pulling engine for turbo oil line correction

[orcars6]

Sorry to sound like an amateur, according to my "stealership' the engine must be pulled to correct significant leak coming from passenger side oil line feeding respective turbo??? Does engine need to be pulled for this or can it be accessed w/o pulling engine???- it may be only a matter of gaskets!


Good news 'sorta' - timing belt can be replaced for minimal parts cost as car approaches 70k.

[P1054]

I'm going to agree with the engine pull.. It MAY be possible with really small hands, "customized" tools, etc but even that's questionable. With a 6-speed the turbos are more accessible, particularly the drain line, but the feed line is still very difficult since it's on top of the turbo if I recall correctly. I would venture to guess that it is most likely just a gasket (actually an aluminum crush washer).

[hahnmgh63]

I'll also agree. The cradle can probably be lowered a bit rather than completely dropping it but if the crush washer needs replacing then it has to be lowered. After my Engine/Tranny drop I had a slight oil leak and I was able to get a wrench on the fitting to tighten it the slight amount it needed. I had installed new crush washers but just didn't Torque the bolt down enough.

[orcars6]

Very good info. thx. I will know tomorrow if it is the crush washer! Is this a common recurring issue with the turbo feed lines leaking?

[Bigglezworth]

Passenger side turbo has challenges being worked on even when the engine is out of the car because of proximity to the front differential housing. You 'can' perform work on the oil lines without entirely removing the power plant yes - but ONLY the two top lines. You cannot perform work on the lower oil lines without removing the turbos entirely as access to the two 4mm allen head bolts are sandwiched between the underside of the turbo housing and the bell housing of the transmission.... For the top lines you can gain access by lowering the cradle, but depending on how small your hands are, how good your tools are, and how 'lucky' you are to have bolts come loose with limited access to properly torque on and off, you will need to lower the cradle quite a bit.

Ramifications of this include the requirement to then decouple the oil cooler lines, tranny cooler lines, rad hoses, upper and lower intercooler hoses, power steering pump hoses, and even the air conditioning hoses. These all have insufficient slack to drop the cradle enough to get your hands up on either side of the chassis to where the oil lines are (fasteners located on the top of the turbo). You also need to unbole the engine snubber bushing and also decouple the lower control arms from the cradle as the DRC lines don't have sufficient slack either (exception to this is if you have aftermarket dampers in which case you can simply unbolt the top mount of the strut from the pillar mount).

Finally, you need to unhook the exhaust, and also the drive shaft (or at a minimum the bracket for the centre support bearing) because you simply can't put that much strain on the back part of the powerplant and there is insufficient room within the engine compartment to lower things on enough of an 'angle' while either the front or rear remains bolted up. Only good news here is that you don't need to decouple the starter wiring harness or the transmission wiring harness as each has sufficient slack once you snip a few zip ties holding each to the chassis. Complicating matters are the fact that almost all cars will still have their SAI system still in place making it more difficult from an access perspective to get your hands in to work between the back of the heads and the firewall. You can also access from the sides down below. The oil line bolts are sandwiched in between the header and the housing of the turbo. Take a look for yourself at the photos below. Bottomline, engine should be lowered equally front and reat and by the time you do all the work above necessary to access in the first instance, you're only a short ways from the finish line making it more reasonable to remove the entire hulk and service this item and any others requiring attention....

Based upon the fact that you cite there being a leaking 'gasket', I have to presume it's one of the braided lines leaving that runs from the bottom of the turbo housing and dumping back in to the oil pan. The top lines are sealed in the same manner as gas lines with a pair of soft metal compression washers. Good luck with things.

Pics showing what you can access with cradle lowered and powerplant still "in" chassis...





Pics of what you access with engine out. Again, biggest problem is accessing fasteners that bolt bottom return line on to the turbo housing. If it wasn't a 'significant' leak, I might be inclined to let it leak and only repair things until you MUST remove the powerplant for something else that is impossible to service with the powerplant in situ. You did say significant though.....

[orcars6]

Passenger side turbo has challenges being worked on even when the engine is out of the car because of proximity to the front differential housing. You 'can' perform work on the oil lines without entirely removing the power plant yes - but ONLY the two top lines. You cannot perform work on the lower oil lines without removing the turbos entirely as access to the two 4mm allen head bolts are sandwiched between the underside of the turbo housing and the bell housing of the transmission.... For the top lines you can gain access by lowering the cradle, but depending on how small your hands are, how good your tools are, and how 'lucky' you are to have bolts come loose with limited access to properly torque on and off, you will need to lower the cradle quite a bit.

Ramifications of this include the requirement to then decouple the oil cooler lines, tranny cooler lines, rad hoses, upper and lower intercooler hoses, power steering pump hoses, and even the air conditioning hoses. These all have insufficient slack to drop the cradle enough to get your hands up on either side of the chassis to where the oil lines are (fasteners located on the top of the turbo). You also need to unbole the engine snubber bushing and also decouple the lower control arms from the cradle as the DRC lines don't have sufficient slack either (exception to this is if you have aftermarket dampers in which case you can simply unbolt the top mount of the strut from the pillar mount).

Finally, you need to unhook the exhaust, and also the drive shaft (or at a minimum the bracket for the centre support bearing) because you simply can't put that much strain on the back part of the powerplant and there is insufficient room within the engine compartment to lower things on enough of an 'angle' while either the front or rear remains bolted up. Only good news here is that you don't need to decouple the starter wiring harness or the transmission wiring harness as each has sufficient slack once you snip a few zip ties holding each to the chassis. Complicating matters are the fact that almost all cars will still have their SAI system still in place making it more difficult from an access perspective to get your hands in to work between the back of the heads and the firewall. You can also access from the sides down below. The oil line bolts are sandwiched in between the header and the housing of the turbo. Take a look for yourself at the photos below. Bottomline, engine should be lowered equally front and reat and by the time you do all the work above necessary to access in the first instance, you're only a short ways from the finish line making it more reasonable to remove the entire hulk and service this item and any others requiring attention....

Based upon the fact that you cite there being a leaking 'gasket', I have to presume it's one of the braided lines leaving that runs from the bottom of the turbo housing and dumping back in to the oil pan. The top lines are sealed in the same manner as gas lines with a pair of soft metal compression washers. Good luck with things.

Pics showing what you can access with cradle lowered and powerplant still "in" chassis...





Pics of what you access with engine out. Again, biggest problem is accessing fasteners that bolt bottom return line on to the turbo housing. If it wasn't a 'significant' leak, I might be inclined to let it leak and only repair things until you MUST remove the powerplant for something else that is impossible to service with the powerplant in situ. You did say significant though.....

Fabulous assessment....I will know more when we do a visual tomorrow and see where exactly the source of the leak. Much appreciated!

[ttboost]

I agree with the assessment. Been there done that..no short cuts here. Just pull the engine and do everything that you can do, while it's out, or just wait and keep a piece of cardboard under your car, until you really HAVE to pull it.

[peiserg]

jeezus christ. other than changing the CD in the CD player, is there anything you CAN do without dropping the engine in this car.

[ttboost]

jeezus christ. other than changing the CD in the CD player, is there anything you CAN do without dropping the engine in this car.

Changing wipers and lamps...that's it...engine out for everything else...

Actually, there are a few things that CAN be done with engine in, that the dealer will tell you you cannot do. Just requires a little ingenuity and patience. Having a lift helps too. Some jacks and jackstands, and dropping the cradle will get you a lot of room to get to stuff (removing downpipes and replacing O2 sensors comes to mind here).

[hahnmgh63]

I think I did a Brake job once without dropping the engine & tranny. The car was a little heavier to lift but still got the job done

[lswing]

Add steering rack to the list...always heard it couldn't be done, my guy found a way. And cam chain tensioners...

For the OP, exactly how bad is the leak? As mentioned, maybe wait until it HAS to be pulled? As long as sufficient oil is getting to the turbos, always a fear of mine since they're so buried.