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What to other people use from the block to the thermostat? Do i just make a mount for the thermostat so it can't keep wiggling the fitting loose? Or should i move away from this style of fitting?
I've puked nearly all my engine oil out TWICE and it's loose again in owning the car for 3 months. pic attached is the culprit fitting
When running AN lines to something like the engine that moves relative to the chassis it is mounted in you should include a loop of hose that will do the moving to help isolate the fitting. You should use swivel AN fittings as well so as the loop moves it does not transmit force through to the sealing/threaded portion of the fitting.
Additionally, you can limit the affect of the engine movement on the fitting by using a straight fitting or if that would hit the AC pump something like a 15 degree fitting down toward the frame rail to the side of the engine. This way the movement of the engine isn't constantly trying to rotate the fitting relative to its sealing/threaded portion.
Last, (and do this only after the other two suggestions, not as a band-aid) you can physically limit the fitting from loosening like you would with a race wired fastener.
This can be a worm gear clamp around the hex portion of the fitting after it is tightened with a wire "leash" to another component to keep it from turning or even just loc-tite on the threads when you assemble the fittings together.
I ran AN oil cooler lines, fuel lines and front bearing supply "loop line", turbo oil feed and in 15 years and 40,000 miles none of them ever loosened (though the o-rings in the swivel of the oil pump outlet AN fittings would go out every 5 years or so and start to weep - probably from the heat).
Ironic this thread came up. I just had the same problem with my duel oil cooler kit from a vendor. I damn near lost all the oil in the car during a drive. I'm going to try the suggestions above see if that helps. Anyone else had problems with mounting the thermostat like this with an fittings?
Ironic this thread came up. I just had the same problem with my duel oil cooler kit from a vendor. I damn near lost all the oil in the car during a drive. I'm going to try the suggestions above see if that helps. Anyone else had problems with mounting the thermostat like this with an fittings?
I've just recently started running into problems with the aftermarket fittings leaking near the thermostat as well. What I've started doing is replacing all the fittings with higher quality Earls and safety wiring the fittings. If I had to do it all over again, I would have paid the extra $$ and build my own lines (or had them them built professionally). Not trashing the vendor, they have to balance quality and affordability. But for the oil system, I will gladly pay whatever it takes to get me closer to a 0% chance of dumping all the oil out of the engine
I don't know if it's all kits, but I never understood putting the thermostat directly off the block. The thermostat has reasonable weight, and it only being supported by a hard line to the front cover of a moving engine seems like a recipe for disaster. The TS should be mounted and fed with flexible lines from the block.
I mounted mine behind the passenger side cooler, and ran a line to it from the block.
So i got it tightened back up, and noticed something since i washed the area before assembling everything back together. it does indeed have a mount going to the block of the engine, however it has come loose. Does anyone else have the Sakebomb dual oil cooler kit? because it looks impossible to get to short of nearly pulling the engine out.
Edit: stumbled upon this picture in another forum members build thread that showed me where to look for the mounting point. my car still has the AC pump so it's directly in the way of this bolt...
lol, thats my motor. And yes, you can get access to that stud without raising the motor. You have to get at from underneath. That aluminum bracket is underneath the a/c compressor and return line.
What I did was put the car up on jack stands, remove the undertray to give you visibility to the thermostat from below. Next, pull both rubber intercooler hoses (assuming you're running a SMIC), raise the accessory belt tensioner and remove the accessory belt from the PS pump and compressor and move the belt off to the side. Now, everything is pretty much out of the way and you can get at it all without much fuss.
Well thanks for the pic cym! And that info was moot on my car the hks v mount puts my radiator directly in the way for getting to the stud that way. But upon further inspection i found my mount was bent. You can see the ear on the mount is pulled off of the tstat and not holding anything.
yeah, what I did was bend the tangs inward. You've definitely got a leak somewhere there, might be multiple fittings. Clean it all off, take it for a quick drive and see which fitting(s) are leaking. On mine, the -10 female to -10 female was weeping from the swivel. I replaced that fitting and the 90 degree to the front cover with earls (EAR-AT915110ERL, EAR-AT921110ERL) to fix the problem. My suspicion is that the -10 female/female swivel fitting takes a lot of vibration and works its way loose. In my case, even tightening to the appropriate spec still leaked. Once I replaced the vendor's fittings with the earls, dry as a bone.
What brand fittings does the Sake Bomb kit use? Earl's seems to be the go to for quality AN fittings?
Mocal fittings.
How tight are you going on the fitting? I've never had an issue on my car. It's always had a mount holding the thermostat up to prevent such things from happening.
This last time i got it rrrrrreeeaaaaalll tight lol. Also if you look at the thread it does have a mount, and the mount stopped working because the one side was bent out and not supporting anything. I have it clamped to the mount now and so far so good. Also CYM it was only the fitting coming off the block that came loose. I've cleaned it up and been monitoring it and everything else it's good. All that oil is from that front fitting coming loose on me 3 times and puking quite a lot of oil out of my engine.
This last time i got it rrrrrreeeaaaaalll tight lol. Also if you look at the thread it does have a mount, and the mount stopped working because the one side was bent out and not supporting anything. I have it clamped to the mount now and so far so good. Also CYM it was only the fitting coming off the block that came loose. I've cleaned it up and been monitoring it and everything else it's good. All that oil is from that front fitting coming loose on me 3 times and puking quite a lot of oil out of my engine.
Just noticed and confirmed a leak from the same area on the SK kit. Kit is mounted correctly. So are you reasonably sure this issue is fixed on your third tightening? And, does tightening the hell out of it fix the issue? What’s the best approach to ensure this never happens again? I got lucky this time in finding it while in my driveway.
If you look at my last post with the picture of the Tstat you can see on the right hand side of the picture the mount isn't over the piece the mount is supposed to hold. IMO not having the Tstat securely fastened to the mount is a design flaw but it isn't too hard to fix. if you can remove the assembly and bend those ears inward to hold as designed it would be better. My v-mount makes it nearly impossible to get the mount out of the car so i used a metal hose clamp and got it square onto the mount/tstat and tightened it until it couldn't move and i just check it regularly until i can do something more permanent.
So it has still been coming loose over and over. Ive tried loctite and overtightening. The mount is clamped on and tight to the engine. So ive just ordered the Earls AN fittings posted earlier in the thread and will be changing them out. Luckily enough I have been keeping a good eye on it and caught it every time just as it starts seeping. Will update when new fittings are on.
I meant to update earlier but I thought I better keep trying before updating my 3-4 week experience also. Let me start by saying I live in the northeast region in an area with high truck traffic and crappy roads. Bumps and potholes etc.
1.The first install of the kit leaked at the 90 degree AN fitting to the engine block after 500 miles. Caught it. Cleaned it.
2. 2 weeks ago, After tightening the fitting, I had a major failure just when I pulled into a gas station (100 more miles). The straight female-to-female connector to the thermostat failed and covered my entire engine bay in oil. Same as your first experience. I am glad I made the decisiOn to get gas as I was about 20 seconds from boosting on the interstate. I could have lost my new engine. Not cool. Had to be towed home at 10 pm.
3. Following the suggestions above, I too ordered the Earls fittings listed by part number above. I cleaned my entire engine bay and installed the Earls fittings. The one issue I found is that it is damn near impossible to tighten the straight female to female connector because the freaking engine brace is in the way. But now I was on the alert for leaks. And if you tell me I didn’t tighten enough you are crazy. I tightened the hell out of the Earls fittings. Fast forward 50 more miles and YEP weeping at each connection. This didn’t work either.
4. I found what I believe is a solution and I am trying it out now. I managed 400 miles on this solution since Last Sunday alone and I have checked the fittings at every stop and park. I am bone dry for now while boosting, hitting up to 7,500 rpms, 100+ lbs pressure, +100 in a safe area. (Fingers crossed)
Hint: For liabilitiy concerns I will only say look at the components of the mazdatrix or banzai racing kit. IMO They eliminate the major failure point (the 90 degree connector to the female to female connector). This is the weakest link of the kit IMHO. It should only be one connector.
I did speak with SBG for a very long time and in their defense they tried to rectify the issue with additional guidance and a banjo fitting alternative. I have the banjo fitting and will switch to it if I see anymore weeping.
I am still testing my approach but if you want further details please pm. IMO Don’t bother with the Earls either. It will leak eventually due to too many failure points.
What a painful experience. And thanks to all that gave their support and experience. (You know who you are)
I suspect there are more failures than reported on this kit.
Good luck. I am on a new engine and I remain nervous as hell.
I meant to update earlier but I thought I better keep trying before updating my 3-4 week experience also. Let me start by saying I live in the northeast region in an area with high truck traffic and crappy roads. Bumps and potholes etc.
1.The first install of the kit leaked at the 90 degree AN fitting to the engine block after 500 miles. Caught it. Cleaned it.
2. 2 weeks ago, After tightening the fitting, I had a major failure just when I pulled into a gas station (100 more miles). The straight female-to-female connector to the thermostat failed and covered my entire engine bay in oil. Same as your first experience. I am glad I made the decisiOn to get gas as I was about 20 seconds from boosting on the interstate. I could have lost my new engine. Not cool. Had to be towed home at 10 pm.
3. Following the suggestions above, I too ordered the Earls fittings listed by part number above. I cleaned my entire engine bay and installed the Earls fittings. The one issue I found is that it is damn near impossible to tighten the straight female to female connector because the freaking engine brace is in the way. But now I was on the alert for leaks. And if you tell me I didn’t tighten enough you are crazy. I tightened the hell out of the Earls fittings. Fast forward 50 more miles and YEP weeping at each connection. This didn’t work either.
4. I found what I believe is a solution and I am trying it out now. I managed 400 miles on this solution since Last Sunday alone and I have checked the fittings at every stop and park. I am bone dry for now while boosting, hitting up to 7,500 rpms, 100+ lbs pressure, +100 in a safe area. (Fingers crossed)
Hint: For liabilitiy concerns I will only say look at the components of the mazdatrix or banzai racing kit. IMO They eliminate the major failure point (the 90 degree connector to the female to female connector). This is the weakest link of the kit IMHO. It should only be one connector.
I did speak with SBG for a very long time and in their defense they tried to rectify the issue with additional guidance and a banjo fitting alternative. I have the banjo fitting and will switch to it if I see anymore weeping.
I am still testing my approach but if you want further details please pm. IMO Don’t bother with the Earls either. It will leak eventually due to too many failure points.
What a painful experience. And thanks to all that gave their support and experience. (You know who you are)
I suspect there are more failures than reported on this kit.
Good luck. I am on a new engine and I remain nervous as hell.
AA
thanks for the PM!! Ill contact you at a more appropriate time for the NE area.
There's a lot of good advice in post #2. The engine vibrates and will loosen any attachment that's not isolated.
I installed hose between the engine and my T-stat on a swivel fitting. I only have about 3 inches of hose, but it seems to be enough (running xcessive motor mounts which help limit vibration). I also used XRP fittings which i find top notch
Inspiratoin for my setup is below (and a mutch better install)
08-04-18, 02:23 PM
the hks v mount puts my radiator directly in the way for getting to the stud that way. But upon further inspection i found my mount was bent. You can see the ear on the mount is pulled off of the tstat and not holding anything.
