Hey all, i have just solved a problem that was plaguing my VLT for a while and thought i should share... So, engine would sound fine, start fine, compression was fine, no fluid loss, power was all there etc. Gearbox was a bit funny at times, but i didnt think it would be related. After being at a set of lights, on takeoff i would literally cover the cars behind me in white smoke... but once moving, it wouldnt be an issue.... I first thought it might be the turbo burning oil, and given my turbo drain wasnt direct, i first addressed that, issue was still there... I then pulled the top of the engine apart and did the valve seals thinking maybe at idle oil was getting past them. issue still there... I then was scratching my head and thought it must be the turbo internals, and a mate linked me a calturbo post which seemed to solve it... It all makes sense now, why my gearbox was playing funny buggers , and why the fluid level was low... There is a vacuum modulator on the side of the box with a vac. line... and given mine was NA now turbo and purely the age of the part... im guessing the internal rubber diaphram had hardened a certain way and either just coincidence or that now its not just vac. but +ve pressure when boost kicks in YO, it may have sped up the breakage. I had a spare turbo box in the shed and found the part and tested it on the bench, i couldntn blow or suck through it. I got under the car and unscrewed (needed plyers on the round part) the old NA one, when i pulled the vac hose off, trans fluid was in it... I put the new (old) turbo one on, and took it for a hoon today.... no smoke anymore... So im assuming at idle, when vac. is at max, it was pulling fluid up the hose, and then on take off, was burning it up.... as vac decreased and boost took over, no more fluid to burn.... Its a $50 part and since i now know its the source of my problems, i have ordered a new one off ebay so i know the condition of it.... kinda glad i figured this out before ripping the turbo off and wasting time doing a service kit on it... anyways, hope this may help someone in the future suffering the same problem. I have attached a pic of what im talking about. Its near the back of the gearbox (tail shaft end) passenger side, right infront of another cylinder thing with 2 wires. If you are planning on replacing yours, make sure you are careful because there is a needle that goes into the box (i believe this regulates pressure in there, so idle, it slips more, and once moving, full pressure is applied) there is also rubber O rings so try not to drop them... and my box was filthy around there so be careful not to introduce crap into your box. Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

Great share. Well done

100% agree! Was it a lot of smoke on idle like bellowing white smoke?

DeanoVLCT : Yea, i couldnt figure it out.... Idle was fine, no smoke, and even revving up in the shed in P was fine. It was driving me nuts for over a year... it would drive fine and my wideband was showing normal figures, even idle was fine, but as soon as you put any load on it, like taking off for about 2-5 secs. it would just cloud the cars behind me with white, very embarrassing ... i even spent about 2-3 weeks removing the top of the engine, and doing the valve stem seals with the head still on using the compressed air into the spark plug hole, removed springs, old seals etc. that was a pretty big job, not hard just took a long time, and im sure i mashed some of the new seals using a socket to press them on, so now thats on my mind, but i guess 25+ year old seals prob werent the greatest anyway. just now im realising it wasnt prob nessacery. After doing this and reading more, i can see quite a few posts about this problem on calturbo, i just dont think it has the visibility of a potential problem as it should in most guys minds... and for such an easy job too, its literally unscrew old one from outside of box, install new one.. The only thing was you needed to remove 2x auto sump bolts because there is a little tin/metal bracket holding the steel part of the vac line in place, but its all accessable pretty easy.