faralcane's 05 LGT Wagon

[faralcane]

So I figured since I'm in it for the long haul with this car I would start a thread for mine; and you guys can drop in to see what I'm doing, what I broke, and what I plan to do next with it, and hopefully offer guidance and advice

 

What I've done:

• Replaced passenger front wheel bearing @ 206,000 miles
  
• Replaced the turbocharger @ 206,000 miles - Including oil cooler, oil return hose, coolant feed hose to turbo, new magnetic drain plug - Thread: http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/2005-legacy-gt-replace-turbo-get-new-cari-254911.html
  

 

What I'm working on:

• Locate source of oil leak
  
• Aftermarket stereo - Following this thread for instructions: http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/official-dual-hvac-double-din-jdm-kit-thread-113589.html?t=113589&highlight=jdm+hvac
  
• Steering wheel controls - Following this thread for instructions: http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/install-steering-wheel-radio-controls-26232.html
  
• Gauge install - Turbo boost pressure, oil pressure - gauges ordered/arrived, cubby mount from http://www.jcspods.com/ ordered
  

 

 

What NEEDS to be done:

• Locate source of oil leak
  
• Driver's side rear quarter panel rust repair
  

 

What I plan to do:

• Headlight mods: Angel/demon eyes, HID, LED strips
  
• Upgrade door speakers
  
• Custom fiberglass sub boxes in the back
  
• Repair sunroof motor (gets power, but I believe rust has it stuck)
  
• Replace map light bulb or mod to LEDs
  
• Repair rear wiper motor
  
• Replace rear hatch interior bulb
  

[faralcane]

So let's dive in to the current need!

 

Now that I have the turbocharger replaced, the oil leak I had prior to that breakdown is still here. I was hopeful it would go away when I replaced the oil cooler because the bolt inside it was loose, but it has not gone away

 

I had the car idling for about 45 minutes earlier today to check for leaks after replacing the turbo, making sure there was no air left in the coolant, and generally just being happy that the thing runs again. Took it for a drive tonight, got it up into boost a bit, man did I miss that feeling!

 

When I came to a stop in a parking lot, I had a decent amount of oil smoke coming up out of the hood. Popping the hood and looking, it seems to be coming from the bottom of the engine on the passenger side, but I can't actually see oil on anything from up top. I turned the car off and sat in the parking lot for a few minutes until the smoke stopped. I then proceeded to drive home, but this time stayed out of boost (mostly) and never let RPM get above 2500. When I got home, I popped the hood again and looked for smoke.

 

Barely any! So I feel like the leak is exacerbated by higher RPM/going into boost. Would I be correct in thinking this means my head gasket is on its way out? This happened before replacing the turbo as well, but it was pretty recent before the turbo went out.

 

Thoughts?

[Merc6]

Did you look under the passenger side of the head? You could have a leak at the valve cover gasket or the return line isn't all the way in. How did you install the return line? That was my tricky situation with the engine in. Engine on the stand it's not that difficult.

[faralcane]

I haven't had an opportunity to actually get back under there to look yet. I'll try to find time in the next few days to either jack the car back up, or find my telescoping mirror to get a look underneath.

 

For the return hose, I ended up putting the hose on the turbo, attaching the upper clamp, putting the lower clamp in the correct position on the bottom of the hose, and giving it a firm shove to get it to slide down onto the tube running back into the engine. I don't think that is the issue as I had this leak before I did the turbo, but I also won't rule it out until I can actually see where its coming from.

 

I would love for it to be a valve cover gasket, although the dealer I bought the car from had replaced the passenger side valve cover gasket before I bought the car. It had oil smoke when I test drove it and I told them I would buy it if they fixed the oil leak first. Maybe they skimped on the gasket and it went bad again? That was about 80,000 miles ago.

 

EDIT: Thinking about it after getting to actually sleep; 80,000 is actually a lot, so I suppose it could be the valve cover gasket going bad again.