Oil in intercooler and turbo outlet. any ideas?

[SKI.WRX]

So today I removed the intercooler on my 2002 WRX and noticed what appeared to be oil in the outlet that goes to the throttle body. I smelled it and it smelled like oil. also on one of the inlets on the back the "y" hose was covered in the same oily substance.

Upon further inspection i noticed more oily residue on the inside of the turbo outlet. I figured I should check the oil which was just below the bottom dot on the dipstick.

I just changed the oil about 200 miles ago and put in 4 quarts of mobil 1 as the manual suggests. 15 minutes or so after the change I checked the level and it was just below the top dot so I assume i am burning some oil.

I haven't driven the car hard at all and it is holding boost and otherwise seems to run fine. There are no oil drips anywhere and I have not noticed any smoke. Any ideas what this is or how to fix it? Is it possible for there be an oil leak in the turbo?

My car is stock except for Mishimoto radiator and silencer delete.







Thanks for any and all help

Jeremy

[brfatal]

Blow-by. Some is normal. A lot is bad. If you literally had to pour it out of your intercooler then I'd get a compression test.

Don't use 5w30 M1.

[SKI.WRX]

It wasn't much by any means what was on the paper towel was all i got out of it. My compression is 160, 160, 160, 160. Also why not mobil 1?

[brfatal]

It wasn't much by any means what was on the paper towel was all i got out of it. My compression is 160, 160, 160, 160. Also why not mobil 1?

That oil is what air/oil separators and catch cans are for. Mobil 1 5w30 Syth has an issue with prematurely shearing to 5w20.

[OrbitalEllipses]

High Mileage M1 5W-30 won't shear like regular M1 5W-30. I personally use M1 TDT 5W-40, but some people don't like running diesel oil.

As stated, you're seeing blow by that is normal in forced induction engines. If you're worried about it, or there's alot you might want to get an AOS or catch can. Just do your research first.

You may also want to check your PCV valve. For the throttle cabled cars it should be under the right corner of the throttle body, screwed into the intake manifold. FWIW mine was fine after 60K, though it's possible that it has gummed up. The breather hardline that goes across the intercooler may be gummed up, it's worth sticking a metal rod through there to see if anything's in there.