S205 1.6 Diesel C200 oil leak from intercooler pipe.

[wizzman]

Good evening folks, a friend of mine has an annoying problem. Oil is forcing its way out of the inlet/ intercooler pipe which eventually finds its way onto the exhaust manifold causing an unpleasant smell. Anyone had this before ? I have replaced the (expensive) o ring but there didn’t seem to be anything wrong with the old one. Perhaps I am reacting to the symptoms and not looking at the cause ie.why is there enough oil in the pipe to force itself out ?Maybe a crankcase ventilation issue ? Any suggestions appreciated.
Cheers
Ian

 

[oleks1992]

These Renault engines are prone to failing turbos to the point of filling up intercooler with oil. Take off turbo intake pipe and check the impeller for play

 

[alexanderfoti]

Yes, as above. Oil will wick through rubber seals that do ot leak air(boost) , due to capillary action.

I feel your issue is too much oil in the charge system

 

[wizzman]

Thanks boys. I have removed all the intercooler pipes and the inlet duct onto the turbo and the impeller seems to have no play and only a small amount of oil present. Oil seems to start showing its presence after the crankcase breather hose inlet onto the plastic duct which leads to the turbo inlet. Have you had any issues with the pcv valve [if fitted] ? I haven't removed the assembly on top of the cam cover yet. I am thinking of running it for a few days with the breather hose diverted into a catch bottle to see if that stops the leak. What do you think ?
cheers for the responses
Ian

 

[alexanderfoti]

OI level is ok and not overfull?

Shaft play is not always a good indicator that the seal is not leaking.

 

[wizzman]

Hi Alex, yeah I suspected oil overfill when I first took a look but it was midway on the stick. Intercooler isn’t full of oil. Today I rigged up a catch bottle on to the breather pipe and plugged the hole in the inlet pipe. Then I took it for a 20 mile thrash. After that there was no oil seeping out of the turbo outlet but the bottle had a plastering of oil residue around the small breather holes l had punched in it. At tick over, before I put holes in the bottle there was enough pressure to shoot the bottle off the end of the pipe which l thought was maybe excessive. Not a lot that can be done without serious involvement which l am trying to avoid I need to find a similar car to whip the pipe off and see if it breathes with similar pressure.
Cheers
Ian

 

[alexanderfoti]

Is there a lot of pressure from the filler cap? Possible you have an piston ring or cylinder fault causing excessive crankcase pressure.