Hey everyone... this thread is a continuation of my old thread

https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generation-specific-1993-2002-16/help-diagnose-780151/

Basically, I have a few ideas of where the oil may have been coming from.

-While I am still considering the possibility that one of my turbo seals went out, after removing the turbos and dissembling them I found my secondary turbo seal to be in perfect shape but my primary turbo seal had very minimal wear. When I say minimal, I mean that side by side you can not tell which seal is which but when I run my finger over the "worn" one, it catches on the edge.

-I do not know what the tolerances are on these seals but from the looks of it, I do not feel like this was the culprit of my oil issue.

If you look at the picture I attached the seal from the secondary turbo which is in good shape is on the left. The damaged seal is on the right. Notice how you can see the reflection of light on the right seal versus the left, this is due to the bevel on the metal and was the only way I could capture the damaged seal with a camera in a way you could see.




The next picture I have attached is from when I removed the LIM and the Exhaust Manifold. This area that I have inside the red box is where; when the LIM is attached, the oil pools up. If you are familiar with these cars, then you know what this spot looks like - it is the butt crack of the top area of the engine where any dirt, small screws, coolant etc pools up and is a pain to clean if the UIM is still on.

Anyways --- there was enough oil pooled in this area that it got me wondering. Oh yea, one other thing. On top of discovering oil there, I also found no line attached to the nipple that is supposed to be running to the OEM FPR.

So I have a vented nipple that is supposed to be hooked up to my FPR (the one facing the firewall) and then I have pools of oil collecting in the boxed area of the second picture. I checked my OMP Lines for cracks after removing them and I found none. The only thing I can think of related to the OMP lines is that they became hard and stiff (ha ha) and they were no longer sealing where they connected with the nipples on the engine allowing oil to leak out.... I would love some more thoughts or ideas on this but I need to carry on to my other question..

Looking at the second picture as a reference once more --- notice all the oil that looks like it was dripping down the side of the block, in between the LIM & the gasket? Is there any way that the oil that was collecting on top of the block by the LIM (still trying to figure out the source) was seeping down the side of the LIM, getting sucked up into the engine? Could this have been the source of my oil problem? This is the only other possibility that I could think of that would have caused my oil issue.

Also... one other question regarding the OMP lines --- is it possible that when changing out my vacuum lines, I attached them to the wrong source and they were basically sucking the oil out of the lines? So the question is --- if the vacuum lines are attached to the improper source, can they have any effects like I am experiencing (oil all over inside my intake tubes, my vacuum lines & actuators, throttle body etc).

 

A few more pictures and one more question while you guys are reading.

Regarding the picture of my engine bay --- the coolant line that is running into the top of my block. Can this line be blocked off? I am pretty sure it runs to the throttle body to help warm up the UIM. I wanted to block off the nipple on the block and the hard pipe that runs to the Throttle body.

Would it be better to not block it off and just run the line from under the TB to the line I have in question?

 

Re: the coolant line, buy a new oem hose and run it forward (rotate it 90 degrees clockwise from where it normally runs) towards the back of the wp housing. I wouldn't block it off, that's asking for a leak.

I'll look at the other stuff in your thread after I get back from getting sushi

 

I just hope this oil is not from something engine related! Could bad turbo seals or a leaky oil metering line really cause this mess?

 

^

 

i have a puddle of oil in that red boxed area you show pictured as well. So i'm a bit curious of where its coming from. I have new oil metering lines and they look just fine. unless there is some kind of pinhole i cant see i doubt its the lines in my case...

I think its really only puddling on the front section on mine, but its hard to see the rear. The only place i can imagine the oil coming from is the oil meter nozzles or the lines. The oil metering nozzles use crush washers under them if i remember correctly, it doesnt seem like they could really be leaking from the crush washer area but i dunno.

my nozzles are just open vented, is it possible for oil to come out of the vacuum ports on them?

I think the oil pressure going to my single turbo is a bit high. I was told it doesnt require a restrictor but under heavy load i'll start getting excess oil in the boost pipes so i think i'll add a 2mm restrictor to the line. i don't know if this could be any part of the oil build up, i dont see how. But its obviously coming from somewhere!

EDIT: the hard pipe on the top of your engine can be blocked off. If i remember correctly there is some lines on the water pump housing that will need to be blocked off as well. The throttle body can be blocked off as well, no need to warm up the air coming into the engine!

When i first blocked off the hard pipe nipple i used high temp RTV sealant and a silicone cap. This failed within a couple hrs. I think somehow there was some small air valleys in the RTV that allowed the coolant to reach the end of the silicone cap and blow it out. I've been using a short coolant rubber hose with sealant and a bolt clamped in the end of it for a long time now. I've heard of other people filling the hard line with JB weld.

 

oh and i dont like using the stock vacuum port for the FPR, it has no barb so it can slip off, and if it becomes disconnected you cant see it. You can use any vacuum source after the throttle body, just make sure it is an actual vacuum/ pressure source. But you definitely need it connected, or you wont get enough fuel pressure under boost and too much fuel pressure at idle.

 

Thanks for the input dude, I really just hope my oil issue was turbo related. I was using a mirror and flashlight earlier today to inspect the inside of my engine through the exhaust ports. I do not know what "normal" is, but I saw a decent amount of carbon build up on the faces of my rotors. I am attributing this to be due primarily to the excessive oil that has been circulating everywhere inside my engine.

Hopefully when I install my new single and get everything cleaned up my oil issues will be a thing of the past... crossing fingers, knock on wood

 

i don't think the engine can really create an internal oil problem that manifests itself on top of the engine block. it's more likely caused from the oil injectors.

unless maybe if a turbo seal goes out it some how ends up in that area? That would explain why we both have oil puddling in that area. while i dont have a seal out in my turbo, the oil pressure is too high going to my turbo forcing it past the turbo seal under high rpms, so basically the same issue. I just dont understand how it would end up there

 

I have actually been following slash bumping into a few of your threads regarding the issues + modifications your doing... we are almost in the exact same boat but have no definite answer of what is going on.

I have a GT35R kit being shipped to me in two weeks but I want to know if my engine is the culprit or not so I can take any necessary precautions before installing the turbo.

I 75% sure it is my turbo that was causing all the oil blow by in the system but I am not definite and there is not enough information on this forum pertaining to my specific problem.

 

yeah it makes sense that if we both were having turbo oil blow by and the same puddles of oil in top of the engine that it must be related. though i really dont see how oil being forced into the engine via the boost pipes could escape to the top of the block. it makes more sense to be the oil injectors considering they are right there, but mine seem to be in good shape and you said so do yours so i have no idea. i would like to know where the oil is coming from too! i need a high temperature camera i can stick in there lol.

 

ok i found the source of my problem. it turns out the oil injector check valve is bad. i don't run vacuum hoses to the top of my oil injectors, but i thought hmm i wonder if the oil is coming from the nipple. so i hooked up a vacuum hose to it and i was able to blow air through as well as suck air back. so the check valve is apparently no good allowing oil to be pushed out of the injector vacuum nipple onto the top of my engine. For now i just hooked up a spare vacuum check valve to the vacuum hose i just installed on the oil injector. which should work just fine.

you might check your oil injectors, make sure you can only blow through them and not suck air back. I remember you said you had them hooked up to the wrong source, and asked if that could cause issues. well im sure it can especially if your check valve is failed. i'm not sure how the oil would get on top of your block though if you have hoses connected to them. BUT you did say the line for the FPR was off, and if oil was being pushed from your oil injectors or from your turbo seals you mentioned, into your boost pipes and then through the manifold, maybe it was pushed out of the FPR port and onto the top of the engine from there. Just an idea.

 

Ahhhhh... I was actually bench testing my engine yesterday to check for compression and there was without a doubt air coming from the front oil injector... Can this be supplemented by using an aftermarket 1 way check valve? What is the cost of replacing the oil injector? Well... I guess that answers it for me --- could the pressure generated from this area have been the culprit for all the oil issues I have been experiencing?

Everything you said makes sense except for the FPR nipple... how would the nipple be expelling oil on top of the block if the nipple is a vacuum source... This is an assumption but I was under the impression, any of the nipples or, the FPR nipple to be specific; would be under constant vacuum and never have positive pressure.

The oil metering check valve on my front iron makes sense though... I will need to check this tomorrow

 

The fpr needs to see both vacuum and positive pressure. The vacuum lowers the pressure at the regulator and the positive pressure raises the fuel pressure. This can easily be seen on aftermarket fpr with a guage on it. If you didn't have a vacuum hose on the oil injector its more likely this is the source of the oil. As the fpr port would prob spray more of a residue of oil and it would just kinda go everywhere