1988 Peterbilt 378 3306 diesel turbo issue

Discussion in 'Heavy Duty Diesel Truck Mechanics Forum' started by bsamot69, Feb 18, 2026.

  1. bsamot69

    bsamot69 Bobtail Member

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    Feb 10, 2026
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    My first post here. I hope I'm in correct place.
    1988 Peterbilt 378 3306b diesel engine. I was having oil in exhaust smoking out issue.. After, adding vent for crankcase fixing intake restrictions I still had oil dripping from between exhaust and turbo connection. Thinking it was seal in turbo. I had removed turbo and wet oil residue in turbo exhaust out and all through exhaust. The exhaust manifold was fairly dry at the mount point for turbo. I installed new turbo , changed oil and filter, lubricated oil inlet at turbo and cranked engine without starting to get oil into turbo prior to start. Started engine and ran to clear smoking oil residue from exhaust. As it was running I kept inspecting and noticed after a few minutes oil dripping from turbo and exhaust pipe connection. I shut it down and disconnected exhaust pipe from turbo. Fresh clean oil was pooled up at this point. You can imagine my optimistic day dashed on the rocks. I took a break to process this. Any suggestions for oil source? I'm going to check to insure the oil drain is not slow. Upon reassembly I thought cleaned both inlet and outlet tubes. Maybe block restrictions? I out in just the correct oil amount . Full line on dipstick. 10 gallons of oil . Thank you in advance for any help with this.
     
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  3. Big Road Skateboard

    Big Road Skateboard Road Train Member

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    What's the air filter look like?
     
  4. bsamot69

    bsamot69 Bobtail Member

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    Air filter is new. Forgot to mention that..
     
  5. JB7

    JB7 Road Train Member

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    Don't know what brand or quality of a turbo you bought. Possible but unlikely that it has a bad seal like the old one.
    "The exhaust manifold was fairly dry at the mount point for turbo." Hard to tell without a pic.
    "Upon reassembly I thought cleaned both inlet and outlet tubes." You thought you cleaned or you thoroughly cleaned? If the drain pipe/tube is unobstructed then look, blow air or stick something into the outlet at the block to make sure there is nothing blocking the flow going into the oil pan.

    upload_2026-2-18_15-54-53.png

    Bing Videos
     
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  6. wore out

    wore out Numbered Classic

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    Pull your exhaust manifold or run a camera down it with turbo off. Sounds to me like you’ve got trouble
     
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  7. bsamot69

    bsamot69 Bobtail Member

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    Yes I meant thoroughly...when you say trouble can you be more specific.
    With the old turbo off, the exhaust manifold ports to turbo were not oil soaked. There was oil coating the turbo exhaust side on back .I'll try to attach photo
     

    Attached Files:

  8. wore out

    wore out Numbered Classic

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    Sounds to me like a bad hole. I agree the manifold looks dry but 2 turbos doing the same thing? Highly unlikely
     
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  9. Big Road Skateboard

    Big Road Skateboard Road Train Member

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    Have you happened to try pulling the hose off the intake and run it? Maybe just see if it changes anything, and if not, try to gauge if there seems to be decent air flow.

    I've seen similar circumstances twice. I don't personally have experience with this engine, but both of those were caused by intake restrictions.
     
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  10. bsamot69

    bsamot69 Bobtail Member

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    When I started this project I discovered that the air filter was installed backwards. The tapered shape effectively plugged air flow . Big restriction. I don't know how long it was driven like that. It's installed properly now. The problem persists . The truck runs very smooth. I would expect a little rough run with dead hole. What kind of damage would be caused with operating the truck with the filter backwards?
     
  11. JB7

    JB7 Road Train Member

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    "What kind of damage would be caused with operating the truck with the filter backwards?"
    Possibly allowing dirt to bypass the filter, get sucked into the engine and ruin the liners/pistons/rings.

    Are you sure you have the right air filter? Try removing it or a hose as suggested in post #8, run the engine and see if you still get oil dripping like before.

    Go to the 1:55 mark in the video posted in #4. Check each port where the manifold meets the head for any sign of oil.
     
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