Jump to content
SAU Community

Oil Puddle On The Rocker Cover

DaveB

By DaveB,
in Four Door Family & Wagoneers

 Share

Recommended Posts

DaveB Mentor

DaveB

Posted
Posted

Hi there,

I had a bit of a search for this problem but I can't find anything specific... I have been getting a small (but growing) puddle of oil on top of the coilpack cover, under the join in the J-pipe. I can't see where it's coming from; I am guessing it is leaking out of the J-pipe join? There is only one other vacuum hose which runs under there; I *think* that runs to the boost sensor on the firewall.

Sorry for lack of pics; I will take some tomorrow. But I thought this might be a common problem... if the turbo was worn, would this cause oil to escape here? after the intercooler?

Thanks

DaveB

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/242873-oil-puddle-on-the-rocker-cover/
Share on other sites
M I K E Mentor

M I K E

Posted
Posted

i'm assuming when you're talking about the J pipe that the puddle is up towards the rear of the coil pack cover? if it is there and under the join to the TB i'd be taking the piping apart to have a look. won't take very long but it will tell you if that's where it's coming from. IF there is lots of oil in there then changes are it's your turbo seals that are on the way out or you're getting some pretty bad blow by. if there is alot of oil in there, i'd be checking your cooler as well, chances are there is a fair bit caught in there.. spose it all depends on how bad it is. if it was blow by, an oil catch can is a quick fix to stop most of it getting into your intake system but won't solve the actual problem. the only other place i can think of it possibly coming from is the valves at the front of the rocker covers for the breather pipes.

DaveB Mentor

DaveB

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Thanks Mike; yeah I really hope it's not blow-by!!! that would suck (like $3000+ suck). Engine only has (supposedly) ~110,000Ks on it. I change oil + filter religiously at 5,000Ks, mobil 1.

Here are couple of pic's; I will get into the pipes this week when I plan to replace exhaust studs and gasket.

post-32445-1225622744_thumb.jpgpost-32445-1225622766_thumb.jpg

Nice big detailed pics... sorry if u'r on dialup! (but, seriously, how do you use these forums on dialup???)

M I K E Mentor

M I K E

Posted
Posted

the easiest ways to tell which one is going to be your problem is to take the hose running between the rocker covers and the inlet pipe off, take it for a bit of a flog and watch it. if theres no oil coming out of there then it's not blow by so take the inlet pipe off of the front of your turbo so you can get to the compressor wheel and give the shaft a wiggle. if it's got play in it then it's on its way out. 1-2mm in any direction is normally acceptable (left-right, front-back)

gl bud, hope the fix isn't too heavy on the wallet

DaveB Mentor

DaveB

Posted
  • Author
Posted
the easiest ways to tell which one is going to be your problem is to take the hose running between the rocker covers and the inlet pipe off, take it for a bit of a flog and watch it. if theres no oil coming out of there then it's not blow by so take the inlet pipe off of the front of your turbo so you can get to the compressor wheel and give the shaft a wiggle. if it's got play in it then it's on its way out. 1-2mm in any direction is normally acceptable (left-right, front-back)

gl bud, hope the fix isn't too heavy on the wallet

Thanks Mike, that's good thinking - exactly what I'll do :D Ah well better turbo than engine... I've never felt confident in the turbo, what with the loud whine which hasn't gone away after replacing gaskets... an excuse to fix it so I can feel confident at 10 or even 12 PSI would be OK.

DaveB Mentor

DaveB

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)
ok if she's whining she's dead. that would be the wheels rubbing on the housing lol

...ah. Well I guess that's fairly terminal. i did wonder why they were machined really rough like that on the inside!! Well I will just check for excessive blow-by anyway, 'cause I'm a bit paranoid about 'ring-lands'/stuffed piston rings... have begun investigations into a replacement turbo. At this stagea it looks like it's gonna have to be a GCG hi-flow :wub: Better to replace before I end up with bits of something in the engine rather than after I guess (small chance if just the exhaust wheel goes I guess, but just in case...)

Edited by DaveB
DaveB Mentor

DaveB

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Well did the 'blow-by-test'... if anyone's interested this is pretty much all I think is involved...

post-32445-1225834355_thumb.jpg

I did a fair bit of driving, and I made sure that it was boosting hard for some of it (ie. up a hill at WOT in 3rd or 4th) and there was no sign of oil on the rag... so I don't think I have excessive blow-by but someone please correct me if I'm wrong!

DaveB Mentor

DaveB

Posted
  • Author
Posted
could be worth while to test mine like that, it has 107k km on the clock, well maintained, timing kit and water pump done at 80k km... could be an excuse to go for more POWAH

More POWAH is good... that is my excuse :P Also turbo is slightly cheaper/easier than replacing the engine... :P

just thought id check in. im the newest member of team possible-dying-turbo :laugh:

Does your turbo make a high-pitch sound a bit like your avatar name zoomzoom? Mike's ingenious test is pretty easy; find a clean rag, a couple of cable ties; fit as per pic's and drive around for a bit. If the rags are clean, then oil in the pipes could be your turbo... I guess there are other things it could be too but I think mine is failing turbo oil seal. I only found oil inside the pipes.

  • 2 weeks later...
sturb25 Proficient

sturb25

Posted
Posted
Thanks Mike; yeah I really hope it's not blow-by!!! that would suck (like $3000+ suck). Engine only has (supposedly) ~110,000Ks on it. I change oil + filter religiously at 5,000Ks, mobil 1.

Here are couple of pic's; I will get into the pipes this week when I plan to replace exhaust studs and gasket.

post-32445-1225622744_thumb.jpgpost-32445-1225622766_thumb.jpg

Nice big detailed pics... sorry if u'r on dialup! (but, seriously, how do you use these forums on dialup???)

Sorry to steal ur thread dave but does anyone know what this tube does and what it controls because i noticed that mine had split and im not sure how long its been split for so im curious as to what it will change being fixed. hopefuly more power!!!!!

KiwiRS4T Grand Master

KiwiRS4T

Posted
Posted

More POWAH is good... that is my excuse :P Also turbo is slightly cheaper/easier than replacing the engine... :yes:

Useless bit of information - engine is cheaper - I bought my RS4 with a blown engine for $3500. A low mileage import engine cost $1500 and installation was $600! My GCG turbo plus installation (too old and tired to do it myself) will be NZ$2,500. However looking forward to the power increase (turbo has just arrived in the mail) from 155 to hopefully somewhere in excess of 200AWKW

M I K E Mentor

M I K E

Posted
Posted
Sorry to steal ur thread dave but does anyone know what this tube does and what it controls because i noticed that mine had split and im not sure how long its been split for so im curious as to what it will change being fixed. hopefuly more power!!!!!

i'm not 100% sure which tube you are referring to but if it's the one that runs from the rocker cover to the intake pipe, it's there as part of emissions to run the blow by (oil vapour) back through the combustion chamber

wolverine Grand Master

wolverine

Posted
Posted
Sorry to steal ur thread dave but does anyone know what this tube does and what it controls because i noticed that mine had split and im not sure how long its been split for so im curious as to what it will change being fixed. hopefuly more power!!!!!

pretty sure it is a vaccum line from the plenum to the charcoal cannister or somesuch. (i haven't gone up to check precisely yet)

has it been idling poorly?

66yostagea Grand Master

66yostagea

Posted
Posted

I've just done a heap of fixing on my S1. It had a smallish oil telltale on the rocker cover. 140k. I think that problem is from the roughness of the alloy pipe and the clamp can't seal off sufficiently. I have smoothed the pipe od and hope this fixes it.

Other oil leaks I found. The small hose from the P/S reservoir. The wire clips were fully tightened and deeply bitten into the hose and the oil weeped out at the bottom.

The other leak was from around the rocker covers. The screws holding the covers down were quite loose. There was quite a lot of oil dribbling down the back of the block.

I keep the engine bay pretty clean, so I was very surprised to see the number of smallish leaks that are generally out of sight.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • JC71
      new 1.5 LSD issues/concerns

      By JC71 · Posted

      Clutch is a spec brand, new clutch system,( PP, flywheel, friction disc, etc. pull type) installed 100 miles ago, with no problems.
    • JC71
      new 1.5 LSD issues/concerns

      By JC71 · Posted

      looking for some help and maybe some insight on others experience with a new LSD. R34 GT ran and drove beautifully, but always alot of grip loss due to the open R200 rear end, so I just installed a new 1.5 LSD way into the stock open R200 for a ER34. Simple. Everything seemed right. I test drove for the first time this weekend. as I started to back out the garage the first time slowly with tires straight it sounded and felt like I had a loose or half disconnected drive shaft...that was clucking around loose and shaking entire vehicle, and making it feel like the trans clutch was spontaneously slipping then grabbing very roughly while just letting out pedal slowly. I backed it out went to pull forward with the same noise, shake and slip grab feeling with hesitation, I turned the tires to back out more and then pulled ahead some same thing but worst because of added wheel resistance (which that I expected) puzzled … pulling it back in checking everything over and finding nothing wrong, I tried it the next day. same thing, couldn’t believe how it shook everything again making a terrible noise and making it feel like the trans clutch was slipping and grabbing, but I got it out of garage into the driveway, got it straight, drove forward and then reveres a few times in a straight line everything shaking , causing what felt like clutch slip and grab every time, sounded like right behind front driver tire and I could feel it in the floor board with my feet,... worst right when beginning to let clutch pedal out to engage slightly, shuttering and sounding terrible along the way…I managed to slowly get down the road, babying it the whole way, once I was rolling (out of 1st) seemed to be better and between shifts, then clutch felt closer to normal…not slip/ grab etc., but back down to any stop, straight road or turning, same thing. Made no difference if all tires were straight or if I was turning. All other gauge read out correct. with in 2 miles as planned I reached the empty parking lot and performed the break in procedure that came with lsd, essentially to drive in a figure 8 a bunch.  Did this, binding chattering, and shaking the car the whole way. I drove it back home seemed somewhat normal once I was in straight line and past 10 mph or so, and I know it will “bind” on corners and cause some tires squeal when turning especially from a stop, but when I begin to move it still causes what feels like the trans clutch to slip and jerk badly as well as shaking the entire car, and sounds terrible, that I didn’t expect. I used the fluid they supplied with LSD kit and did the breaking, planning to change fluid as they suggest after breaking, but wondering will it get smoother or less aggressive with use? maybe a 1.5 is just too aggressive for normal road driving?   I have a LSD that I put in my 71 cuda when I restored it, with amazing smooth , quite yet effective results. Different style LSD but that ones a joy to drive. maybe expecting too much from this R200?
    • Matt Z
      SAU NSW - Archies Flame Grille Meet & Cruise to Kurnell

      By Matt Z · Posted

      Join SAU NSW for a flame-grilled feed & flame-spitting cruise! Sunday 17th August 2025 3:30PM Meeting Archies Flame Grille Sylvania Waters 4:45PM Cruise Departure 5:15PM Arrival at Cape Solander Kurnell Meet Location: Archies Flame Grille Final Destination: Cape Solander Kurnell *Disclaimer* There will be a lead and follow car so no one should get lost. If you would like to attend or bring others along please put your name down and a +1 as numbers will be needed prior! This is NOT a race and we will all be adhering to all road rules. If this is what you want please come to one of our many track days. This is an official SAU:NSW event and will be run under a CAMS permit. One of the things that really sets our club apart is our commitment to being true enthusiasts. When on normal roads we strive to maintain good relations with the authorities as well as the public in general. When attending one of Skylines Australia NSW events please try to: • Be aware of surrounding environment and act accordingly. • Drive courteously on the state’s roads as a true enthusiast should. • Understand how important it is to maintain the good name of SAU NSW and thus, treat others accordingly. • Any misbehavior will not be tolerated and you will be asked to leave.
    • Ozdavroz
      WTAC 2025

      By Ozdavroz · Posted

      Yeah good luck out there! Will be good to see a mighty GTST going harder than the GTRs
    • bcozican
      WTAC 2025

      By bcozican · Posted

      i will be there 😁
×
×
  • Create New...