out of oil

[12valveRussian]

I left town for a few weeks and kept my truck at my parent's place. Before I left I noticed that I was low on oil. I guess we got a decent amount of snow and ice back home so my parents used the truck to get their vehicles and the cargo trailer up the steep driveway.

I get a call from my dad telling my the turbo is rattling and that he just parked it and left it for me to get to it. I get back and realize that I lost a ton of oil. When I left, the marker on the dipstick was a hair above the 'add' line. When I checked it after I got back...it came back with no oil.

I added two gallons of oil to it and started it up to hear the turbo. The impeller rubs the housing. So it's either a rebuild or a replacement turbo, I can handle that. What scares me right now is the amount of white smoke. From idle up to about 1300 rpm the turbo doesn't rub. And anywhere along that it smokes white. If I give the throttle a quick push I'll get a little black but white is noticeable most of the time.

Is there any chance this could all be because of the turbo or do you guys think that I'm looking at damage to the actual motor?

Any input is greatly appreciated. I need my truck back.

[shegotmecummin]

if it was enough to fk your turbo up then your pump was probably low on oil also...so thats probably screwed up and no telling what happened tot eh poor engine.

[GAmes]

If the turbo rubs the housing the bearings are probably so bad that it isn't spinning fast enough to burn the fuel even at low rpms. In your case my main concern would be where did all the oil go? A friend of mine lost all his oil when his drain plug came off while accelerating onto the freeway pulling a large 5th. His turbo was toast in seconds. After refilling with oil, limping to an RV park and replacing his turbo he put about 100k more on the truck before he sold it.

[12valveRussian]

I know 5 out of 6 of the valve cover gaskets leak but I don't know where else. I started hoping the turbo went to crap and just burned a ton of oil or leaked it out.

I've had an intercooler boot slip off before but that yielded lots of black smoke, why would I have white smoke with the turbo not providing enough air?

[12valveRussian]

Also, should I chance the $45 for a rebuild kit or save that for a replacement turbo?

[Just Another Cummins]

If you ran it dry, and it's been rubbing the housing, who knows what the shaft looks like, I would just get a new turbo

[illflem]

If turbine wheels rubbed they likely need to be rebalanced.
Not something that the average guy can do.

[12valveRussian]

I know it might be a shot in the dark but is there anything in the motor I can check without tearing it apart to see if the lack of oil caused further damage? Or should I just wait for the new turbo, start it up, and see what other symptoms are shown? With the down time waiting on a turbo I'd like to see if anything else is damaged.

[chubbycuts]

I have had several turbos rebuilt by these guys. Thay have a ton of parts . call them and ask. They are very honest and do nice clean affordable work. I send my stuff from Nj all the way to them in texas..

http://http://www.majesticturbo.com/

Good luck

[Just Another Cummins]

If you are really anxious, you could cut the filter open, or just roll new bearings into the engine and see how the old ones look

[12valveRussian]

I thought I understood the basics of my truck up until now...roll new bearing into it?

[12valveRussian]

chubbycuts, I appreciate the info. They want $350 for a rebuild as long as the wheels and housing are okay (they aren't). Found a used turbo for $200 I'm going to look into. Thanks for the input though, I'll keep those guys in mind when I go to a bigger turbo.