prezton Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 (edited) Ive had a massive oil leak since ive owned my car (to my belief) its been going for a year. Ive had 4 shops look at it, one thought it was the turbo drain line. Fixed it up and ... yup still leaking, the other 3 were practically useless with one of them having almost everyone there look under my car just to have the owner come to me and say they cant find it, so they wont charge me. Im tired of the crazy dried up oil pool in my driveway. Engine is strong, im almost at 180'000 miles and im amazed at how well the engine and transmission is doing. Just curios if there is common things that leak. I took off the intercooler and the intake manifold today and couldnt see anything, ive also had the turbo and downpipe out multiple times and noticed the area on the engine being caked with oil, its not a head gasket, had that looked at aswell. never overheated, coolant flushed oil changes every 3k miles and i started using a thicker 5w-40 in the hopes to slow it down. Edited September 10, 2019 by prezton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awfulwaffle Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 Any of the banjo fittings, head gaskets, valve covers, oil pan come to mind. There's only so many places oil could be leaking from on these cars. Since you ruled out HG and the area near the turbo/DP is caked, how's the turbo/OCV oil feed banjo on the back of the passenger side head look? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Infosecdad Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 What rate are you losing oil and do you have any pictures with the intake manifold off? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaylew Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 where can't oil leak is a shorter answer. But maybe the oil return hose could be your issue. Over time the rubber breaks down from heat cycling and can leak a ton especially if you say you've had the turbo out. That just agitates the hose and makes it more prone to leaks Wagon is LIFE! - 265,000 miles and climbing Unofficial Build (Restoration) Thread Steering Rack Rebuild Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NORULZleggy Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 Save them bucks to get a fresh rebuild. even though it's running great it's about time since your losing oil. Just don't be in a hurry. I am taking time building my 06 LGT since I have a daily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluesuby Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 The only leak I have ever had is the valve cover gaskets after 160,000 miles. Pretty obvious problem to detect with some smoke and stink as a clue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prezton Posted September 10, 2019 Author Share Posted September 10, 2019 Never had smoke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoobyDoobyDoo Posted September 11, 2019 Share Posted September 11, 2019 When I bought mine real main seal and oil filter housing (cooler?) were both leaking. Both were fixed prior to purchase. Given the age of these cars any rubber seal can start to break down. Think rms is going on the wife’s Tribeca too...hers has two small oil leaks, 2006 128k miles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pog0 Posted September 11, 2019 Share Posted September 11, 2019 Valve cover gaskets are pretty common to leak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Capacity Posted September 11, 2019 Share Posted September 11, 2019 This plate on the right side has been known to leak on some. 305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD). CHECK your oil, these cars use it. Engine Build - Click Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Capacity Posted September 11, 2019 Share Posted September 11, 2019 here's what the passenger side valve cover leak looks like 305,600miles 5/2012 ej257 short block, 8/2011 installed VF52 turbo, @20.8psi, 280whp, 300ftlbs. (SOLD). CHECK your oil, these cars use it. Engine Build - Click Here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nonamedude Posted September 12, 2019 Share Posted September 12, 2019 If it's back by the turbo and the downpipe it might be one of these fine items. I can't tell you what they are cuz idk myself yet but I'm thinking it's oil return from the turbo? Snagged that picture last night so lighting might not be great. The valve cover and head on that side are perfect. So I'm thinking that's either from a leak straight out the turbo or from the oil return. I think the fixed pipe is coolant. Hope that helps. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awfulwaffle Posted September 12, 2019 Share Posted September 12, 2019 Bingo, oil return. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth SpecB Posted September 12, 2019 Share Posted September 12, 2019 Best way to find out is to clean the engine up real good, then use uv dye to track the source. The turbo feed line can have a small crack, not likely in your case since there is no smoke. Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bean5885 Posted September 12, 2019 Share Posted September 12, 2019 I’ll jump in on this thread as I am working through an oil leak as well. Per the recommendations of others here, the consensus is that in my case, the turbine shaft seal in the turbo is leaking. While it looks like the drip is coming from the turbo oil return pipe gasket, I also noticed residue buildup around the band-clamp that lashes the two halves of the turbo together. Maybe check for that as well? I’m at work otherwise would link in my thread with photos and discussion, but I’ll put them here for now... Good luck! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nonamedude Posted September 12, 2019 Share Posted September 12, 2019 If you're at 180k and the original turbo and plan on keeping the car, might be time for a rebuild from someone like jmp. Car might be down for a bit though so idk if that's an issue. But if you've fixed the return line and it's not the head gaskets or valve covers then maybe it's the above. It'd suck to have the turbo go and take your engine out. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tehnation Posted September 13, 2019 Share Posted September 13, 2019 Did you put down some cardboard under the car and let it sit overnight? That will let you zone in on the area and we can give some better feedback.... asking common oil leaks is really vague and not going to get you anywhere or just cost a lot of money... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tehnation Posted September 13, 2019 Share Posted September 13, 2019 You will know exactly where to look based on the oil spot on the cardboard, u can't use your driveway because you probably don't park your car in the exact same spot every time. It can be a main seal, a valve cover, oil pump, ocv, pcv, oil pan, turbo feed, turbo return.... oil can come from anywhere... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tehnation Posted September 13, 2019 Share Posted September 13, 2019 i forgot a lot of people have the bottom cover on because it does actually serve a purpose. I got annoyed with having to remove it constantly so somewhere along the line it ended up on the side of a garage somewhere.... so if you have that on, you will need to remove that before applying the cardboard so the oil drops straight down, and make sure you tape it down or put some big rocks on it, so it doesn't move. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ehsnils Posted September 13, 2019 Share Posted September 13, 2019 Oil leak from spark plug well seals at the valve covers also comes to mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tehnation Posted September 13, 2019 Share Posted September 13, 2019 cardboard.... we are all shooting in the dark! You can dial in exactly where the leak is if you know exactly where the oil is dripping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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