i dont mean to hijack this thread but this is kinda the same problem im having...
I drive my car alot (im up to 143k miles) and ive noticed lately that ive been burning oil, up to the tune of 1.5 qts every 1k miles or so. Im not leaking oil anywhere but sometimes i can smell it through the exhaust when i come to a stop so its burning through the car somewhere. im guessing valve seals, piston rings, or the turbo (which im leaning towards).
I dont really know a way to check the valve seals. i have a compression tester to test the piston rings that im gonna try tomorrow when i do an oil change. What im really leaning towards is my turbo and im wondering what ways i have to check it? its really hard to remove the intercooler pipes for me without taking the intercooler off which involves taking the bumper off, etc, which sucks. is there anyway for me to see if oil is leaking out of the exhaust side? also my wastegate is bad so i havent been able to get on my car in a long time but when i do if i get upwards of 7-8 psi i have to regulate it with my foot and sometimes ill get a huge cloud of smoke.
im guessing from reading around here that our turbo oil seals tend to go fairly often and that they arent worth rebuilding correct? Im sorry im kinda rambling trying to get my thoughts on here quickly cause i have to get to work but any help which be appreciated. Also, could high mileage oil help? i noticed mobil 1 makes synthetic high mileage now.