Alfa Romeo Giulia 2.2JTDm Oil Pooling in Intake

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Mar 10, 2017
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South Wales, UK
Hi All,

My Father drives a 2018 Alfa Romero Giulia 2.2JTDm 180 with 40k on the clock. The car has had annual oil changes with a 0w20 ACEA C5 oil. We are having issues with oil pooling in the intake.

Our mechanic has condemmed the turbo, but I'm not convinced that a well serviced car with 40k on the clock and a reasonably easy life is suffering with any sort of turbo failure. The doesn't seem to be any oil coming from the turbo itself, the turbine spins freely and there's no play.

In the intake hose between the airbox and the turbo there is an oil breather of some sort that comes from the side of the block. I suspect more than likely this is where the oil is coming from. Couple that with the angle of the drive the car gets parked on where the airbox is the lowest point, oil is finding it's way back into the airbox.

My current plan is to run with a thicker oil to hopefully reduce evaporation slightly, install a catch can in the oil breather pipework and get my Father to stop parking on the driveway for a period of time to see if that cures the issue.

Suprisingly, the MAF currently seems unaffected but I think it would be wise to clean it while doing all this work.

I'm just looking for some opinions, maybe something I might be missing or a better way of checking that it isn't the turbo leaking? Any advice welcomed here.
 

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You can grab the turbo spindle and wiggle it back and forth. There shouldn't be any play at your mileage. That should confirm whether the turbo is a problem. But you already know that the PVC system is the problem. Also try keeping the oil at 50-75% on the stick. That helps with a lot of vehicles.
 
What kind of issues is this causing? I remember someone commenting years ago about this being a common occurance on Northstar engines. It was in fact harmless in that application.
 
What kind of issues is this causing? I remember someone commenting years ago about this being a common occurance on Northstar engines. It was in fact harmless in that application.

This being a Euro 6 diesel engine, I have concerns about the DPF with it ingesting oil.
 
How much oil usage is this causing? It would have to be excessive to impact the dpf. Provided the correct oil is being used of course.
 
check your CCV filter. If this is saturated it will pull oil into the intake. My 2012 Cummins Ram will do this if you ignore the service interval on the filter.

just my $0.02
 
The Mercedes OM642 is notorious for this problem. Even with new ccv valve it does it. When i had my reasonator removed it had a lot of oil residue in it. This vapour eventually mixes with the egr gasses in the inlet manifold and fills them with crud. This seizes the swirl flaps.

I think the only thing you can do is fit a catch can.

Not sure if viscosity change will help. The OM642 running 5w-30 and 5w-40 still have the problem. Different engine i know but principle is same.
 
It's normal, all our PSA diesels 1.5 (2018) will have some oil in the intake. And older stuff I own Volvo C30 D2, Berlingo Multispace 2013 1.6 hdi, Fiat 1.9 mjet for example, all have some oil in the intake. Normal.
 
You can grab the turbo spindle and wiggle it back and forth. There shouldn't be any play at your mileage. That should confirm whether the turbo is a problem. But you already know that the PVC system is the problem. Also try keeping the oil at 50-75% on the stick. That helps with a lot of vehicles.
Spot on! That can be stated more importantly. Often times, windage and other factors blow that high oil right back into the intake.

Common in both Gas and Diesels. Same in my 911 as well as Cayenne TD.
 
Hi All,

My Father drives a 2018 Alfa Romero Giulia 2.2JTDm 180 with 40k on the clock. The car has had annual oil changes with a 0w20 ACEA C5 oil. We are having issues with oil pooling in the intake.

Our mechanic has condemmed the turbo, but I'm not convinced that a well serviced car with 40k on the clock and a reasonably easy life is suffering with any sort of turbo failure. The doesn't seem to be any oil coming from the turbo itself, the turbine spins freely and there's no play.

In the intake hose between the airbox and the turbo there is an oil breather of some sort that comes from the side of the block. I suspect more than likely this is where the oil is coming from. Couple that with the angle of the drive the car gets parked on where the airbox is the lowest point, oil is finding it's way back into the airbox.

My current plan is to run with a thicker oil to hopefully reduce evaporation slightly, install a catch can in the oil breather pipework and get my Father to stop parking on the driveway for a period of time to see if that cures the issue.

Suprisingly, the MAF currently seems unaffected but I think it would be wise to clean it while doing all this work.

I'm just looking for some opinions, maybe something I might be missing or a better way of checking that it isn't the turbo leaking? Any advice welcomed here.
Hi how are you? Can you help me if you find the problem from this?
 
Hi how are you? Can you help me if you find the problem from this?

We did! It was the centrifugal oil separator in the PCV system. It sits behind the auxiliary belt tensioner. There was a revised part as the original obviously wasn't up for the job.
 
We did! It was the centrifugal oil separator in the PCV system. It sits behind the auxiliary belt tensioner. There was a revised part as the original obviously wasn't up for the job.
Ooo perfect you change that and is okey now?
 
Ooo perfect you change that and is okey now?

We changed it and got rid of the car a few months later. However, I've since found out it's a known issue with it's own TSB.

You know the number of this part?

You need the following parts...

46350456 - Oil Separator
55273899 - O-Ring
55273898 - O-Ring
55266684 - Separator Cover Seal
 
We changed it and got rid of the car a few months later. However, I've since found out it's a known issue with it's own TSB.



You need the following parts...

46350456 - Oil Separator
55273899 - O-Ring
55273898 - O-Ring
55266684 - Separator Cover Seal
Thank you so much…..👍
 
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