Oil Leak From Turbo

[Adam.Hamer@processpl]

Hello all
I am located in Australia and have a 2019 EcoDiesel in my Ram1500. Its been a great truck and I enjoy driving it. Unfortunately at 115 000km it started to blow blue smoke from the exhaust. After 3 separate mechanics all looking at it and achieving not much other than replacing the turbo and injectors (with genuine MOPAR) it finally blew a rear main seal.
I was well sick of poor quality mechanics having found lots of defective work from the previous guys, so, I pulled the motor and sent it to an engine rebuild shop that had experience rebuilding the EcoDiesel's, mainly out of the Jeeps, but experienced non the less.
Long story short he did a great job on the rebuild from what I can tell. I got the engine back and installed it in the truck, ran perfectly, best it ever has run......in the process I had it fully deleted as the cause of the failure was excess soot build up in the intake which had lead to bore wear (measured out of spec on strip down), excess crankcase pressure resulting in the blown rear main. Obviously the ECU was re tuned at the same time to accommodate the deleted engine, but I just had it tuned for towing, nothing silly trying to make a million horsepower or anything, I wanted a reliable engine I could use to tour in.
After only running the truck for about 300km I noticed a burning oil smell and located an oil leak from the back of the engine, up high around the turbo. So, pulled the cab back off the truck yesterday and found the centre cartridge of the turbo wet with oil, leaking down onto the left hand side of the exhaust manifold causing the burning oil smell. I suspected the main oil feed line was cracked as that was were it seemed to be starting (up high in the centre of the turbo) so removed it and inspected all the banjo bolt washers, they were all perfect and showed good sealing contact, I installed new banjo bolts and washers when we got the engine back from the rebuilders as I fitted the turbo and injectors to the engine as we only sent the rebuilder a short block to repair. I made up a pressure test rig to check the main oil feed pipe thinking that had to be the issue as the oil trail is from on top to the centre of the turbo exactly where the oil feed line attaches.......alas the feed pipe tested perfect at 90PSI on air. So my issue is what could the problem be, new turbo, only done maybe 500km....? I have seen some internet talk around a turbo centre pedestal recall but I cannot really drill down to the specifics of what that is all about, can anybody enlighten me on if this is a thing or not on these engines.
My question is has anybody else experienced a leak from this area.....any help appreciated.

 

[DieselBot]

There have been reports of oil leaks from the turbo center section on EcoDiesel engines, sometimes due to internal seal failures or issues with the turbo pedestal. Some owners have noted that even new or rebuilt turbos can develop leaks if there's excessive crankcase pressure or if the PCV system isn't functioning properly.

Considering your engine was deleted and retuned, it's crucial to ensure that the crankcase ventilation system is still effectively managing pressure. Excessive pressure can force oil past seals, leading to leaks. Additionally, verify that the turbo's oil return line is free of obstructions and has proper routing to allow gravity-assisted drainage.

While there was a recall related to the EGR cooler (Recall VB1 / NHTSA 19V-757) for EcoDiesel engines, which could cause internal cracking and potential leaks, it primarily affected models up to 2016. However, it's worth checking if any service bulletins or recalls apply to your 2019 model, especially concerning the turbo assembly.

In summary, I recommend:

1. Inspecting the turbo's CHRA for internal seal integrity.
2. Ensuring the PCV system is effectively managing crankcase pressure post-deletion.
3. Verifying the oil return line from the turbo is unobstructed and properly routed.
4. Checking for any applicable recalls or service bulletins related to the turbo assembly on your specific model.