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For guys running relocated turbos - what did you do about oil drains, and did it work?
I put a ball bearing turbo with a .035" restrictor, as Garrett recommends, in the usual A/C compressor spot, clocked it within 15 degrees of vertical, and I even punched a new 1/2" oil drain in my NA pan pretty much straight down from the turbo, so the drain was about a 65 degree downward angle overall. 4000 miles later I have oil (like, LOTS of oil, enough to pool in the compressor housing) on my compressor side and hilariously large blasts of white oil smoke out the exhaust on the occasional stop, but the turbo still pulls great, makes no new noise, etc - looks like my seals are gone, exactly how they would if I had insufficient drainage. The oil is definitely coming from the turbo, tested this venting the valve covers to atmosphere instead of catch can => post-MAF/pre-turbo. The drain is clear when cold, I checked it, and it's above the oil line in the pan, checked that too.
The only thing I can think of is that the drain run is too long (think it's about 19" from drain to fitting) for 1/2", and I should just pull the pan off and shove a giant fuckoff 1" fitting on there. Was *really* hoping to not have to find a place to pull the motor this winter.
Anybody else have a similar issue? How big are people making their oil drains? Are you just using the drain in the turbo pan and calling it a day?
(one thing - I was daily driving the car like 200-250 miles a week, so it probably was getting more normal wear and tear than a lot of other relocated turbo builds...?)
I put a ball bearing turbo with a .035" restrictor, as Garrett recommends, in the usual A/C compressor spot, clocked it within 15 degrees of vertical, and I even punched a new 1/2" oil drain in my NA pan pretty much straight down from the turbo, so the drain was about a 65 degree downward angle overall. 4000 miles later I have oil (like, LOTS of oil, enough to pool in the compressor housing) on my compressor side and hilariously large blasts of white oil smoke out the exhaust on the occasional stop, but the turbo still pulls great, makes no new noise, etc - looks like my seals are gone, exactly how they would if I had insufficient drainage. The oil is definitely coming from the turbo, tested this venting the valve covers to atmosphere instead of catch can => post-MAF/pre-turbo. The drain is clear when cold, I checked it, and it's above the oil line in the pan, checked that too.
The only thing I can think of is that the drain run is too long (think it's about 19" from drain to fitting) for 1/2", and I should just pull the pan off and shove a giant fuckoff 1" fitting on there. Was *really* hoping to not have to find a place to pull the motor this winter.
Anybody else have a similar issue? How big are people making their oil drains? Are you just using the drain in the turbo pan and calling it a day?
(one thing - I was daily driving the car like 200-250 miles a week, so it probably was getting more normal wear and tear than a lot of other relocated turbo builds...?)
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