Bypass filter for the turbo oil line?

[Fysh Guide]

I'm not going down this road anymore, but man, I sure appreciate the education! There is never enough.
Thanks Missy and GMCTD...

 

[Matt Bachand]

The turbo bearing is a hard bronze bushing set that presses into the housing.
The bearing has a flange on either end to take up end thrust.

The seals are like little piston rings with interlocking ends and these ride in a little machined area just outside the bearing area.
The seals just knock down the "fly off" oil that comes out the ends of the bushing.
There is an oil return groove between the bushing and the seal to allow the excess to drain away.
So there is not any oil pressure against the seal itself.

The oil is fed under pressure into the bearing and then leaks out and runs via gravity out the bottom of the housing and back to the pan.

Back a couple years ago when I rebuilt our 94 Burb I had reason to take the turbo apart.
The carbon buildup in the turbine side of the housing had expanded due to the antifreeze that puked out when the head gasket blew.

After 2 months the turbo was stuck TIGHT.
I took it apart to see why and the carbon was the only issue.

Easy fix with just some cleaning and reassembly. Just about as simple as it gets.

Unless the turbo is starved for oil, they will run for a very long time.
The other issue is if something goes through the blades.

I am thinking that the advise against adding a filter in the feed line is a good one.
Any reduction in oil flow to the turbo will result is catastrophic failure of the turbo.

Considering the nature of the turbo bearing (bronze) the extra filtering is of no real value.

If you wish to have a better filter on the engine, install a remote unit that replaces the factory filter base and then feeds the new filter via hoses to the remote location.

Best

MGW

Anyone else picture Marissa Tomei from my cousin vinny?

Great info btw, same with you always GMCTD.