Oil ? Leak? Soot?

[JKCTT]

About 2 weeks or so ago I got a low oil indicator so I added a quart. Today after a nice drive up and down HWY1 in Nor Cal, I noticed a small spot of oil in the driveway. With my head under the left front control arm, I looked and followed it up and was leaking down on to the control arm from what looks to be where the turbo charger is located (air intake hose?). Also, I noticed some light oil soot on the back wheel well towards the bottom and some oil soot on the rear badge and window. Obviously I have an oil leak coming from either the turbo charger or somewhere above or that, which is leaking down, I think. Turbo and power work fine though and no low oil indicator....again, yet. It's weird though that the oil soot on the back window and badge area.... Anyone have a situation like this?

[JKCTT]

Well I found out the problem. I had oil leaking out from the hose connected to the turbocharger on the drivers side. I have a new hose installed (there was a lot of oil in there; half a quart had gathered in the elbow of the hose). The turbo still functions properly and I have full boost and there are no other signs of problems, but if it really does leak that much, I will probably need a new turbo!:-( I have to keep an eye on it and see if the leak subsides or comes back. Anybody replace a turbochrager yet?

[malcolm lloyd]

About 2 weeks or so ago I got a low oil indicator so I added a quart. Today after a nice drive up and down HWY1 in Nor Cal, I noticed a small spot of oil in the driveway. With my head under the left front control arm, I looked and followed it up and was leaking down on to the control arm from what looks to be where the turbo charger is located (air intake hose?). Also, I noticed some light oil soot on the back wheel well towards the bottom and some oil soot on the rear badge and window. Obviously I have an oil leak coming from either the turbo charger or somewhere above or that, which is leaking down, I think. Turbo and power work fine though and no low oil indicator....again, yet. It's weird though that the oil soot on the back window and badge area.... Anyone have a situation like this?

have yu cheked oil wen car is running ??? yu may of overfilled it of oil i did same with mine oil looked low but should check it wen running oil come frm the breather pipes porsche want £180 to clear them ..lol

[hulahula]

Well I found out the problem. I had oil leaking out from the hose connected to the turbocharger on the drivers side. I have a new hose installed (there was a lot of oil in there; half a quart had gathered in the elbow of the hose). The turbo still functions properly and I have full boost and there are no other signs of problems, but if it really does leak that much, I will probably need a new turbo!:-( I have to keep an eye on it and see if the leak subsides or comes back. Anybody replace a turbochrager yet?

Had a similar problem. It turned out to be a diverter valve. Got it replaced under warranty and no more leaks. The OEM Bosch diverter valves are prone to leaking under pressure. If the oil leak returns, check it out before replacing the whole turbo. If out of warranty, higher quality aftermarket diverter valves are available for around $250.

[JKCTT]

Well the leak came back (2004 Turbo - left side) and this time I brought it the local Porsche dealer for service. I also brought the service bulletin which calls out issues with oil leak from the seals from the turbo charger. The repair calls for the same repair I have before, new hose connected to the turbo charger and new seal. Since I had the same procedure, but not from a Porsche shop, they blame it on the last repair. So, I am going to do the same again and if it comes back, then they can deal with it and it will be under warranty by Porsche. The funning thing is that the tech and the service manager ordered just the hose, not the seal. When I went in today for the repair, the tech says, it's coming from the seal not the hose :unsure: t this is the issue but at least I am moving down the path to correct it. If it fails again then it is most likely the turbo. According to the Porsche warranty info, the turbo charger is covered under the emissions warrnty, which is 7 years in california. It seems like a common problem, but I have to go this route to start the process. This is typical only for the left side turbocharger, not the right side.

I am curious if anyone else has had this issue and how they fixed it. Some of the previous responses to this post suggested the diverter valve, which I may point out to them if this reoccurs. Please post if you have had similar issues.

Thanks!

[TopGun2000]

Well the leak came back (2004 Turbo - left side) and this time I brought it the local Porsche dealer for service. I also brought the service bulletin which calls out issues with oil leak from the seals from the turbo charger. The repair calls for the same repair I have before, new hose connected to the turbo charger and new seal. Since I had the same procedure, but not from a Porsche shop, they blame it on the last repair. So, I am going to do the same again and if it comes back, then they can deal with it and it will be under warranty by Porsche. The funning thing is that the tech and the service manager ordered just the hose, not the seal. When I went in today for the repair, the tech says, it's coming from the seal not the hose :unsure: t this is the issue but at least I am moving down the path to correct it. If it fails again then it is most likely the turbo. According to the Porsche warranty info, the turbo charger is covered under the emissions warrnty, which is 7 years in california. It seems like a common problem, but I have to go this route to start the process. This is typical only for the left side turbocharger, not the right side.

I am curious if anyone else has had this issue and how they fixed it. Some of the previous responses to this post suggested the diverter valve, which I may point out to them if this reoccurs. Please post if you have had similar issues.

Thanks!

Are you sure the emissions warranty would cover turbo related issues? I've just noticed there is a small oil leak from the passenger side turbo charger.

Update: not the turbo, just a small oil leak from the valve cover, should be very easy to fix

Edited January 10, 2010 by TopGun2000