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Can't figure how to seal oil leak

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Old 11-04-10 | 01:19 AM
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Can't figure how to seal oil leak

So after getting the car back on the road after a rebuild, I notice smoke coming from the turbo area. At first I thought it was the turbo blanket as I saw in my video, but after looking hard, it seems to be a slight seep of oil that comes from the feed to the turbo that you can see in the video. I've tried tightening and putting teflon tape on it, but it still seems to leak/smoke. Any suggestions?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DF_jIyfD41g
Old 11-04-10 | 09:06 AM
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Talking

That video doesn't really show me much, but you sure do have a sexay voice

Are you sure it's not the turbine housing where it meets the CHRA? did you tighten all six bolts? They usually take a 1/2 inch wrench and some can be a pain to get to.

The oil Feed line boss on the CHRA..... did it come tapped? To guarantee a chance of zero leaks, you can buy a feed flange with a male threaded portion and seal it with a gasket.
Old 11-04-10 | 10:07 AM
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Oh Rich, stop, you're going to make me blush!

Please excuse my ignorance but CHRA stands for...?

I am pretty sure it has to be the oil feed to the turbo because you can see that the top of it is a little wet in the video. Also, the teflon tape that I put is now wet with oil and every time I wipe off that spot, take the car for a drive and come back, it's glistening/wet again.

The reason why I old think that is the leak is because when I pulled the engine, I removed the downpipe, turbo manifold and turbo all together so there should be no loose bolts or gaskets that needed to be changed there. Just that feed line in between the compressor and the housing
Old 11-04-10 | 05:04 PM
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CHRA= Center Housing Rotating Assembly.....I think.

Hard to see exactly what your dealing with, but have you tried removing the line and maybe chasing the threads? Is there anything else up-stream from that area that could be responsible?
Old 11-05-10 | 12:04 AM
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Checked it today and it is for sure coming from that part.

I want to get a new one of these as the threads that go into the CHRA seem to be stripped a little which is where the oil is coming up from.



You can see the oil leaking up from the bottom

Old 11-05-10 | 08:40 AM
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Originally Posted by GoodfellaFD3S
The oil Feed line boss on the CHRA..... did it come tapped? To guarantee a chance of zero leaks, you can buy a feed flange with a male threaded portion and seal it with a gasket.
You need something similar to this (along with a pair of bolts and a sealing gasket, get in touch with Sean at A-Spec:

http://www.atpturbo.com/mm5/merchant..._Code=ATP-OIL2
Old 11-19-10 | 02:50 PM
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Rich, I went ahead and contacted Sean and showed him the link you sent me, and he said it would work, but it isn't restricted.

He ended up sending me another fitting which screws in fine to the CHRA but the thread pattern doesn't work with the oil feed line.

Any suggestions to fix this or is the fitting just not going to work and I'll need a new one.
Old 11-19-10 | 05:07 PM
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You should be able to bolt down that flanged fitting and then install a restrictor fitting between that and the oil feed line. If your kit is from Sean, I'd recommend working with him on a resolution.
Old 11-19-10 | 10:09 PM
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So I was able to snap these pics. The new fitting that Sean sent me (2nd picture) screws into the CHRA fine. When I try to screw down the oil feed line, it goes down a few threads and then you cannot screw it down anymore but the line is not sealed against the fitting.

Check out the pictures
Attached Thumbnails Can't figure how to seal oil leak-2010-11-19_13-50-16_405.jpg   Can't figure how to seal oil leak-2010-11-19_13-49-14_467.jpg   Can't figure how to seal oil leak-2010-11-18_18-26-48_654.jpg  
Old 11-20-10 | 07:21 AM
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Originally Posted by HardHitter
....another fitting which screws in fine to the CHRA but the thread pattern doesn't work with the oil feed line.
Originally Posted by HardHitter
The new fitting that Sean sent me (2nd picture) screws into the CHRA fine. When I try to screw down the oil feed line, it goes down a few threads and then you cannot screw it down anymore but the line is not sealed against the fitting.
Sounds like the new fitting is correct but the threads in the oil feed line are messed up....probably from the fubar'd threads on your old fitting. Either change the feed line completely or see if you can chase the threads on that end to clean them up so it will screw down tight.
Old 11-20-10 | 07:56 PM
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So this is the other fitting that Sean sent me to replace what I have right now. Here is a picture of it as you can see the hole is really really small. A lot smaller than my old one. Is this supposed to be the case?



So I screwed this one in and I knew that it would not work because the fitting on the top didn't seat correctly but I said what the heck, I may as well try.

Started the car and it leaks from the bottom and the top now. Obviously this piece is not going to work. I have to go back to Sean and work with him to find a fix.

Old 11-21-10 | 06:48 PM
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So basically we "jerry-rigged" an adapter plate to work with the old fitting since that was the only one that works with the oil feed fitting line. Drove the car for a mile or two and parked the car and as you can see from the video still smoking...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFNTDexJeAc
Old 11-22-10 | 10:55 AM
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Bump for any solutions!
Old 11-22-10 | 09:45 PM
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did you try a flange with correct thread adapter in it like goodfella suggested? That is the style oil feed flange I see on almost every turbo I have ever seen.. must be some reason for it ...
Old 11-23-10 | 12:45 AM
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Originally Posted by blue87
did you try a flange with correct thread adapter in it like goodfella suggested? That is the style oil feed flange I see on almost every turbo I have ever seen.. must be some reason for it ...
If you see in the most recent video you can see the jerry-rigged adapter flange that we made. We tried a rubber gasket to see if it'll even hold the oil away, but as you can see it still smoked. We picked up some exhaust gasket and are making one to see if it works. The flange may be too thick.
Old 11-24-10 | 02:40 AM
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Just tried a thinner flange and there is still a very slight leak. I'm lost for words in what to do... bump for any ideas of a solution.
Old 11-24-10 | 07:26 AM
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It is hard to tell from the pic but it doesn't seem like there are a lot of exposed threads in the turbo side.. I think the seal for that fitting shouldn't happen at the threads but at the mating surfaces. I am curious if the insert/restrictor inside the bore is seated well. If it isn't, I could see how oil could come up and around the threads.

If your flange is leaking then your "jerry-rigging" isn't good enough. Buy a properly made flange.
Old 11-24-10 | 08:06 AM
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I agree that a high pressure oil fitting like that likely shouldn't be sealing on the threads. You can do it, but it will be more difficult. I can't tell from your second picture, but your first picture looks like your fitting is male AN to male AN, not a tapered pipe thread. You won't have a chance at sealing on threads if they aren't tapered.

In my opinion you have three options:

1. Get the right flange and seal it with either a high temp or RTV gasket. Thin/thick flange shouldn't matter, but your gasket material will. The very best flanges have o-ring grooves and o-rings, and those seal like a charm. I have sealed turbos with copper RTV before and never had a problem with them leaking so long as the flange was flat and clean when I put it together.

2. Use a banjo bolt with copper or aluminum washers. I don't know what threads your hole is (if they are a pipe thread, you would have to re cut them), but I haven't ever had trouble with a banjo bolt.

3. Get a fitting from earls (or similar) that will screw in to your hole, seal with a washer, and have your AN fitting on the top so you can use your current system.

In general threads aren't awesome at sealing. Yes, pipe threads do work but require a high torque (relatively) to seal. There is a reason we have to use teflon tape to reduce thread friction so we can torque the joint farther without breaking it. Use the threads to tighten and another method to seal the system.

Hopefully this helps.
Old 11-24-10 | 08:46 AM
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Hard Hitter,
Remove the second restrictor in the CHRA using a #10 screw.
This will allow the new fitting to be installed deeper in the tapered thread (it does not install to the flange).
Use loctite thread sealant. If a small piece of teflon tape gets in hole you will be very sad.

Barry
Old 11-24-10 | 10:19 AM
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The second restrictor in the CHRA? Where exactly is that?

I feel as though the flange we have works, it's just we will have to seat the fitting lower into the CHRA so it mates/seals better with what is shown in post #9 picture #3.
Old 11-24-10 | 10:40 AM
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Originally Posted by HardHitter
The second restrictor in the CHRA? Where exactly is that?
The thing that is screwed in to the bore in post 9 pic 3.

Originally Posted by HardHitter
I feel as though the flange we have works, it's just we will have to seat the fitting lower into the CHRA so it mates/seals better with what is shown in post #9 picture #3.
When using a flange the sealing surface should be the flat area on the turbo and should have nothing to do with the threaded portion. That is the point.. if you can't get the fitting to seal well, a flange wouldn't rely on the fitting.

Old 11-24-10 | 11:02 AM
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You're telling me to remove the resistor? Don't we want the resistor in there so we aren't just dumping oil in there and it is a control feed?

Also, where can I get the flange with the Orings?

Thanks for the picture!
Old 11-24-10 | 12:17 PM
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It's called a 'restrictor,' not a resistor

You don't need a flange with o-rings, you need the flange I linked you to quite some time ago, along with a gasket for it, which I also mentioned quite some time ago.

You keep bumping this thread for help, but you've been given all the help you need..... seems you just don't realize it
Old 11-24-10 | 12:23 PM
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Rich, I have worked with Sean and he sent me that one fitting which doesn't even mate to the oil feed line. I've been trying to get in contact him through e-mail to send a different fitting, but he doesn't understand why it isn't working and said it should work. Maybe I am doing something wrong but it just doesn't seem like the thread pattern matches.

I'll take a picture of the flange that I have. We created the flange, have the old fitting in it and then an exhaust gasket in between the flange and the actual CHRA.
Old 11-24-10 | 05:08 PM
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Here is what I have







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