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Hope everyone is staying well this quarantine!! I wanted to take the 7 our for a socially-distant spin to blow off some steam, and after noticing some slight smoke coming from the engine compartment, I found a mysterious leak on the front of the engine. It seems to be leaking from a bolt (see pic and vid) on the front of the engine -- probably one little drip every 10-15 seconds while running. She may be dripping when not running too (she's always had a little oil drip, but I chalked it up to, first, a leaking oil pan, and then, my inability to appropriately repair the leaking oil pan).
Anyone know what this bolt is and why it would be leaking? Oh, and how I can fix it. And if that's not a possible source of a leak, what this could be?
I'd wager MOP, or more particularly, the plastic lines attached thereto, leaking. If broken, housings are not getting lubed...or at least one, at any rate!
I'd wager MOP, or more particularly, the plastic lines attached thereto, leaking. If broken, housings are not getting lubed...or at least one, at any rate!
Looks like some more investigation is in order. I had the omp lines replaced a couple years ago, so hopefully that's not it --- but, this is exactly why i premix!
It could also be the OMP (oil metering pump). Replacing those lines are a bit of a pain. Good job on premix.
also close by the OMP is the turbo oil return line, it doesnt leak often, but is worth on ckecking while you are looking at the OMP.
The whole front cover looks pretty dirty, that will make it harder to track down.
I'd get some rags and brake clean and clean everything up as good as you can then take it for another drive and have a look. I'd also remove the belly pan so you can clean and look at it from underneath.
There are a few sources for an oil leak in that area - front main seal, turbo oil drain, oil metering pump O-ring, and the front cover gasket. And, of course, the oil pan itself.
If it's a dripping leak it's probably not the oil pan, the oil pan typically is just a seeping leak. Dripping implies it's coming from a pressurized oil source.
As mentioned above, clean the area and pinpoint the leak. It may be coming from above the bolt. If it's the bolt, you should reseal your front cover. Since that's impractical, you can try applying some sealant to the bolt threads and head (after cleaning it and the hole good)
But, that should not the the source of your smoke since it's not dripping on any hot surface in that area. You probably have another leak around your turbos
So, I pulled the belly pan and went at this thing with some brakleen and some rags. Got a better view, and the front cover bolt is definitely leaking. I'm going to try to pull it out, put some high-temp rtv sealant on it and see if that stops it. Some questions:
Should I drain the oil before pulling this bolt?
Anyone know what size it is? It's going to be a pain to access, but I think I can get it with the right extensions. That said, if I knew the size in advance, I could avoid the trial and error.
Does 12-17 ft-lb sound right for torque? (that's what the service manual says, but I want to make sure I'm looking at the right thing)
Finally, and this is the big one: if this means I need to reseal my front cover, does that basically mean I'm due for a rebuild? The front cover reseal seems *really* tough, like 50% of an entire rebuild....
Wouldn't like to use a stud remover on that short a length either. You might be able to bodge with some sort of sealer, but properly, it's really a cover off job to replace the gasket, if it is leaking through the stud. Of course you then run into the front stack issue when the front pulley is undone.
Yeah you will use a 12mm socket on the bolt. If you remove the intercooler, battery tray, and the cross brace that goes in front of the engine you'll probably have a good amount of room.
It's worth removing, cleaning, and maybe just doping the bolt up with some RTV to see if that helps. If it's truly coming from there it's front cover related. You do NOT want to try and do the front cover with the engine in the car - pull the engine, it's MUCH easier. It is a VERY big job regardless. At that point you really might as well go full rebuild.
So, I pulled the bolt this afternoon. I was able to get to it fairly easily from underneath, after unbolting the power steering and the sway bar and moving them out of the way.
The bolt came was pretty clean when it came out, so maybe the seal is okay. I dolloped on some rtv when I reinstalled it, just to be sure. I'll let it cute overnight before testing it.
All that said, I do think I've also got an issue with her omp. See attached. I'm no expert, but I'm guessing the lines aren't supposed to look like they're coming off. (At least, I think that's an OMP line...)
I'll start her back up tomorrow and let you know what happens...
Okay, so I ran the engine with the newly-sealed bolt and no more leaking there. That said, I don't think I'm out of the woods. After running for about 5-7 min, I noticed some oil drips coming down the bottom vacuum line on the turbo actuator. The oil lines going to the turbo are dry. Does that sound like an OMP-related leak? 'm thinking I may need to replace those lines (which were NOT in that picture!) but is there anything else around there I should look at further?
Try to check the metal lines for the turbo oil lines for leaks too. Oil is going to get pissed all around the area that it is leaking from so you're probably going to need to clean that area of the engine bay thoroughly to really find the location of the leak. Maybe also some dye in the oil and a UV light to locate the leak.
04-01-20, 05:16 PM
