Perkins Turbo - am I in trouble

[Keltiedog]

Mainship 34 MK3 1983, "IBIS" with Perkins 200 Turbo.

Question: Multipart - Did I damage my Turbo or motor?

1) Could not get motor to shut down - kill buttons didn't work so tried shorting leads on back of switch. So in desperation I placed a plastic bag in front of air intake thus blocking the air input for maybe 5 -10 seconds. Motor kept going but very rough (and I'm told white smokey). When plastic was removed the engine resumed normal operation but there was some motor oil dripping/running out of the funnel shaped intake. Motor resumed normal operation. Checked later, there was no noticeable crank case oil loss.

Would be interested in y'all's thoughts.

2)Now, "The Rest of the Story" as Paul Harvey used to say

Since depriving air didn't work, I shut down fuel supply. It idled awhile then quickly started to race so high to a scream - I bailed out - was afraid it would blow. It made no big noise and just coasted to a stop

Current status: I repaired the shutdown solonoid wire connection, and found the shutdown linkage. A quick turn of the key to check if seized and it started without bleeding (sounded normal) - shutdown button worked. Bleeding fuel line is next

 

[KnotYet]

You did the right thing by trying to block the air from the intake. That should have worked.
It is possible that the engine was already running on the lube oil leaking from the turbo when
you were unable to shut it down. This is referred to as a 'runaway'. How much oil came out?
In any event, if oil is now leaking from the turbo it should be examined and maybe rebuilt.
The engine may have survived unscathed unless it ran dry of lube oil but I see that it did not.

I have some familiarity with a diesel running on oil from a failed turbo. My 2002 VW Jetta TDI
is currently sidelined waiting for me to get around to replacing bent rods from a runaway...

 

[CaptTom]

I thought I had a runaway once (long story - it was something else) so I smothered it with a cushion over the air intake. I noticed a few drops of oil in the intake afterward, too. But it ran fine after that.

 

[KnotYet]

I thought I had a runaway once (long story - it was something else) so I smothered it with a cushion over the air intake. I noticed a few drops of oil in the intake afterward, too. But it ran fine after that.

It may be that residual oil gets drawn in from a crankcase vent into the intake under vacuum.
Runaways can be fed by the crankcase vent if there's enough aerated oil vapor or oil present.
If your engine doesn't vent into the intake this wouldn't apply, though.

 

[rslifkin]

If it's not consuming oil or showing signs of a leaky turbo seal then it's likely fine. If covering the intake wasn't enough to shut it down then it was still getting enough air from somewhere to keep running. Through the crankcase vent would be a possibility and the extra airflow through there could easily have pulled in some oil.

 

[kapnd]

When the intake is blocked on a runaway motor, a huge vacuum is created that probably sucks oil out through the turbo bearing seals, so the slobbering should clear up in normal ops.
I’ve never had a runaway, but did accidentaly start a motor WOT while bleeding fuel. The brand new air filter was still in a plastic bag, it completely crushed the filter.

 

[Duvie]

On that Perkins you should be able to grab the linkage the shutdown solenoid is attached to and just operate it manually with your hand until the engine shuts down. Try it sometime so you know what to do in the future.