[Kaikun]

Hello,

So I need some MAJOR HELP. Long story short, my turbo keeps failing(?) and I have no idea why.

To start off, I had the original turbos on my car and they were going out as I expected with high mileage. No problem there. I replaced them with brand new OE Mitsubishi turbos from FCPeuro. A day later the front turbo failed just before I had to leave to another state for temporary work.

After two months of me being out of town, I finally got to replacing the front turbo with another new OE Mitsubishi turbo from FCPeuro (free of charge thankfully).
Replaced gaskets and put in new oil and coolant and made sure everything was clean such as the oil and coolant lines. Did great for a week of babying the throttle and keeping it easy and slow for breaking them in. Finally went on to high boost and went through two gears to find smoke behind my car after the pull just like the first time. I did some small pulls while being in third gear before this with no issues. The smoking isn't as bad this time as it was before but I recently got under the car to find my front down pipe wet again like the first time of it failing. Also the smoke is white with maybe a little bit of a blueish color to it. It's hard to tell.

I will list my modifications as they could possibly factor into my issue here;
VRSF Catless down pipes
Charge pipe and BOV
Intake
Upgraded RB PCV valve
And MHD Stage 2 tune

From what I have been discussing with fellow local n54 owners and car enthusiasts, It could be that maybe the turbo seals are just built to handle around 17psi of boost and high load? Possibly clogging oil lines to build too much pressure into the turbo seals? Or just faulty seals making the turbos FCPeuro have in stock did turbos? I have also ruled out that it is neither my head gasket or leaky injectors or failing rings. It has been the turbos that have caused smoking issues after driving with them on for a while.

Im asking all fellow n54 owners to please help me out and let me know how this could be fixed. I am starting to lose motivation on continuing to work on this car and get another one haha.

Thank you!

[Tyc0]

People go higher than 17psi on stock turbos all the time..I'm gonna be honest I have no idea. Any chance that the waste gates are stuck shut and making a lot more than 17psi and immediately blowing them?

[fredcase]

Did you clean or replace your turbo oil feed and drains. A clogged, or pinched drain will not drain properly, and the fronts are notorious for this issue.

That and possible plug pcv ports on the cylinder head, under the valve cover.

[_N54]

I have been boosting 23-24 psi peak and holding 21-22 psi to redline and I don't have issues with my stock turbos yet, but it doesn't hurt to check the drain line for blockage or kinks. I actually recommend replacing the drain lines when swapping in new turbos.

[Kaikun]

Originally Posted by Tyc0

People go higher than 17psi on stock turbos all the time..I'm gonna be honest I have no idea. Any chance that the waste gates are stuck shut and making a lot more than 17psi and immediately blowing them?

Possibly if my vacuum lines aren't tightly put on the the actuators or solenoids?

[Kaikun]

Originally Posted by ///S58

I have been boosting 23-24 psi peak and holding 21-22 psi to redline and I don't have issues with my stock turbos yet, but it doesn't hurt to check the drain line for blockage or kinks. I actually recommend replacing the drain lines when swapping in new turbos.

I do want to invest on getting some new oil drain lines. Maybe the feed line as well.

[Kaikun]

Originally Posted by fredcase

Did you clean or replace your turbo oil feed and drains. A clogged, or pinched drain will not drain properly, and the fronts are notorious for this issue.

That and possible plug pcv ports on the cylinder head, under the valve cover.

I did clean the lines but I also wouldn't doubt the valve cover being clogged since it was a cheap Amazon valve cover since I didn't want to pay the $400 price for the OEM one at the time

[relative4]

Originally Posted by fredcase

That and possible plug pcv ports on the cylinder head, under the valve cover.

Can you please elaborate on this one?

[Bimmer_Bro]

Why did you need to start another thread on the same topic? You had members trying to help you.
Did you install the turbos yourself ? I assume you primed them all correctly before the first start up?
On YouTube look up blocking intake ports on a N54. This goes hand in hand with also installing a VACCUM oil catch can. Most oil consumption comes under vaccum not boost. Blocking the ports helps a lot with this but it involves taking off the valve cover.

[Kaikun]

Originally Posted by Bimmer_Bro

Why did you need to start another thread on the same topic? You had members trying to help you.
Did you install the turbos yourself ? I assume you primed them all correctly before the first start up?
On YouTube look up blocking intake ports on a N54. This goes hand in hand with also installing a VACCUM oil catch can. Most oil consumption comes under vaccum not boost. Blocking the ports helps a lot with this but it involves taking off the valve cover.

I wanted to see if I could get some new info and yes I did everything correctly when it comes to priming. Would you recommend getting the oil catch can since I am almost FBO? Could the stock intercooler also be restricting the airflow causing the pressure to build high in the front turbo?

[Bimmer_Bro]

Originally Posted by Kaikun

I wanted to see if I could get some new info and yes I did everything correctly when it comes to priming. Would you recommend getting the oil catch can since I am almost FBO? Could the stock intercooler also be restricting the airflow causing the pressure to build high in the front turbo?

No the intercooler would not be restrictive, however those stock intercoolers are terrible. You would be surprised how much better an aftermarket one is.
I am full bolt on mhd stage2+. I run zero catch cans and I don't burn any oil. You definitely have an issue somewhere if you are smoking that much out the back.