Oil on Intercooler Hose

[TedK]

Just disconnected the lower driver side intercooler hose and noticed some oil on it. The passenger side hose was clean as a whistle. I am changing the spark plugs (30K) and after pulling the hose I'm done for the day so I have not looked any further yet. Is it normal to have oil there? Is there a PCV system on these engines that might dump some oil vapor into that side's piping? Could the turbo be leaking oil? Car runs fine with no codes. Man, this is a fun job.

Thanks

Ted K

[Loren]

Could have been spilled when adding oil after an oil change.

If your oil level is normal I wouldn't worry about it.

[TedK]

Thanks again Loren. I should have been more clear.....the oil is on the metal hose end that is inserted into the intercooler and usuallly not visible. I stuck my finger into the hose interior and rubbed the inside of the hose and came out with some (slight) oil on my fingertip. I will be pulling and checking the old plugs tomorrow and generally checking things out. So, given that the oil is inside the system my question above still stands.

Thanks

Ted K

[Loren]

Unless you are using oil or there are signs of oil fouled plugs I wouldn't worry.

[Danyol]

I replaced the plugs today on my 'O3TT, noticed something similar on the lower Icooler hose.

Noted the O'ring had been smeared with grease on the metal end, maybe someone had a hard time during a previous service. This left some residue in the other pipe.

On replacing the plugs from now on for me,

- all research has recommended replacing the stock Beru with the Bosch FR6 LDC, been told they survive better

- Remove the center heat shield, leave the upper nuts (pain in the ...) on the smaller side shields, just bend them up out of the way

- Inspect the coils for cracks and corrosion when you clean them up.

Car appeared to be smoother but not a big difference. Hope I don't have to go in there again anytime soon!

[TedK]

Well I guess all is well, finsihed the job today and all the old plugs look good. Slight amount of oil in the bottom of turbo intake hose, got that out with a rag. To confirm the blowby theory I disconnected the small hose from the intake hose and probed inside the hose with a white wire and was able to confirm this as the source of the oil. So, engine is sound, turbo is sound and I had a litttle blowby oil in the intake hose after 30K miles. The upper (turbo output) hoses in the engine compartment are clean and dry.