Oil leaks that won't stop.

[Fayt]

Alright, I have 2 main oil leaks that are killing me.

Here's the first one.

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The bolt at the end of the row above the exhaust manifold, left of the motor. It won't stop ####ing leaking. I've tightened it down, right now it has RTV Gasket Maker/Sealant all around the bolt and it STILL leaks oil.

2nd one is my oil return line.
Right now it's hooked up right and everything, but leaks. Top part to turbo has 2 gaskets, RTV sealant, bolts with crush washers; leaks. Bottom part to oil pan has 3 gaskets, sealant in between every one, sealant between pan and line, bolts with crush washers; leaks. It's leaking onto my DP which is causing smoke to fill my motor. It fills up so much that my vents will push it into the car itself, even when my fans aren't on! I'm pretty sure the oil pan is bent a little bit, and it's leaking around that.

If all else fails, I'm gonna get a few quarts, and drive it to Buschur to fix it. I'm getting sick of working on this car.

 

[Dream On]

Why so many gaskets on the oil return? Mine was leaking a little, just put on a new gasket and tightened the bolts and it was fine. As for the first leak, you say its leaking from an exhaust manifold bolt? There shouldn't be oil coming out of there... Maybe the head was drilled when that stud snapped and they hit an oil passage...

 

[njc1064]

First, putting rtv on your gaskets isnt the best idea. Use one or the other, dont try using both. If your using the stock oil return line, im going to tell you to simply replace it. Its an $11 piece and with gaskets its like $14. The area that is flexible gets old, wears out, and leaks. Replace it and try that.

 

[Fayt]

I've used one single gasket, no RTV, leaked. RTV with no gasket, leaked. It seems like NOTHING I do is stopping this thing. It's fine when cold, but when it warms up it leaks out everywhere.

The bolt is the one at the end of the block, shown in the picture.

 

[daren_p]

For the oil return, first off you shouldn't need that many gaskets, thats probably part of your problem. Now you say your using crush washers on your oil return line? If so why are you doing this, what type of return line are you using? If its the factory or some aftermarket line with billet flanges you should just need one gasket at each end & nothing else. If it won't seal with that you may have worped flanges & would need to replace the affected parts.

For the bolt on the end of the block, looks like someone may have feed a turbo from there at one time as Im pretty sure their just a plug normally & not a bolt with crush washers. I would try & get the correct plug off the dealer & use some pipe dope to seal it, if you can't get it I would try a new crush washer. You shouldn't need RTV on either of the areas your having troubles with.

 

[Quasimondo]

The washer in the first picture looks like a regular steel washer. If it is, you need to replace it with a fresh copper washer. The copper ones are soft and will deform as needed to seal it up. Is that bolt a regular bolt or one that was pulled from a n/a head btw?

For the return line, I've found that RTV doesn't work too well. Is it leaking from both ends of the return line? Multiple gaskets don't work good either, it's just more places for the oil to find it's way through.

 

[Fayt]

The bolt was in there when I got the 6 bolt. I'll put a copper washer on there and see if that holds up better.

As far as I can tell, yes, it is leaking from both ends of the return line. I can look under the car after driving and see wet oil around the where the line meets the oil pan, then oil dripping down the line from the top part I'd assume. I used the turbochargers.com install kit, and their return line is garbage so I bought a line, same connectors. If I can't fix it today/tomorrow, I'm ordering slowboyracings pushlock-style return line.

Gimme 10 minutes, I'll get pictures of the return line.

EDIT: Ok, here's the return line. It's not kinked, so it isn't causing unusually high pressure or anything like that. This is after ONE drive, I put this all on yesterday and just drove it today, maybe 1500ft.

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[wazzelby]

RTV is not really a good solution for stopping oil leaks. I agree that if you are using that many gaskets, you are probably making it worse. Oil return lines are extremely inexpensive and an easy replacement. Get another one and your problems should be solved. Just be sure to clean the area really well before using a new gasket...ONE new gasket.
As for the bolt on the side of the manifold, get rid of all the washers and RTV, you really don't want RTV floating around inside your head. If you don't plan on ever using that as an oil supply point (which you shouldn't anyway) just get a fresh bolt, and use a little JB Weld around the threads near the head of the bolt (not the bottom of the bolt that is near the inside of the head) and this should seal it up. Don't over torque the bolt either, you do not want to strip this.

 

[daren_p]

Wow that looks like a pretty major leak, I have never seen a drop from mine & I didn't do anything special so somethings defently wrong. So are there crush washers somewhere on the return line like you origionally said? Id clean it all off, start up the car & go under there to find out exactly where the leak is coming from & go from there. You should have no sealing issues if you do what I mentioned in the previous post.

Edit: was just wonding is the main leak even from the gaskets? Those fittings on the return line are probably NPT so did you use sealent on them when you assembled them? A normal NPT thread won't seal itself without the use of some sort of sealent, be it teflon tape, pipe dope, etc.

 

[Fayt]

The threads on the return line are sealed off with teflon tape, those aren't leaking. I've WATCHED it leak from right where the line meets the pan.

Tomorrow I get paid, so I'm ordering new gaskets, along with other new parts I need. I'll clean it off and try again.

Do you think the dent in my oil pan could have anything to do with it? At first, the middle part of the return line was threaded too far, and it hit the pan. So, when I tightened it, the big O part was dented in a tiny smidge, not even noticeable to the naked eye, but you can kinda feel it.

 

[njc1064]

Too be perfectly sure whats leaking where, i would suggest cleaning everything very very well. I used brake clean and a rag, which worked wonders. Also, sometimes oil leaks only occur when the engine is under load. If you know someone with a rack, you could simply watch whats going on when the car is in the air. My personal opinion is that you should go to a mitsubishi dealership, pick up the return line and a the two gaskets, and be done with it. From what i can see, that return line you have on there looks rather prone to leaks. How are you so sure that the leak is right at the oil pan. You may be decieved, remember, when you drive, wind brushes under the car and gets oil everywhere

 

[daren_p]

If the dent in the oil pan you created is big enough to feel, it is possible that it is causing an issue. I guess it is possible that the flanges are machined straight, which would just add to the issue.

 

[Fayt]

FIXED!~~~!@~!#@~!# YES~~! I'm so happy right now. It doesn't even get wet it's sealed so well. THANK YOU SO MUCH EVERYONE!!!!!

Took everything off, tightened everything down, rethreaded all the connectors with teflon tape and hooked it up. HOLDS PERFECT! No more smoke under my hood, or oil leaking down the driveway!!

Now to fix the smoking between shifts.... I figure it's boost leak related, my BOV is shitty. Figures, the knock off Greddy Type S doesn't work

O well, time to order the real RS!

Again, THANK YOU!

 

[daren_p]

Good to hear, now about the smoke between shifts, you aren't by any chance venting your bov with the factory MAF? If you are, thats more then likely the cause.

 

[Fayt]

Nope, it recirculates. I am however using a knockoff Greddy Type S. POS thing leaks so bad now that I actually USED it. But, I have a new REAL Greddy Type RS coming by monday/tuesday, so that should help out.