small oil leak at feed to turbo, drivable?

[91eclipseDSM]

Hey everyone, i just put a rebuilt e16g back in my car and i now have a small leak where the 1g feed meets the turbo that drips down the chra, down the return and onto the ground(think whoopy cushion sized oil spot after idling for a five minutes after parking ). I made the mistake of reusing the washers without even thinking so now i get to enjoy this situation . Now to my question, is it an issue to drive a short distance(under 10 miles) like this my instinct says yes due to possible drop in oil psi due to the leak but i ask because im in a rough spot... My wife is out of town with our other car and ive got to get my car out of my buddies house...is there a way to do this without pulling the manifold? Anyways thought id ask thanks

 

[Dsmkauai]

Why not just get new crush washers and swap them quick. I wouldn't drive it, if oil isn't getting to the Chra properly you risk oil starving your turbo. If this happens say bye bye to the new evo3 16g or atleast you will ruin the bearing and have to rebuild.

 

[92AWDHX40]

Park it replace the washers less than a buck.

 

[91eclipseDSM]

Well the issue is i cant get to the 19mm banjo without removing the manifold or option b remove the radiator although i hate to waste my water wetter cocktail . How would you go about this, maybe im overlooking an obvious solution?

 

[Dsmkauai]

I would try anyway I could to get it out without taking everything apart. If it meant loosing alittle coolant than so be it. What about taking the Chra out of the turbine housing, you would need to remove the drain and coolant lines but you could keep the mani on. If its a 19mm banjo bolt you should be able to fit something on it to loosen, I was able to remove my feed line on the car, it wasn't easy but it worked.

 

[AWDtalontsi96]

Id just suck it up and do it. Your going to ruin the turbo if it doesn't have the right oil pressure. even worse if you happen to forget to add oil as your leaking it you could ruin the engine.

 

[slickers111]

As stated. Take the small loss to save you from a big one.

On all of my turbo swaps, I left the manifold on. Only disconnected the down pipe. You may be able to loosen the manifold bolts that hold the turbo, so it will drop enough to allow you to get access to the banjo bolt.

 

[Throwback23]

This was actually my issue I just used my buddies computer/ account to post it. I ended up spending a whole day looking for washers nobody had them in the right size locally so I used some standard sized ones that fit a little loose on the banjo but they seem to work for now although there is a slight weep as pictured. I ordered some online but it will be a week until their here...this is what I'm working with now and I believe its acceptable short term, anyone disagree?

Small amount of weeping, look around the copper there's a small ring of oil after driving a few hours

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[Bluefire16]

Just loosen your manifold studs enough so the turbo hangs a little lower and you can get a socket in there to loosen it. Or pull the fans if you still can get the wrench in. I would replace the washers before trying to drive it.

 

[Throwback23]

Lol last response has got me lost, this is with brand new washers..only catch is their as close as you can get in sae not metric m12. Their working, no measurable or visible oil loss at the feed unless you count that ring of oil.. I figured out how to pull the bolt that first night, that turned out to be the easy part

 

[Throwback23]

Update:
Well a day later the feed isn't leaking, it looks the same as in the picture very minor weeping ring around the feed that hasn't got bigger. That's with the new looser fitting sae sized washers...I'm still going to use the correct m12 washers once they come in the mail though. The return now has an oil film on it so ill be using an OEM turbo to return gasket once it comes in the mail also.

 

[Bluefire16]

^^ oops! I thought you couldnt get to the bolt when i read through it the first time.