At this point I'm just 'hoping' it's the turbo seals. I did speak to someone who said it's normal for these turbos to have a bit of axial play? Not gonna lie I've never checked a turbo for axial play before but you could hear it tapping a bit as I moved it back and forth. Surely that's too much?
My theory is (could be completely wrong), bad axial play, worn bearings, bad seals, oil into dump/compressor side, burns in exhaust = blue smoke.
On a timing belt related note, my crank pulley was missing that front plate that sits in front of the timing belt. It's that metal round plate. It did have the rear one, and the woodruff keys are in the crank which was nice. Can anyone confirm if the NEO det engine has a front plate, im sure it would to protect the front of the timing belt or something.
Water pumps...the pump I got was an NPW (yes grill me if I should've got a genuine one lol). It has a smooth mating surface, kit came with a pretty pathetic looking paper gasket. Do I need to use any RTV or just trust the gasket will work because its a smooth mating surface?
Cheers legends have a good Easter break!