Here's the skinny of the situation. I was cruising on the highway, went to give it a little gas, and there was no response...the car started to just coast. I checked the fuse for the fuel pump and it was blown...weird. I dropped in another fuse, and the car started up no problems. I took off down the hwy and got up to maybe 65mph when it exhibeted the same behavior: blown fuel pump fuse. I was only several miles from home and was able to limp the car home luckily...or maybe not. Hours turned into days, days turned to weeks...and now a couple months later and it appears my problem is resolved - the faulty part you ask? The APS ST check valve.

The resolution of problem #1 turned into problem #2. After my friend replaced the check valve tonight the car starts up fine, doesn't die, but now I'm getting a TON of smoke pouring out of the exhaust. Mind you I have not seen it, this is only per his description over the phone. He said at idle it looks like a smoke screen out of a Bond movie, but under normal driving conditions there really isn't any smoke (though, it is dark out and if you are moving at a decent clip it might be hard to detect how much, if any smoke there might be). He drove the car maybe a couple miles and when he got it back to his house he needed to pour in almost 2 quarts to get the oil level back to normal. It is his opinion that the turbo seal is bad and it's going to have to get rebuilt. I wanted to check here first to see if anyone has advice on how I can be sure that it is the seal. If you think it is, how could it have gone bad? Was it from the 5 total minutes of me driving the car limping it home with no check valve? Could some oil have just pooled around the turbo since the car sat for so long and it's just getting worked out of the system? I find it hard to believe that such a short amount of time would ruin a turbo like that, but I'm not an expert which is why I'm posting here.

Any and all suggestions are greatly appreciated.

 

Blows my fuel pump fuse on occasion, too. Such is life

No check valve = free oil flow to the turbo = smoke. It will burn out over time. He may have wired the check valve incorrectly, however.

He's wrong - you're fine

 

I haven't seen it so I can't say for sure, but he's the one who built my car and installed the check valve correctly the first time. It'd be pretty difficult to F up from what I've seen. Nontheless, I'll stop by there tomorrow to make sure it's on there properly. So, you think as long as the check valve is wired correctly the turbo should be ok for now Joe? Thanks for your input!

By the way, any news on your motor...get it in yet? I'll really be curious to see what a built motor + ST puts down and what that curve looks like.

 

Additionally...why would it burn nearly 2 quarts of oil in a mile of driving? Is normal after this situation?

 

anyone else have any input?

 

id be willing to bet you have at least a quart of oil in you intercooler. youre gonna have to take off the piping to it and clean it out.

the turbo is fine, youre also gonna have to take down the exhaust and clean it out. or else its gonna smoke for a while until it burns off.

 

i will check the intake/exhaust piping tonight and see what i find...thanks for the recomdation tig.

 

SH Luciano- I had an APS ST as well the same thing happened to me butwith the scavenger pump. Flooded the intercooler throguh turbo and exhaust with oil.
Go to any store really Target/Home depot and buy degreaser in a spray bottle & some crappy towels you are going to need to roll them up and shove it in the intercooler and some piping to get the oil out and then DEGREASE the **** out of it or you'll be on the side of the road with your bumper off putting the couplings back on your pipes!

 

that or, plug one end of the IC, pour a gallon of acetone in the open end, and shake it around. Dispose of dirty acetone at the base of your neighbor's ficus tree...

 

man is there alot of trouble involved with this kit. it looks like a nice kit and i've been pretty interested in it

 

did the turbo end up being ok? so essentially after everything got cleaned out everything was ok?

 

if i had to do it all over again i would have got twin turbo's...not that there's anything specifically wrong with this kit. if you search around, you'll find a lot of people with issues ont he twin kits too.

 

I had an issue w/ the check valve and after it was resolved, I had the same smoke issue. The oil had accumulated in the exhaust and took some time to burn off. Where did you get a new check valve? I had to have my faulty one replaced w/ electric solenoid. My builder found one at Grainger that matched the APS ST check valve but we were afraid it might starve the turbo because the flows weren't exactly the same. Also check if you need an oil catch can.

 

method, i appreciate the help. i was honestly afarid i was going to have to rebuilt the turbo but it looks like i won't according to all these posts. i ordered the check valve through injected performance, which is who i bought the kit through. i'll be leaving to go check out the car in a couple hours...i'll post back once i return.