How long should a turbo last?

Where is it leaking? Just an external leak? Oil feed or drain line?

 

Yeah although thats sounds like a major fault which would be covered by a warrenty. Over all if you look after your turbo meaning insuring it is cooled down properly after running it should last that's not to say you won't get things happening eg. an oil leak.

 

Always did a proper cool down on mine if it was a hard pull before I shut it off.

 

My N14 does that if I idle too long. Fresh inframe with heads and turbo. I don't think it's anything to worry about.

 

There should be a pyro gauge for that purpose. It will serve as a additional check to ensure your temps have indeed come off after a hard pull.

 

The old holset turbos were notorious for slobbering oil when idled for long periods.

 

Mine is a Holset but it's coming from the engine. It'll drip a little from the manifold connections both before and after the turbo. It's not much. And she'll smoke pretty good the first trip thru the gears after idling a while.

To the OP, if the air-to-air is clean and dry, I wouldn't get too worked up. How does the turbine feel when you move it side to side? In/out?

 

Alot of that (oil drip) I bet is actually raw fuel mixing with the soot making it look like oil. A little now and then is normal. If you have a puddle the size of Lake Erie on the ground then there is a bigger issue !

 

Right, mine has a pyro. A lot of these newer trucks don't though. Shouldn't take more than about 5 minutes to cool down after a heavy pull on a hot day though so if it doesn't have a pyro just let it idle about 5 minutes and it'll be cooled down to normal - would be a good practice

 

It very well could be. I can idle for hours and it never makes a puddle. But you can see where it has dripped out of the manifold. It worried me at first cuz we had just rebuilt it, but I think it's an N14 thing. Had others tell me theirs does it too. And no matter how high I idle it, I can't keep cylinder temps hot enough for a clean burn.