bluesurf

There is oil seeping out of intake manifold. So I opened up the flexible hoses and there sure is oil in there. How much is too much and is this caused by my PAC brake? Do I have to replace turbo? Is PAC brake really bad for these trucks. Seems like many problems started when I installed it. Any info would be great. Thanks

gcssr

I believe that the 03 auto would not take a pack brake, only the manual tranny until the 06 year

Jeff in TD

I don't think the exhaust brake had anything to do with the failure.

I don't know if the turbo can be sent in for rebuild or if it has to be replaced, but if it were mine I think I'd be fixing it one way or another pronto.

bluesurf

thanks for the replies, truck is an 05 with a built up trans and controller taht should take care of the non 06 issue. my mechanic is telling me that the back pressure of the pac brake is causing this oil to blow by. what i need to know is when i replace my turbo should i be getting rid of the pac brake as i don't like to fix something only to have it fail again. thanks

CTD NUT

You may want to consider a different mechanic for working on your diesel trucks. He has clearly demonstrated a lack of fundamental knowledge of how the brake and turbo work by making such a statement. Confidence in that mechanice should be questioned.

Your engine is designed to run normally and properly with up to 60 psi of back pressure form an exhaust brake. It is not possible for brake back pressure to cause an oil leak at the turbo shaft seal. OIL pressure is leaking by the seal is what is causing the oil leak. It is possible that the shaft bearings and/or shaft are worn enough to cause excessive side play to damage the seal as well. Bottom line is that the turbo is the culprit and needs to be inspected.....AND that an exhasut brake most certainly does not compromise or adversely affect the life of the turbo.

Roperteacher

Just FYI, I had a Pac break installed on my 2007 5.9 manual truck. Brake worked great HOWEVER, I noticed same thing, oil dripping from same place as yours! Had turbo replaced under warranty 3X, send pac brake back to factory for inspection. Basically the PAC DID CAUSE my turbo failures. All three of them. Dodge said no more new turbos if the brake was on there. I took it off and it has been dry ever since, 2 years now! Great product but Pac brake did refund me for the brake and said was a programming issue likely.

bluesurf

should i even try to go to dealer with the pac on my truck for warranty? will they just deny me because it is there. I have had nothing but problems with this truck and I cant afford to replace a turbo right now so i really need it to be covered under warranty. thanks for the info.

bluesurf

my mechanic is a very trusted fleet mech and primarily takes care of diesels in fleets. he has a lot of schooling. I feel as though I have to listen to him as i have 0 schooling on this topic. i do appreciate the replies and please keep them coming.

CTD NUT

Please elaborate:

What function of the brake caused the turbo to leak oil into the compressor side? What "programming" are you referring to? What little info you posted is VERY inconclusive.

It almost sounds like the brake was engaging or partially engaging under throttle - which would cause insane back pressure levels. But that is WAY outside normal operating parameters. I'd almost go so far as to say there were defective turbo issues there.

If there weren't millions of trucks logging millions of trouble free miles with high mileage non-leaking turbos and exhaust brakes, millions of miles on dealer installed Jake's and so on, I could try to understand a bit more as your post paraphrases that an exhaust brake will damage your turbo.

CD in NM

Absolutely correct. When Pac designed their brake it was with ALL this in consideration. It is most likely the turbo seal, you can get a reman or rebuild.

CD

bluesurf

so with that being said can i bring it into the dealer and expect it to get fixed under warranty? or will they tell me to go Edit myself because i have a pac brake on. thanks.

Lary Ellis (Top)

Just as everyone else has told you, you have a turbo problem not a PacBrake problem. For the guy that had multiple turbos replaced due to leaking seals, something was causing those shaft seals to degrade as they did.

I would suspect something like "turbo bark" before I would an exhaust brake. Sudden drop in acceleration when you are getting on it will cause CRAZY back pressures causing the turbo to try and reverse direction and make a "barking" noise. This is really hard on the shafts and seals. Also shutting the engine down before the turbo cools down to 300 degrees causes the oil to "coke" in the bearings which essentially turns the oil into small abrasive particles which also causes shaft/bearing/seal damage. Using the wrong kind of oil filter or oil, or even just dirty oil can cause these issues as well.......lots of variables here as you can see.

I never heard of a Pacbrake damaging a turbo........... I too would question the mechanic.

CD in NM

There are PLENTY of turbo failures in trucks that do not have the PacBrake, some have failed with the factory brake, some turbos have failed with no brake at all. When you got your replacements they were Dodge remans, Dodge does NOT use a new turbo as a warranty replacement.

Dodge ALWAYS uses an aftermarket part as an excuse for any/all failures, rarely, if at all, would they admit they had issues of their own with substandard parts or defective parts.

While you could have gotten a defective brake from Pac, my best guess is that you got marginal remans from Dodge, maybe the last turbo they installed was just a better reman. As far as programming issues, my PacBrake works perfectly, has for MANY hard miles and steep long grades.

I tow very heavy like you do, our factory turbo is marginal when it comes to heavy tows all the time, they have a poor history of holding up, and with the 325 engine they seem to do even poorer. My factory turbo started seeping a little, I changed it out to an aftermarket turbo, I was not going to live at a dealership or be inconvenienced by something that could not keep up with my demand.


CD

CD in NM

I got mine fixed/replaced with my PacBrake in place, my dealership tested the back pressure, said it was within their 60# specs, just under actually, they never gave me one problem over a warranty replacement. They did tell me that there was a memo about exhaust brakes, if they tested above the 60#s then they would deny a warranty claim, that's why ther first tested the pressure. The pressure is adjustable, I adjusted mine when I installed it, very important to make sure it is adjusted correctly.


CD

CD in NM

Yes Lary, outside of the pressure being improper at install, that would have been my guess too. Turbo bark is truly hard on seals, the #1 reason they blow out.


CD