1st time doing BLT... leak after leak :)

[Kdouglas89]

I have had my car for a few months now, and finally had enough money to purchase a compressor! I tried using bike pump and other nonsense, but I was losing air to quick, so it was pointless.

1st attempt I found I was leaking from J-pipe, and also my BOV. I took off jpipe, made a new gasket and put some heat silicone between the piping. I then just put some silicone around the C clip of my hks bov. Ran the test again and BOV is fixed, but Jpipe is still leaking a little bit.

2nd attempt Jpipe is still leaking a little bit, but I actually heard air escaping from around the throttle body. Sprayed water all over, but still couldnt find the leak. Began touching around behind the motor and found 2 nipples that had nothing on them. One was spraying out a lot of air, and the other wasn't doing much. I put a line on the one, and capped it for now.

3rd attempt I again heard air coming from around the throttle body. Sprayed water, and sure enough between tbody and fmic piping were leaking. Took off the arm and realized the gasket was still perfect. I put it back on and made sure to torque it a little better. Ran a test and I was all good.

4th attempt I heard air leaking below throttle body somewhere. I could actually feel the air coming out of my plated EGR valve. I tried to torque down the 2 bolts holding the plate on, but they were solid. I then just JB-welded around the plate, and now im waiting for it to dry to do another test.

I am really glad, not annoyed that I am finding all these leaks. I have been told by many people, that once a majority of the leaks are fixed, I will notice a HUGE difference. It seems everytime I find a leak, I get happy because I know that is just one issue im going to knock out .

 

[phr0st]

It's good to get familiar with the BLT process. I find myself doing one every other oil change and almost always find a new leak that has sprung up since the previous BLT. A leak free charge system will make a good bit of difference in drivability however fixing huge leaks will make the car run on the leaner side which may be something to watch out for if the car is tuned to the edge.

 

[juve12]

Nothing better than a good BLT I'm in the middle of the process too just waiting for some gaskets and seals I ordered from STM to get leak free ....

 

[iiNFAMOUSCHRiS]

what's a good, cheap compressor to get to do a BLT with?

 

[Tyeler18]

Silicone and jb weld... please no...

 

[gusu]

what's a good, cheap compressor to get to do a BLT with?

The air compressors they have at gas stations work if you can't afford a small 3 gallon. Although they aren't ideal for either situations the 3 gallon works. Personally I'd at least get a 10 and READ REVIEWS. My 3 gallon compressor literally takes roughly SEVEN minutes to fully pressurize, had I known it was that bad I wouldn't have bought it at all.

 

[My1GLaser]

I have a 13 gallon Campbell Hausfeld from Walmart that works fine. I have had it for 10 years with no problems. I am sure you can get a comparable one from Harbor Freight for cheaper.

 

[Kdouglas89]

I bought some 2 gallon compressor off Ebay for like 60 bucks. Takes about 5 minutes to fill, and I can run 20psi of air for about 2 mins. Enough time for me to find a leak, and to fill it back up for another go.

 

[92AWDHX40]

Got mine from Harbor Freight.

 

[tractionlesscoltgt]

Check local classifieds adds you can get a compressor dirt cheap.

 

[bigbird94]

Its not easy to get rid of all your boost leaks.. It seems like it always finds that one way out..

What do most of you do between for the throttle body gaskets? RTV? No RTV?

And for injector seals? Ive learned to use new factory seals every time, put some Vaseline on the lower seals and then crank the bolts a little tighter than factory torque spec ( but not much, they will break!)

Id love to hear a better solution to boost leaks from the injector seals in the 25-30 psi range

 

[Kdouglas89]

So, after all weekend of trying to pinpoint leaks, I have removed quite a bit of them. I still have leaks, but they will have to wait till next weekend. My car runs soooooooo much better, its amazing.

For the throttle body gasket, I did not use any RTV. I just inspected the gasket, and torqued the 4 bolts the best I could. Removed the leak for me.

 

[Tyeler18]

Its not easy to get rid of all your boost leaks.. It seems like it always finds that one way out..

What do most of you do between for the throttle body gaskets? RTV? No RTV?

And for injector seals? Ive learned to use new factory seals every time, put some Vaseline on the lower seals and then crank the bolts a little tighter than factory torque spec ( but not much, they will break!)

Id love to hear a better solution to boost leaks from the injector seals in the 25-30 psi range

You should not be using RTV on any intake tract leaks. Hell hardly any gaskets on the engine for that matter. What you need to get is OEM gaskets and not the junky fel-pro paper gaskets the parts store sells. The OEM gaskets have a metal firing ring in them. They're much harder to blow out or leak, and they're all of ~$.50 more than the fel-pro. They also take well to being reused a few times, where the paper gaskets are hit or miss.

I've had no problem getting factory injector seals to stay leak free at 35lbs on a GT35r. I don't do anything special, just put them in and tighten the rail down.

 

[kenamond]

I re-used the stock metal TB gaskets and added copper gasket sealer on them. Sue me. No leaks for 5 years. I replaced the injector seals and they're still good but I suspect it's just a matter of time before I get to squirt myself in the face with gasoline while removing the fuel rail.