Hey all, I'm new to this board but it's been a great resource to me so THANKS! If only I had read this before I bought my used 1983 240 turbo, I might have done things a little differently but.....

Just after I bought it a couple months ago (and I love it by the way, don't get me wrong) the turbo crapped out and the rear main seal busted too, so oil was all over the place. In particular, it was leaking onto the exhaust pipe under the car and smelling BAD!! I put a tidy sum into fixing the turbo (w/ water cooled kit), rear main seal along with transmission seals since it was out, as well as air intake valves which my mechanic said were mussed up and causing me massive air intake leaks (?).

So after I got the car back it still smelled like burning oil, and there were little leaks, and after bringing the car to and from the mechanic about FIVE times, he realized that he hadn't replaced the seal for the turbo return line and that's where the oil leak was from. He apologized and accepted fault and everything seemed dandy.

Then a few days later there was a little puddle of transmission fluid (!~!!) on my garage floor, so I took it back to him again. This time, he just tells me that there are no leaks he could find (although suddently there's no more transmission fluid leak). He said he put a fluourescent dye in the oil in case it continues.

Sorry for the long back story, but now here's my problem. When I run the car for a while, say 45 mins or so, I still smell that burning oil ! I'll lift up the hood and the turbo unit is red hot -- I mean GLOWING RED, no kidding -- and I can smell the burning oil, but I can't find the source. After I shut the car down it tends to go away.

So I'm worried that I have a bad turbo maybe? He didn't put in a Garrett, but we talked about quality when he replaced the turbo and said he knew good from bad quality. I trusted him at the time. Is it possible that the turbo gets so hot that it burns the oil itself or sends it into the exhaust system?

Thanks in advance for you ideas.

Sincerely,
Mark