As per the title really. I see a lot of oil residue in the outlet neck, and it didn\'t come \'through the front door\' as it were. I have a restrictor in the oil inlet feed, and the oil drain is working correctly and always drains down - I\'ve got no uphill sections so to speak (I come down through an AN10 flange, through a 60" fitting and down a gently sloped AN10 braided line all the way to a straight AN10 and flange on the front housing).
Is this a sign of the seals failing on the compressor side ?
Turbo didn\'t smoke on boost, so I suspect the turbine side seal is still good.
Is it possible to replace the seals without requiring a rebalance, assuming everything else checks out ok (not checked front/back or end to end play yet)?
Have you got the turbo off the car?
How much residue is there?
Was there any oil pooling in the intercooler?
:wave
Not got it off yet - will be pulling the engine and then taking the turbo off. I was just fishing for ideas....
The intercooler and piping - I will go and check, but didn\'t notice a lot of oil film on the outlet of the intercooler going into the throttle tube.
Assuming there\'s not gallons of the stuff then I suspect your prognosis is correct and its early signs of seal failure. I had to pour out over a pint of oil from a Soarer intercooler once :o