So, my engine spun a bearing and I bought another one to replace it.
spun bearing = copper confetti in the oil system.

3 questions:
that copper got into my turbo, my OMP (yes I'm keeping it), my oil cooler, and the associated lines and fittings. I need to clean out my system. I was going to use gasoline, or more oil, but is there a better way?

The engine I bought has the coolant passageway in the housing blocked off, so I assume that means at least the housings are from an NA? but they still have the grooves for the rubber o-rings...
Anyway, I need to drill one of them out to get a coolant feed to my turbo . what should I do to flush the system of metal bits? gasoline? the garden hose? can I steal the coolant line from the TB and route it to the turbo?

Almost all of my gaskets looked fine when I pulled the manifolds and the turbo off the old engine. should I bother replacing them all? There are only about 3k miles on them, But I do have the engine apart already so...
Plus I had a nasty oil leak around my oil pan and my OMP. I used RTV to seal them last time and clearly it didn't work that well, but people say the gasket sucks too... am I using the wrong kind of RTV (the black stuff from napa) or something?

I want this to get done by the end of the weekend so I can get my car running once more!

Thanks guys!

 

This thread should answer your questions about the housings and coolant feed.
https://www.rx7club.com/2nd-generation-specific-1986-1992-17/coolant-passage-lim-question-970827/

I prefer the highest temp silicon (copper) vs the oil resistant (black). Just clean the mating surfaces really well.

3k should be nothing for the metal turbo/manifold gaskets so just inspect them for cracks.

 

ok, after reading through that thread it looks like there are some options with the turbo coolant feed line. I would like to retain the stock lines if possible though, so is there a way to drill out that plug while the engine is assembled and be sure you got out all the metal bits? if not, I suppose I'll have to go with the alternate coolant route. mine does not have a plug either, it's a part of the housing, so hitting it wont work.

any ideas on how to clean my oil system? That's a more pressing issue for me since I can't put in the new motor until the old system is completely clean of copper shavings.

 

Take the oil system apart and flush it with detergent and water. Remove the oil cooler and remove the thermostat from inside the oil cooler then flush it and black flush it with a garden hose. Blow it out both ways with compressed air. Repeat a few times. I'd change the oil and filter after the new engine warms up and runs a little.

 

so... Detergent and a garden hose are all I need to get the copper ships out of my oil cooler?

and here I was thinking I needed to send my cooler out to get hot tanked... or sonic cleaned

 

So to sum things up, I went and hit the plug in the housing with a screwdriver and a hammer, it WAS a plug and it spun sideways. I yanked it out with a pliers and bam, coolant passage restored.

MORAL: if you have the machined groove for the rubber o-rings around your coolant passages but they look welded shut, they're probably just freeze plugs and you're fine.

also, I decided not to run an in-line oil filter, mostly because I would have to buy custom AN lines to make it fit anywhere. I cleaned the oil cooler by filling it up to the top with carb cleaner and letting it soak for a few days, then drained it out and repeated. one big chunk of copper came out, but I couldn't tell if I was getting the "confetti" copper slivers. I then purged it with the hose both ways and cleaned it with carb cleaner again and left it to dry for a few days.
after all that when I sprayed carb cleaner in it, it would come out the other side crystal clear, so I think it's clean. I did about the same thing to the turbo and the oil cooler lines, except no water in the turbo.

we'll see if that was enough, but I really hope it is! I'm going to change the oil and the filter after 100 miles and inspect it to see whats going on.

 

Ive got an s5 turbocharger, s5 omp, and oil cooler lines I'll sell to ya