Intake pipe blows off from pressure and oil/ coolant leak

[raptoranderson]

So after almost a month of intermittent work and weekends spent working on my Eclipse, I finally got the Front Mount Intercooler I purchased from CX Racing installed so that it fits on with the bumper and also holds boost I also closed the blow off valve so that even when revving in neutral the turbo flutters

So after all the time spent wondering if I'd finally get the intercooler installed I finished it and took it out for a drive. I got 100 yards before all of the boost was dumped out of the car in one sharp, short "whoosh" and the car died. Couldn't get it to start so me and my buddy pushed it back to my house to find that the intake pipe coming off the compressor housing blew clean-off. The car was also leaking what must've been oil and also smoking quite profusely. The smoke smelled sweet almost but not quite like coolant, although I assume that's what it is.

The pipe that blew off comes from the turbo almost straight down and then turns 80 or 90 degrees to go out to the intercooler; so like an upright L-shape. The turbo outlet is 2" and my intercooler piping is 2.5" so I had to buy a pipe reducer to make it fit, but obviously the reducer doesn't have a lot of purchase or a rolled lip or bead on it for the clamp to clamp onto when being bolted on, hence why it blew off.

Any suggestions from keeping the pipe from blowing-off under pressure and also locating an oil leak?

 

[raptoranderson]

The oil was here where I've drawn in blue, which makes no sense to me ...

 

[JDT]

That's normal if you don't have a catch can. The turbo draws out the crank case fumes through the hose running to the valve cover.

 

[raptoranderson]

So get a catch can? Or is it not really essential for the car to have one?

To find the oil leak and possible coolant leak should I just jack up the car and turn it over and let it run until it starts leaking? I'm tempted to say that the reason it seems to be burning coolant is because it's overheating but the fan is turned on manually via a switch that I always flip before turning the car on. The smell is sort of sweet but not quite how I remember the coolant in my old car smelling ...

Is it possible that the engine bay being painted black is causing the engine to heat soak or maybe the presence of a bigger turbo is causing everything to get hot or am I missing something?

I do have a water temperature gauge I'll be installing sometime tomorrow so maybe that'll give me a clue as to what's going on ...

 

[gsxeclipse102]

Or your turbo is blown. Theres a seal behind the compressor wheel that keeps the oil out of the compressor. Its from either the stock pcv set up, too much oil pressure, a clogged turbo drain, or excessive blow by.

 

[gsxeclipse102]

Coolant leak your gonna have to visually find.

 

[raptoranderson]

Or your turbo is blown. Theres a seal behind the compressor wheel that keeps the oil out of the compressor. Its from either the stock pcv set up, too much oil pressure, a clogged turbo drain, or excessive blow by.

A clogged turbo drain you say ... that would explain the oil leak too

 

[jakk220]

I have a J pipe that I could sell you if you feel like yours doesn't work for some reason. Mine worked fine with a 16g and factory fans and what not. However I think you would be able to get away with a new coupler, t-bolt clamps, and a new piece of pipe. You can order the coupler from summit racing or extreme PSI.

You could use this pipe, and then cut it down a little bit as needed for clearance. http://www.extremepsi.com/store/product.php?productid=22364&cat=1013&page=1

And this coupler assuming your intercooler pipe is 2.5 and your j-pipe is 2.0. http://www.extremepsi.com/store/product.php?productid=21305&cat=1535&page=1

And you are going to need some of these clamps (again assuming these are your sizes)
http://www.extremepsi.com/store/product.php?productid=16798&cat=339&page=1


http://www.extremepsi.com/store/product.php?productid=17582&cat=339&page=1

Or you could get a coupler like this one. I just personally do not like them. I prefer to have as much hard pipe as possible. But it is an option.
http://www.extremepsi.com/store/product.php?productid=21312&cat=1540&page=1

Keep in mind with any clearance issues, you can cut the pipe as needed. You can not really cut this coupler.

 

[jakk220]

I feel as though the odds of your turbo drain being clogged are less likely than the other options. If you have the stock set up with the lines returning to the intake from the pcv system, then that is more than likely where it is coming from. Most people opt to run a catch can set up by this point and it is recommended that you get one.

If you do not have the lines from the valve cover going to the intake, then I would suspect that the seal for the turbo is going bad and the oil is leaking into there that way. Those are your two most likely options. To check for a coolant leak I would rent a coolant pressure tester from Autozone. If that checks out then I would do a compression and leak down test to check for a blown head gasket. Are you losing coolant?

 

[raptoranderson]

Keep in mind with any clearance issues, you can cut the pipe as needed. You can not really cut this coupler.

The problem I have is that the bottom of that elbow bend isn't supported by anything; it's just hanging there. So under boost wouldn't the pressure want to push that pipe straight downward? And since there's nothing holding it up the piping can flex where the hose joiners are and pop-off like they did

 

[raptoranderson]

I feel as though the odds of your turbo drain being clogged are less likely than the other options. If you have the stock set up with the lines returning to the intake from the pcv system, then that is more than likely where it is coming from. Most people opt to run a catch can set up by this point and it is recommended that you get one.

If you do not have the lines from the valve cover going to the intake, then I would suspect that the seal for the turbo is going bad and the oil is leaking into there that way. Those are your two most likely options. To check for a coolant leak I would rent a coolant pressure tester from Autozone. If that checks out then I would do a compression and leak down test to check for a blown head gasket. Are you losing coolant?

I'll make sure I get hold of a catch can and check back in to let you know if the problem has gone away as far as I know I'm not losing any coolant. The car left two distinct puddles after pulling out of the driveway, neither of which have any real color to them until you dip your finger in them and rub your fingers together. The liquid is clearly a caramel brown and has the consistency of a thin oil, and there was a significant amount of it in two one-foot-by-one-foot puddles, not like a dripping or anything like that. Leak in the oil pan?

 

[raptoranderson]

The steam/ smoke I'm seeing does have a sweet smell to it and it seems to be coming from the bottom of the overflow bottle though I'm not 100% sure. All I know is that it's coming from around the bottom of the passenger's side of the radiator. There also seems to be some kind of liquid evaporating/ burning on the passenger's side of the exhaust manifold ...

 

[jakk220]

No the reason you are blowing the pipe off is because of the generic coupler and clamps you have on there. No other reason.

 

[ThunderChild]

No the reason you are blowing the pipe off is because of the generic coupler and clamps you have on there. No other reason.

no bead rolling on the pipe, and bov cranked too tight.

Get the right 90* coupler for the intercooler, get a catch can for your intake, do basic maintenance for the motor, and run it.

 

[raptoranderson]

Fixed the intake pipe problem temporarily by flaring-out the edges of the hose reducer and I have a proper hose reducer and new J-pipe in the mail on their way to me!

I took the car to autozone about 30 seconds down the road from my house and had them read the codes the car was throwing-up. All nonsense emissions codes and things you'd expect from a car with a nonexistent catback exhaust system. However the one thing that was out of the ordinary was a code that said there was a fault with the PCV

Also the area around the thermostat is soaking wet. And I do mean soaking. The car is too damn hot for me to dip my finger in whatever it is that is all around the thermostat but there's enough of it to see it dripping onto the subframe below

 

[Vegas Smith]

I looks like the lower intercooler pipe (in front of engine) may be too short and that's why they used the pipe extender and cheap black coupler. That coupler will melt really easily...like in minutes next to your turbo like that. When you install your j-pipe, check the surface of that and the turbo outlet for flatness because leaks often occur here. Also, when you say intake pipe people automatically think of the pipe that flows to your turbo blades. After that you have upper and lower intercooler piping and not much else as far as terminology.

 

[jakk220]

no bead rolling on the pipe, and bov cranked too tight.

Get the right 90* coupler for the intercooler, get a catch can for your intake, do basic maintenance for the motor, and run it.

I ran 25psi on a non bead rolled pipe for like 2 years in the same spot and it maybe blew off twice. Not saying it was right, but I had on a tbolt clamp and a real coupler.

You're right the BOV isnt helping though.

 

[raptoranderson]

So I believe I found the oil leak. I'll have to take a picture of the location but if you look at the oil filter as if you're standing in front of the car, it's about two inches to the right of it and is what looks to be a drain plug that is leaking.

Also the car overheats furiously when it is driven at anything above 5000rpm. The temperature gauge will sit in the middle of the temperature range when driving the car normally and might ever so slightly creep upward, but once to start giving the car any sort of real driving the temperature goes through the roof

I have the radiator fan turned-on manually the whole time I'm driving but that doesn't seem to do enough. I wonder if it's a problem with the thermostat since there appears to be a coolant leak around the thermostat as well ... does anyone have a ballpark figure of what temperature the radiator coolant should be at when the car is running as it should?

 

[91talonts1]

210*F is full operating temp for a 2g my car usually hovers around 206. If you are burying the temperature gauge and still revving it to 5000 rpm, I'm sure you've already warped the head. Aluminum heads warp extremely easily, it's important to kill the engine at the first sign of overheating.

 

[raptoranderson]

210*F is full operating temp for a 2g my car usually hovers around 206. If you are burying the temperature gauge and still revving it to 5000 rpm, I'm sure you've already warped the head. Aluminum heads warp extremely easily, it's important to kill the engine at the first sign of overheating.

I don't want to say "die" just yet but what sorts of signs should I be looking for to tell what condition the head is in?

 

[91talonts1]

There's No way to check a head for warpage until it's removed but you need to fix your cooling issues before any spirited driving because you're probably making it worse.

 

[91talonts1]

A warped head will be the same as a blown head gasket symptoms. Warpage causes the head gasket to leak.

 

[gsxeclipse102]

Headgasket is done for.

 

[2gmitsueclipse]

Op,

By how you are describing this car, you have acquired someone else's problem. While it is appreciated you are coming here with your issues/concerns, some basics are missing from your repairs.

Here are some suggested links that may help you problem solve some of your issues:

• http://www.dsmtuners.com/threads/compression-and-leak-down-testing.338152/

• http://www.dsmtuners.com/threads/hesitation-under-boost.232561/#post-153587502

• http://www.dsmtuners.com/threads/the-dsm-cooling-system-faq.377985/

From some of the leaks you describe, I would not personally take the car for a drive until these are repaired. Unfortunately, you will have to do some investigation as to where these are coming from. I will suggest though, that you clean up the engine bay a best as possible to find the source of leaks. Being you received the car in this condition would lead me to believe the previous owner(s) neglected much of the basic maintenance items crucial for a proper running car. Here is a great link for detail:

• http://www.dsmtuners.com/threads/dsm-maintenance-guide.476550/

Your profile is missing some information that would be necessary for running a 20g turbo.

• Fuel mods? Pump, injectors, afpr?

• Tuning solution? ECMLink or reflashed black box?

• Boost control?

• Wide-band gauge to monitor afr's?

Don't take this feedback as critical, but rather, advice from others that have been around this platform for some time.

 

[raptoranderson]

Don't take this feedback as critical, but rather, advice from others that have been around this platform for some time.

I don't take it as a criticism at all! I am lining up a set of maintenance jobs to be carried-out on the car including a compression test and also a new head gasket just to be certain. I am also going to check the condition of the spark plugs and replace them if need be, change the coolant and also check the thermostat (which I believe to be broken/ not working because the top radiator hose is boiling hot and the lower radiator hose is still cold).

After doing this I will also be installing a wideband oxygen sensor to see how lean/ rich the car is running, a coolant temperature gauge to see if the thermostat is running as it should, a new set of radiator fans to help with cooling and also an oil temperature gauge to make sure the turbo is being fed oil as it should be.

If anyone has any information they'd like to add about changing or testing a thermostat then I would be open to the help! if not I will wait until I have performed all of the maintenance listed above before posting updates on what's going on with the car

 

[jakk220]

I would just replace the thermostat as it is a cheap part. However if you want to test it then just put it in a pot of water, toss it on the stove with a thermometer, and see if it opens at the proper temperature.