Hey everyone. New Z owner and already needing some help. Got the car a week ago, 12k miles with an APS ST kit. It ran well to begin with although I was alittle surprised the turbo didnt pull a little harder in comparison to my old DSM. Anyway, after a few days of driving it I lost all boost. I did a pull onto the highway from about 30-85 mph and everything seemed fine. A few miles up the road, I noticed something was odd- I could only push about 2 lbs of boost. Drove it once more to try to diagnose it, now i cant push any boost and the car under load will only rev up to about 4500 rpms before its starts cutting out.

So i jacked the car up (just the front) and let it set for a few days until I could get to the turbo and take a look. The wastegate seemed fine, ran a boost leak test, no leaks to be concerned with but at the end of the test I noticed oil starting to drip between the turbo outlet and connection to the exhaust. I never noticed oil before, never noticed any burning when trying to diagnose the turbo, etc. So i started the car to see if the oil continued to leak or if it had something to do with the pressure from the boost leak test pushing it through the turbo. Needless to say, there is now oil dripping from my exhaust and a lot of oil burning from within the exhaust when I start the car.

So the question is- could the car being jacked up at an angle for a few days cause oil to leak into the turbo? Before I pull the turbo, I wanted to get everyones opinion and hear their experiences. I dont think this is normal but I also know turbos are pretty finicky when they are on an incline. Since their is oil in the turbo and the turbo isnt boosting, I am leaning towards the idea that the cartridge and seals need to be replaced based on what I have found on the forums so far. Sounds like Tig488 may be the guy to talk to? Oh the joys of being back in a boosted car...

 

Wow takes takes me back. I can try to help anyway I can but it's been almost 10 years since I've dealt with my aps kit and almost 7 years since I've dealt with any FI. Can you tell if the oil feed has the one way valve or the electric solenoid? The valve would go bad after a while and oil would fill the cartridge. They sent out the electric ones after people started leaking oil. It leaked so bad that oil was leaking thru the cartridge and being blown into my IC. I bet urs has oil in it too.

As far as the boost leak is concerned have u looked at the crossover pipe that goes from the RT bank over the tranny to the LT side, mine was leaking bad and wouldn't build boost at all. Sounds like you've checked everything else. Oh. Also check vacuum lines in case one has come off.

 

From what I can tell, i have the electric solenoid on the feed line. Is there an easy way to diagnose the the oil feed and drain lines?

The IC has oil in it, not a terrible amount but definitely a light coating. I am pretty sure the exhaust isnt leaking, i couldnt hear it when I was under the car with it running. Wouldn't the vacuum lines leak during a BLT? I will run back through them all. Oil wouldnt come from the turbo normally even if the car was at an angle correct? I really leaning towards the idea that the cartridge is shot.

 

The ball valve is just a straight square shaped metal piece on the feed, the electric one is a black bell shaped contraption with 2 wires going to it.

I believe that once the cartridge floods it's pretty much shot. You could try a different weight oil and see what happens.

 

Thanks for the response Tigg.

Turbo is off, bearings and seals are shot which is why it was leaking when the car was at an angle.

So the next question is replacement options. I have been searching and found some info on the garrett BB replacements for the TT kits but not a good confirmation on the single turbo. I have seen mention of Blouch Turbo rebuilding them, I am jsust considering ordering a new CHRA from here: http://www.z1motorsports.com/350_g35...oducts_id=2500

I am not sure if this an upgraded Garrett BB version or just the Garrett branded APS replacement. I did find this thread https://my350z.com/forum/forced-indu...options-4.html
but that was about it. Maybe someone has an update since 2006.

Open to suggestions. Since I only owned the car 4 days before the turbo failed, I would really like to make sure and go back with something that is going to last a little longer.

I am also wondering if there is a good way to verify all my oil and coilant lines are clear, solenoid valve is working properly, turbo is draining correctly, etc. Reading on here, it sounds like the failure I experienced is pretty typical but i want to take an precautions possible. Thanks in advance.

 

first off, my apologies for not searching the forums more in depth.

A little update- got the new CHRA today from Jason at Himni Racing. Big thanks to him for getting it here fast and for the price match! Before I started to reinstall the turbo, i checked the coolant and oil lines. Coolant good, oil not so much. The scavenge pump was locked up with metal shavings. Cleaned it out, fortunately it still worked however it has me a little concerned with where the shavings are coming from. When I drained the oil, there were a few decent size pieces that came out, bigger than a grain of salt but smaller than a piece of rice. The car appears to run find, good oil pressure, no smoke (prior to the scavenger pump failure that is). The car just turned over 12k miles. Should i be concerned or is this normal break in? The sizes of the shavings tell me yes, I just dont know where they are coming from. I dont hear any ticking or abnormal noise from the engine. Could they have come from the bearings in the old CHRA? Man, this "new" car could get expensive real quick.

Thanks.

 

You should be concerned. Was the shortblock stock, or was it built for FI? If the metal shavings dropped to the bottom of the drain pan and are the size you're talking about, you'd be smart to pull the engine and check it.

 

Run a forced performance pre turbo oil filter. At least that way when the bearing material starts flowing again it won't ruin the newly rebuilt turbo. Check engine oil for same shavings. If engine oil has metal in it, your motor requires a complete tear down

 

Thanks for the feedback.

Everything is back together, the scavenge pump is a more noisy now. Going to talk to weldon in the morning about servicing it. WOW are those little pumps expensive new!

In the mean time, the plan is to drop the oil pan and see the extent of metal shavings in there. I like the idea of the in-line filter for the oil feed to the turbo. I have read mixed things about them online but am leaning towards ordering one unless anyone else can provide a case as to why they are worthless/more harm than good.

Before this fiasco, I was a little disappointed in the turbo lag from the APS ST kit. Fingers crossed the turbo rebuild improves it.