So......After 370+ views of my pics has anyone looked at their 3.0 TDI engine an seen turbo blow by on thiers also?

 

I have the same issue as you. Showed the pic to VW and they say no big deal. I would like to hear other opinions on this as well.

 

Thanks Newegg.......If my recolection serves me right, someone a while ago mentione d that they had the same issue and that their VW service dept. said that there is an inner O-ring that needed to be replaced, they replaced it and the blow by seepage stopped. I have looked at a few parts diagrams and have not seen an O-ring listed for that connection. I asked my VW service dept. about said O-ring and said none existed, so....

And looking at your pics I cannot tell if it is a shadow or the oil that is dripping down on the side of your trans that may be making its way down to the bell housing-engine seam. Like on mine, which caused many to suggest to me that the rear main seal is leaking.

 

It is a shadow. I looked at a pic I took without the flash and its not there. It would be nice if there was a fix for this.

 

How many miles on your 2012 TDI that you are experiencing this seepage? How would you describe your style of driving? Do you drive it hard before the motor or drive train is warmed up, under high boost conditions?

 

40,000 miles. Lots of highway miles. I treat my treg nicely as its the most expensive vehicle I have purchased. Never beat on it when it's cold. It will on occasion get driven hard for short periods when warm. I hope to put a couple hundred thousand miles on it before I retire it.

 

Just say'n...visible wet oil on the engine isn't normal in my book. My twin turbo is bone dry, it'll eat a quart/2,000 miles, but bone dry at the plant.

I'll crawl under mine next time I drive it and take a look...

 

I do all my work on my Treg at a do-it-yourself garage on ABerdeen Proving Ground, AutoCrafts Shop....the guys who run the joint are twice my age and see every make and model under the sun. They all say it's normal, and I do believe them.

I see the difference as to those who do not see it cause the blow by does not make it out of the rubber coupler as shown in the pics. Just because you don't see it on the outside does mean it is not happening at all on the inside.

I have seen this on my Treg since I got it at 25k miles. Oil level appears to be right on all the time. I probably wouldn't notice a 50 to 100 ml difference in oil volume due to loss from the blow by anyway.

I have seen turbo blow by on many engines of many different manufacturers. It's not unusual. My point of posting the pics was to show that it does happen on our engines, and it doesn't neccassarily mean something is wrong, at least in my eyes. And that for those seeing oil residue on their bell housing that it may be coming from their turbo and not be a rear main seal as said by some mechanic trying to rip them off.

I have 83k miles on my Treg with this happening since 25k and the turbo or engine hasn't failed yet. Newegg has also shown that this is happening to him so I'm no anomomly. And Neweggs motor is 3 years newer than mine. So how can turbo blow by not be somewhat normal? Difference is some see it manifest and some don't.......No?

I believe even 4Pikkanini or someone who rebuilt a 2.5 showed pics of oil they drained from their inter cooler during an engine rebuild. How did the oil get into their inter cooler if not for turbo blow by?

My ultimate concern/question is even if we are or aren't seeing turbo blow by, if it is happening will it lead to a runaway? I believe it increases the chances.

 

I feel fortunate to have just run across this thread. This past weekend I did the 40k service for our new (to us) 09 TDI, noticed oil and traced it back to what appears to be the same location as the photos that have been shown. When we first got the vehicle (at 22k miles) it had an intermittent boost leak issue. It took the dealer some time but they eventually found a split in a lower boost hose (7L6-145-738-C). Replacing the hose solved the boost problem; I assumed the observed oil leak might have been related to that work, i.e. a clamp not properly tightened. Now I'm not so sure. Our other TDIs sometimes show small amounts of oil at various connections in the charge air path but this leak seems to be a little more active. I tried to clean up the Treg to be able to check it again at the 50k oil change. I wonder if it's worth the effort to try to tighten the hose clamp? I didn't have a chance to see what would be involved in trying to gain access.

 

I have the same oil leak issue on my 2012 TDI. I noticed oil on the front diff housing when I did my first oil change a 4900 miles. First thought was that the input shaft seal on the front diff was leaking, but it was bone dry in that area. Then I noticed the oil was very slightly seeping from the area of the turbo and dripping on the diff housing. I'm at 7200 miles now and don't see any oil level drop but still see the oil leak.

I would be very surprised if the source of the leak was compressor side oil blow-by. Even if oil was blowing by it would be contained withing the intake plumbing. If oil was in the plumbing and leaking out then you certainly have a boost leak as well (and error codes to match). I think the source is more likely from an external oil supply or oil return line connection to the turbo. These should be banjo fittings, but I have not been able to get a good view of them yet.

I'll tear into it this weekend and report my findings.

 

What was the date of the build of your Touareg?

 

FinallyTDI(and others)...read this post/thread 2012 TDI Oil Leak from TimSchnell. I beleive there is one other besides him who has had an oil leak from the oil line(s) to and from the turbo. This may be your source of leakage.

 

This was one of TimSchnell's posts. He has a 2012 TDI......

"Another update: T-Reg has been in the shop for the last 7 days now and the problem as been elevated to "level 2" status with VW engineering. (Wonder how many levels there are???

)

There latest solution is to install a new boot that connects the high pressure side of the turbo to the intercooler pipe along with installing a stronger clamp in an attempt to keep the oil from leaking out. Seems funny to me, as a few weeks ago VW engineering had the dealership to replace a $4000 turbo because they felt that there was excess oil in the intercooler system.

Service manager told me that they completely cleaned both intercoolers/lines, and within 40 miles the leak was back and they drained an inch of oil (into a cup) out of the system. But apparently, VW now claims that all that oil in the system is completely normal (which I do not agree with and if that is true why replace the turbo in the first place?)
Service manager also informed me that their demo T-Reg wiht 7K miles is also leaking oil in the same location. Seems like VW might have a bigger problem on their hands? Probably not enough for a trend but........

Anyway, I suggest anyone with a late model TDI get under their cars and look for oil leaking out of their turbo on the high pressure outlet.

Parts are scheduled to be installed Thrusday. Any advice??? "

Sound familiar?

 

Yes, may luck be with you at the dealership, and that the technician does more good than damage while in there. Some techs are real hacks and abusive on your plastic, rubber, and paint on your cars.

 

Niner:

Build date is 5/2012, I got it virtually right off the truck from VW of Oakland. Had been at the dealership for less than 24 hours before I took delivery on 7/5/2012.

Zagg:

Thanks for the post on oil leakage, useful to see how the dealerships are treating it. I will not be mentioning this to VW as I have no idea who would be doing the diagnosis and repair. There are some very good VW techs out there, but unfortunately there are some wretched hacks too.

 

Crap, well, good to know, mine was a May 2012 build too, so I need to keep my eyes open for this potential mess also

 

A quote from rineman1 about an oil leak he had. He has an 09 TDI...."Have them check the Crankcase Beather pipe between the MAF and Turbo. Part # 7L6-129-955. I have an '09 that had a leak in the same area and they determined that the above part # developed a small hole that was causing a very small leak of engine oil. Good luck."

 

Good find, Zagg.

 

Got in there this morning to try to find the source of the leak

Same drip from same spot on the charge air pipe coming from the turbo outlet:

I took the heat shield off of the turbo and looked over the oil supply and return line connections and everything was nice and dry (pic before heat shield removal):

Then I removed the turbo intake pipe that goes from the air filter housing to the turbo inlet (low pressure side of compressor). Lots of oil in there:

Then I took off the lower intercooler hoses to see if there was any oil built up in there, and it was all bone-dry (no pic).

After seeing the quote from Zagg, I'll look at the pipe connecting the low pressure turbo inlet to the MAF sensor. It looks like there will be oil in that pipe, so if there is a crack or a loose connection somewhere that might be the source of the leak.

I'll keep you updated on what I find.

 

Thanks for your efforts. Appreciate the info.

 

Ok, looked closer at the plastic union that connects the air box to the turbo inlet and has a T with a hose that connects to the MAF:

Oil all around it:

Disconnected the hose that attaches to the T, dry in there so no oil is making it's way up this hose to the MAF:

So it does indeed look like a leak from this molded plastic connector. I'm going to now hunt down the part number and see what the damage would be to replace it. If I can get a good view of it maybe there's a way to repair it.

 

Here are the parts, #10 (damper) and #11 (seal):

And prices from 1stvwparts.com:

Perhaps is just a defective or improperly installed seal.

 

Just had to have mine replaced yesterday as it was leaking a little too. I'm at 73000 KM's.

 

NO, What it tells me is that the oil separator from the crankcase breather that is supposed to get all the oil mist out of the crankcase blow by, cool it off, turn the mist to oil again, and drain it back to the crankcase, is not doing it's job, and the oil is blowing into the air intake. You are getting a motor with tolerances such that the engine blowby is increasing and blowing more oil mist out, and into the air intake. Could be many things... driving the car hard when the motor is cold and a lot of blow by exists, due to clearance between piston and bores, motor is getting worn, tolerances are getting loose, motor has been run on the wrong motor oil in the past, rings are sticking, rings are worn... and on, and on, and on.

Most diesel owners never learn that you can't drive a diesel motor like a gas motor, or the special warm up operating conditions it needs to live a long, trouble free motor life. Hate to say it, but women are the worst offenders in all vehicles, they have no mechanical aptitude, most of them, on the way things work.

 

Wow ... way to draw a multitude of completely baseless conclusions and add a little pointless sexism in at the same time for good measure!

I am the only person that has ever driven my Touareg. I have about a 3 mile stop-and-go drive under 40mph before I get on the highway, temp is generally right at 200 before merging onto the highway. I don't beat on it or drive it hard even .... Average fuel economy over the last 7200 miles is 28.4 mpg. There have been two types of oil in it since new: factory fill and 507.00 Mobil 1 5w-30 ESP. It leaked on both. I've been running and maintaning diesel engines in tractors, excavators, boats, trucks, and cars for about 20 years so don't tell me I'm driving it wrong.

I don't doubt you're right as to the source of the oil Niner, as I've never seen a turbo engine with oil in the intake BEFORE the turbo. I disagree that you can make the assumption that there is more oil in the intake due to ring blow-by in the engines that are showing leaks than the engines that are not. I cannot find oil anywhere else in the intake other than right in the baffle at the turbo inlet. We all likely have the same amount of oil in the intake just some are leaking it out and some are not.

To me it's worrisome that both the oil is there and that the intake is not sealed well enough to contain it. If oil can leak out air and contaminants can leak in.

 

FinallyTDI, excellent job....in looking at your pictures and taking into account your hypothesis and the one insightful thought amongst all of Niner's jibberish. I also now think that the source of oil may be from the crank case oil separator not doing its job properly. I will post pics later of all of the oil residue that has leaked out of the fill cap and has ended up coating the drivers side valve cover and fuel lines. I know it is matter of opinion as to how much pressure the engine should be making, but I know mine seems to make/ have a lot. It has been that way since I got it. I brought it to the attention of all VW service depts I have visited and all have said its normal, so.

Initial thoughts is that I should try a catch can after the crank case oil separator and see how that works. Although it won't address the fact that my engine produces a lot of pressure. It's gonna be a bit of trial and error to figure this out amongst us. I'll post some pics later.

 

FinallyTDI, as compared to your pics and from what I saw I have oil/oily mist/oil vapors coming from the cranckcase ventilator pipe going to the T. The fresh air intake pipe before the turbo was bone dry also. I stuck my finger into the hose coming from the crankcase breather/oil separator and you can see that oil is in mine and the oil mist coming from that hose is making it out and covering that connection. I also had a little oil sitting just before the turbo.

And you can see on the driver's side valve cover there is oil coating all over. It seems it is coming from the oil fill cap. It has been happening since I got it.

 

OIl coming from your oil cover cap is another sign that your crank case pressure is too high, due to blow by, and overpowering the seal that is there. Replace the oil cap seal, and if it still weeps oil, then you know it's not the seals fault.

Better to treat the problem than to treat the symptoms. If you want to know how much blow by your motor is generating, go down to a dealership and start up a new touraeg tdi diesel and remove the oil cap and place your hand over the opening at idle, and note how much smoke and blow by pressure is coming out on the new motor... then do the same thing on your Touareg. Maybe find a way to measure the crank case pressure between the two.

My guess is your motor might be going soft. Next step would be to take compression readings on all 6 cylinders. I say this, because your motor is leaking oil at so many points.... oil cap, air intake, boost side of turbo at hose connections. Either that, or all your rubber is getting hard and going bad, needing replacement.

ON the old A4 TDI's 500 to 525 psi was what a good motor would produce with compression tests. You'd need to get ahold of ErWIN figures to get the specs for a CATA motor in yours. I think the compression is a bit lower maybe 17:1 ??? on Common Rail motors.

 

The reality is for me and my own thinking is for the oil mist coming from the oil fill cap is what it is. I'll just leave it. I feel more comfortable knowing that the pressure has a way to relieve itself. I'm OK with that. And I am not one who needs or cares about a pristine, spotless engine.

However, The oil mist making it to the turbo I don't like for many reasons you all could think of. I am gonna insert a catch can in the line.

And I still find it hard to beleive that just I, FinallyTDI and Newegg are having this issue. I'm at 83k miles, FinallyTDI is at 40k and TimSchnells one post said that the demo Treg at the dealer was exhibiting it at 7k miles. There has to more of this out there, people just haven't noticed/realized it yet.

And what's kinda wacky is we are observing this loss of oil, but we are not observing a significant decrease in oil volume between changes. The oil level always seems right on to me. However, I don't beleive I would notice an oil loss of 100 - 200 mls or so in 10k miles.

 

The reality is for me and my own thinking is for the oil mist coming from the oil fill cap is what it is. I'll just leave it. I feel more comfortable knowing that the pressure has a way to relieve itself. I'm OK with that. And I am not one who needs or cares about a pristine, spotless engine.

However, The oil mist making it to the turbo I don't like for many reasons you all could think of. I am gonna insert a catch can in the line.

And I still find it hard to beleive that just I, FinallyTDI and Newegg are having this issue. I'm at 83k miles, FinallyTDI is at 40k and TimSchnells one post said that the demo Treg at the dealer was exhibiting it at 7k miles. There has to more of this out there, people just haven't noticed/realized it yet.

And what's kinda wacky is we are observing this loss of oil, but we are not observing a significant decrease in oil volume between changes. The oil level always seems right on to me. However, I don't beleive I would notice an oil loss of 100 - 200 mls or so in 10k miles.

Haven't had a chance to pull things apart yet, but I have all the same symptoms at 40k miles as I mentioned in post #10. There's a photo or two in my Members Photo Album I took before finding this thread. I wiped things down a bit before taking the photos but I have/had identical symptoms right down to the drop of oil visible in the photos from posts #1 and #3.

 

11/10 build date. 32k miles.

Everything external is bone dry. Internal area of turbo inlet from air filter is bone dry as well.

Driving style is VERY gentle=low rpm.

Anybody done a uoa for diesel dilution?

 

Just pulled the cover on my 2012 june build tdi sport... and the air intake at the inlet for the turbo... has the slightest of weeping of oil... clearly discolored on the plastic, and a magnet for any dust. So... next service, VW is going to hear about it.

 

Another question for those of you with blow by....heavy towing?

 

No towing at all for me.