Oil leaking from base of air horn

[Bob Bradley]

I had more oil in my bilge than normal, and started poking around the engines over the weekend. To my dismay, I found a pretty good leak coming from under the port airhorn. Would this typically indicate a turbo failure, or some other problem?

[Nonchalant1]

Assuming you mean the "air horn" in between the air boxes (intercoolers) and the blower, it could be the blower gasket right there under the blower. If that gasket goes, you get lots of oil. A previous thread said you might also be seeing more oil drops around the screws of the air boxes because at idle, oil can get back that far.

Do you have AirSeps?

[Genesis]

... digitals if you can.

Willing to help 'ya out with this if you'd like.

[Bob Bradley]

I'm new to this diesel stuff. Carbureted 327's I understand; this, I'm still learing, so I may be using the wrong term "airhorn". I thought that was what it it called.

The oil is leaking from under the part that runs from the output of both turbochargers to the top center of the engine, above what I believe is the blower. The part has a pair of pipes, about 2" to 2-1/2" in diameter on the aft end, each attached to the output from the turbocharger. It's leaking from the underside, where it obviously is bolted to the top of the engine. This is the topmost part in the center of the engine.

I can't get down there to take digitals before Saturday, Genesis. If you email me at rbradley@hubbell.com, I'll reply with the pictures then. Thanks for the offer to help.
Bob

[Bob Bradley]

And yes, I do have airseps.

[Genesis]

You're talking about right on top of the blower, where the airhorn attaches to it?

There's supposed to be a gasket in there. If you're leaking oil, you're also leaking AIR, which is really bad, as you're not getting boost.

If you have Airseps that may be the cause of the oil, but you need to fix that air leak, because it will impact performance.

Take off the airsep air filters and look down the bore. See what the compressor wheels on the turbos look like, and the housing IN FRONT of the compressor wheel.

It is important to look for oil in BOTH places. Oil (or black gunk) on the wheel but NOT in the intake means something COMPLETELY DIFFERENT than oil (or gunk) on BOTH.

Let me know what's there and I'll give you some pointers on how to proceed; I also need the exact Detroit model engine and HP you have.

[Bob Bradley]

Will do. I'll be able to check it either Fri evening or Sat during the day. I had planned on a fishing trip (1 hr round trip) on Sat. Do you feel I could cause damage by running her?

It does appear to be leaking from where I would expect to find a gasket. I snugged the bolts last Sunday, as 2 (of the 6 or 8 total) were loose, and ran her for about an hour. Can't tell for certain if that stemmed the leak or not, as it's a bit messy there right now.
Bob

[Bob Bradley]

I just checked my survey, and it shows the model of the engine to be a 6V92TA, at 435HP. Serial number is 6VA033227 if that helps.

[Genesis]

Same basic setup as I have, but mine are 500HP.

If you snugged up the bolts its ok to run her, but this is a problem you need to pay attention to, as the aftercooler will get fouled (if its not already) and they're a real pain in the butt to clean - you have to pull the blower to get to it, and if you think you have a mess now, wait until you do THAT job (the governor housing traps oil and when you pull the blower it goes ALL OVER)

[Bob Bradley]

Karl,
I found a way to shirk my parental responsibilities and get down to the boat last evening. I pulled the air horn (presuming we've all agreed that this is what I'm talking about), and found no abundance of oil in the tubes. It was black and dirty in there, but no accumulated sludge to speak of.

I also pulled the filters off the Airseps, and found no puddles of oil on the intake side. Neither were the fins of the blower fouled. They appear dry and grey, with consistent coloration.

I did take some digital shots, but I don't know if I can post them here. If you'd like to see them, drop me an email at rbradley@hubbell.com, and I'll reply with attached photos.
Bob