Hi everyone. Woman trying to understand what problems her car is up too here .

I currently have a problem with my Tdi 300 and have oil in my turbo hoses, the ones going from turbo to air cleaner and the one going from the turbo to the intercooler. Checked the turbo already for any loose movements in the shaft. It does have a bit of loose, but its no too much, and I do not think I ever heard loud noises coming from the turbo either.

I have seen a couple of discussions over here that made me think a little though.

- Was thinking of buying a new turbo core/ cartridge (ready-balanced) and fit it in, however some said that even though I change that, the oil would still leak (due to a seal?)
- Can the problem be related not to the turbo but other things (ex: manifold gasket? or maybe the engine breather?)

What are your thoughts please?

Thank you

You do get oil in the pipes but hopefully not too much.

Hi, As above there will be some oil in the pipes. Some may come from the turbo but most usually comes from crankcase breather. pipe from it connects just by the air cleaner.
The cyclone breather [ round pot on side of rocker box] can get clogged, Can be cleaned but cheap enough to just replace, find on Ebay,

As said, there may not be a 'problem' as yes, those pipes do have a coating of oil in them.
By a coating I mean if you put your fingers around the inside of the pipe near the turbo, they will come out black with oil. If you take the pipes off and oil pours out (like more than a few teaspoons worth) then you may have a problem.

The first port of call is the crankcase/cyclone breather ( part no ERR1471), the pipe from the breather goes along the left side of the engine, around the back, and joins onto the 'elephants trunk' pipe that goes between the Turbo to the Air filter.
This 1" diameter rubber pipe is ofter also very oily.

Here's a diagram.

The reason @tottot and I are metioning the cyclone cleaner is that this is the likely culprit (at this stage), Turbos can pass oil but that is not common and often has more symptoms, causes more problems than you are describing.
The cyclone is also low cost, easy to get at and not a big job to replace.

Did not ask before but is your 300tdi an original or is it a retro fit in an early model?

tottot said:

Did not ask before but is your 300tdi an original or is it a retro fit in an early model?

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My 90 is originally came out with a 200tdi. However as far as I know, its an original engine. Previous owners just swapped engines.

Thank you everyone for your replies really appreciate the help.

Seph98 said:

My 90 is originally came out with a 200tdi. However as far as I know, its an original engine. Previous owners just swapped engines.

Click to expand...

That is a somewhat confusing statement.
There are some considerable differences between a 200tdi and a 300tdi engine.
Not least the gearbox used (LT77 - v - R380).
There are also quite a few differences in the engine bay itself as some of the ancillaries are different (the air cleaner and Turbo for example).

If you could post up a picture of your engine bay that would give us a great foot up in being able to help you..