Sick and tired of my freaken leaky oil return tube.

T

Turbojorge

Unstoppable
Joined
Jun 7, 2001
It's been going on ever since I went to the TE-44 about 8 months ago. The damn gasket between the turbo and oil return tube does't want to work with me. I've tried everthing! Single GM gasket (2 times), foam gasket (2 times), made my own gasket out of thick exhaust manifold gasket (don't ask) reg. gasket with sealer on both ends (once), two gasket together (give me a break). NOTHING. :mad: :mad: :mad:

What the heck do I do? :mad:

TIA
 
lightly silicone (use some GOOD stuff) both side of a new gasket
oh, you did SCRAPE the turbo side, and return line surface and clean it properly, right???

now assuming you did, let the silicone start to get a little tacky feeling, not almost dry though, just starting to get there.. then put it on, and tighten it.

let it dry on there for an hour or so and then start it up..
 
Did the sealer (silicone) thing, but I will try it again since thats what everyone at Bradenton told me to use. I scape, then laquer thinner both sides. What do you mean by "the Good stuff"?

Thanks.

Anybody else?
 
Try 3 gaskets... j/k

If you overtighten the drain line the flange can "banana". You can check flange straightness by eyeballing it or using a straight edge. If it's banana-ed you can either attempt to straighten the flange with the line in place (shot in the dark), or you can take the line off and attempt to straighten it. However, if you're going through the bother of taking the line off, for about $50, assuming GM still has 'em (last I knew they did) you might as well replace the line, as this will go a long way towards eliminating nasty surprises on reassembly.

BTW, using studs and nuts instead of the OEM bolts to attach the line makes life a lot easier, and, IMO, lessens the chances of banana-ing the flange.

Other explanations:

Turbo is buggered (i.e. flange not straight, flange scratched)
Line and/or turbo aren't perfectly clean on reassembly
Line is cracked
Gasket is compressing over time - check torque

HTH!!!

:)
 
Use either ultra copper or ultra black silicone, they withstand the highest temps.
I used to work for Loctite.:D
Tarey D.:cool:
 
I used mega black and not ultra black. My freind used ultra black and it worked for him. Come on, their can't be that much of a difference.

What I don't understand is why it would leak, period. I mean, take a look at the oil line going to the turbo. It is really skinny. Then look at the return tube. The oil going in the turbo should just brezze threw their on it's way out. The only thing I can think is that eaither the return tube is clogged up or the hole going back to the block is partially clogged. Other wise, why would their be enough pressure in that tube to push oil threw a gasket?

To change the tube I will have to remove turbo and all.

:mad: :confused:
 
Well, TJ -

Oil is like that.

Gravity, schmavity. Try this. Disconnect the orange wire to the ECM, take the drain line off and crank the car. See where the oil goes. Make sure you duck, and have plenty of rags handy...

:rolleyes:
 
Make sure the flange is not cracked around where the tube meets the flange.

If not take a flat file and file the flange flat, then like said above using a good GM gasket ,lightly goop it with the "Right Stuff" and seal it up.
Good Luck
 
Originally posted by strikeeagle
Disconnect the orange wire to the ECM, take the drain line off and crank the car. See where the oil goes. Make sure you duck, and have plenty of rags handy...
:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Think I'll pass on that one. I don't need any more oil on my drive way. ;)

I'll try to make a deal with it this weekend, again .

Thanks guys.
:cool:
 
Originally posted by Louie L.
Make sure the flange is not cracked around where the tube meets the flange.

If not take a flat file and file the flange flat, then like said above using a good GM gasket ,lightly goop it with the "Right Stuff" and seal it up.
Good Luck
Click to expand...
I agree! A buddy found his cracked so it wasn't the gasket leaking at all.. I can't believe you are having that much trouble considering I made a gasket out of a cereal box once and it never leaked. Make sure the flange is flat as mentioned above..

Good Luck!
Oil Leaks SUCK!:mad:
:)
 
Originally posted by KEVINS
I agree! A buddy found his cracked so it wasn't the gasket leaking at all.. I can't believe you are having that much trouble considering I made a gasket out of a cereal box once and it never leaked. Make sure the flange is flat as mentioned above..

Good Luck!
Oil Leaks SUCK!:mad:
:)
Click to expand...

What kind of cereal? There is a difference in the materials used for the boxes, ya know.
I agree with the 'Is it flat...?' Question. I had a difficult time getting mine to seal too, and realized the flange was far from it. I took it off, filed it quite a bit, and no more leaks. Good Luck.

Brian
 
TIA,
I just went through the same thing. I finally took the drain tube line off. One of the more difficult little tasks when the ole PT 72 setting there. I ended up taking the water hose off and then cutting a wrench off with a die grinder so I could get it in the area of the lower drain nut hoilding the tube to the block. And BTW those stock drain tubes don't bend to fit all this after market crap.
Well, I did find out why the gasket you mentioned wouldn't fit. The hard flange on the tube that fits the turbo was warped big time. No way it was ever going to seal. Bought a new drain tube.
Works great and the new one was " slightly longer".
;)
 
Originally posted by wagon
What kind of cereal? There is a difference in the materials used for the boxes, ya know.
Click to expand...
Wheaties:D The breakfast of champions...hehee

ks:D
 
i ordered both a new feed line and drain line from johns...they should be coming in today...

i've always had a leaky gasket to that drain line...i think my tube is cracked as well...i used the gasket from pte though...i am getting a gm gasket sent to me...with that and a new tube and the proper seal it shouldn't leak anymore...we will see...
 
Dumb question but was old gasket material cleaned entirely from both surfaces? I went through the same things you talk of here until I pulled the turbo to inspect and the previous owner left some of the gasket material from a prior change in place. Scraped it off and had no more leaks. The smallest booger in this area causes big problems:D
 
I just fixed mine yesterday. I had used a PTE gasket, which looked half the thickness of my newly installed GM gasket, w/ no silicone and it leaked. I used the Permetex Black silicone on both sides of the new GM gasket, lightly set up, and tightened it down. It hasn't leaked a drop yet, knock on wood. When I posted this before, someone said to install studs instead of reusing the 13mm bolts. You might do a search and see if that might help.
 
Originally posted by strikeeagle

If
BTW, using studs and nuts instead of the OEM bolts to attach the line makes life a lot easier, and, IMO, lessens the chances of banana-ing the flange.


HTH!!!

:)
Click to expand...
Would you know the size or part # for theses?
 
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