servo-driven oil drain valve so I can dump and oil slick to go with my "smokescreen". Move over James Bond:-)

socalsean

On a side note...I've seen people use the Holley Blue electric fuel pump to pump the oil from the turbo back into the top of the engine when it's impossible to have a turbo drain inlet above the oil line in the pan.

sean

narkotic

iTrader: (3)

Yeah sean I believe a few of the APS kits use that, including the single turbo.

I'm thinkin i'll put a greenpeace sticker above my exhaust... heh

Znitro

The smoking issue is more apparent during the first few hundred miles.

I have over 700 mi on mine and it is not as much a smoking issue as it is a smell of burning oil.

The smell limts the use of the car for non dinner outings...

narkotic

iTrader: (3)

I just started keeping the window up, using the AC on recirculate mode and spraying some cologne inside... heh

350zDCalb

iTrader: (21)

sounds like the aps kit finally has a flaw..from all of the posts i had been reading in the past about aps, it seemed that the kit was fabricated by sweet baby jesus and the angels carried the kit to earth!

soooooo annoying how there are so many posts about how great the aps kit and how bad the greddy kit is...finally, +1 point for the greddy kit

not trying to bash the aps kit, i too, think it is an awesome kit...but those ausies need to go back to the drawing board on this one.

xxlbeerZ

iTrader: (8)

Really, I don't remember people complaining about this before, seems like it's just the recent installs done by non-dealers.

Smoke is better than 50 blown motors!