taysubaru Posted September 3, 2020 Share Posted September 3, 2020 Hi, I replaced the turbo on my 05LGT, car drives fine and the boost is working, however the car seems to be burning coolant intermittently. When I put more load on the car, white smoke comes up, but when I start it, idle it, or even drive with low rpm no issue. To me this suggest it's not a head gasket. Maybe a faulty turbo from the factory? Cannot think of another reason the car would be acting this way. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgoodhue Posted September 3, 2020 Share Posted September 3, 2020 Every turbo I have seen doesn't have coolant seals that could leak to the exhaust. The housing would need to cracked for coolant to be entering the exhaust. You just replaced the turbo. If it has only been a few miles, it takes a little while to burn off any liquids that were used or spilled. Are you sure it is coolant not oil? Turbo oil seals can sometime fail or not be assembled properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taysubaru Posted September 3, 2020 Author Share Posted September 3, 2020 Every turbo I have seen doesn't have coolant seals that could leak to the exhaust. The housing would need to cracked for coolant to be entering the exhaust. You just replaced the turbo. If it has only been a few miles, it takes a little while to burn off any liquids that were used or spilled. Are you sure it is coolant not oil? Turbo oil seals can sometime fail or not be assembled properly. It's definitely coolant, not oil. What's strange is I had a failed turbo where the shaft had cracked, and there was some coolant being burned. This made sense to me, coolant and oil were leaking into the exhaust. Now I replaced with a new turbo, and honestly it seems to be burning even MORE coolant... which makes 0 sense. Unless the turbo castings were defective, how else is this possible? The only other potential is that my head gasket failed, but my car idles fine, and the coolant burn only really occurs while under boost (and it's intermittent), which doesn't line up with head gaskets. Also, what are the odds both head gaskets and turbo failed on the same day?? Honestly I am at such a loss as to what's going on. Reached out to turbo manufacturer to see if they've ever have failures in the coolant castings, but outside of that I'm not sure where to go next. Thanks for the insights... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Capacity Posted September 3, 2020 Share Posted September 3, 2020 I wonder if a compression test is in your future... After you drive the car, is there bubble in the coolant overflow bottle ? Most repair shops have a HC tester they can wave over the overflow bottle and see if there are HC's in there. HC = Hydrocarbons 305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD). CHECK your oil, these cars use it. Engine Build - Click Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgoodhue Posted September 4, 2020 Share Posted September 4, 2020 Any change you still have coolant stuck in your exhaust? (ie muffler) I can't see two different turbo's with cracked housings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bax004 Posted September 6, 2020 Share Posted September 6, 2020 Most likely is residual from replacing the turbo. I had it happen when I rebuilt my engine. The reason you’re only seeing it during situations because when you’re loading the engine, there’s fluid built up somewhere and is then flowing on to the exhaust. I’d give it a week or two with driving and if it doesn’t go away then maybe check for an issue. Keep an eye on your temp gauge and your reservoir to see if any drastic changes. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ares3985 Posted September 6, 2020 Share Posted September 6, 2020 Check your hoses on the turbo. Mine was stubborn and wasn’t fully on and I kept getting little drips that would go right on the uppipe and smoke. Would notice it when I stopped. Sometimes it’s the simplest things Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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