95 j30tt.... major oil leak, need help....

[95-J30tt]

hi all, i'm the middle of a J-spec tt swap on my J30, you can find the updates in the J30/m30 section of the nicoclub forum (topic title: project Q-ship progress)...... the engine is installed, and the j30 transmission is mated, the engine turns and runs, the transmission is also responding well....... but i'm stuck with a very strange problem.......

when i start the engine, for the first second or so a wierd sound (as if there is something metal that is loose in the oil pan, which im sure that there is none, because i had to replace the pan during the swap, and i inspected it and applied liquid sealant and made sure nothing is loose and that everything is sealed properly).........right after that, engine oil starts leaking oil (big amount, i'd say about a litre in 2 seconds) near the bell housing area (not from the bell housing because it is dry) for about a couple of seconds, and then no leak what so ever......has anyone had this problem before, and how do i go about diagnosing what is wrong........

this is the list of things that are not finished yet......

1) turbo piping (it is there, but only for testing)2) intercooler piping (have all the parts but havent gotten to it yet, i have a centre mounted intercooler, and all piping needed)3) vacuum lines (not completed, but most are in)4) oil filter relocation kit (i have it but it doesnt fit, so i have to modify it, i'm running the engine on a smaller oil filter for the time being, again just for testing)5) boost controller not installed yet (got a blitz twin celenoid)6) boost gauge not installed yet (i have an autometer boost gauge, new with all required wiring and hose)7) the oil cooler lines are pluged (the line going from the oil filter through the oil cooler to the oil pan is blocked on both ends, and sealed, untill i get the shipment of the oil cooler from ebay)

there is a hesitation when the engine is running (obviously due to the list above, and most importantly, the vacuum lines) but that is a secondary issue compared to the question i have above....... i'd really appreciate your help in that regard, i have a TT service manual, the engine is a japanese spec. and it has around 66K Km (confirmed) on it (model 1994 VG30DETT)

[evildky]

um...ok, I've not played much with the Z32's but in gereral an oil cooler line can't simply be plugged and ignored, if you plugged it you stopped the flow of oil to the engine, you can route the feed line directly to the return line thereby bypassing any oil cooler but if you plug the lines you stop the flow of oil, the only possible save I see is that there might be some sort of thermostatic valve incorperated in the valve body, not sure if these are present on Z32's but you should be safe and route the feed line to the return

I'd say your noise was the destruction of your oil pump and the subsequent leak likely came from somewhere near the pump or the oil manifold

[95-J30tt]

but that doesnt explain it though, how (with a malfunctioning or destroyed oil pump) would the oil come out at such a rate........??, and the leak is no where close to the oil pump, the oil pump of the TT engine sits behind the crank pully...... and the engine is leaking near the bell housing (where the torque converter and flywheel are)........but it might very well discribe the sound at start-up, is the oil pump of the TT the same as the non turbo engine??your help is much appreciated

[evildky]

ok bear with me as I'm more familiar with the L6, but the oil filter screws onto an "oil manifold" located on the passanger side behind the turbo near the bellhousing right? isn't this the point at which all the cooler lines originate? or at the very lease there is some sort of seal where this "oil manifold" meets the block, so when your blocked the flow of oil it blew out at the weakest point before the blockage, likely a seal of somesort near that manifold, at this point I'd plan on replacing the oil pump and pulling the "Oil manifold" and closely inspecting it and replacing anything that looks like a seal, it's much easier than replacing the block when an oil starved piston makes a hasty exit through the side of the block or oil pan

this is just theory but definitley worth checking out more closely

[95-J30tt]

the oil manafold is exactly where you said and the oil cooler line come from that oil manifold which is right under the turbo on the passanger side, and the leak is coming from that area (the oil streams down through other parts untill it comes down from the bell housing area still pressurized), and when i'm under the engine to check, the oil filter is dripping (the only sign of a leak is from the oil manifold and everything else seems dry), although the oil filter is tightly sealed, so yes that seems to be exactly the problem..... can you please expand on how to go about solving this issue?......

i need to change the oil manifold seal, oil filter, and bypass the oil cooler by conneting the cooler pipe in the oil manifold to the return pipe in the pan..... how hard is it to change the oil pump, does it require an engine removal???...... thank you for all of your help

[evildky]

the oil cooler does not return to the pan, the cooled oil should be placed back into the engine by way or a return line at or near athat manifold just so we are clear each turbo has an oil supply line and a return line that goes to the oil panthe oil cooler should have one line feeding the oil in and one returning the cooled oil to the block for circulationagain, the L6 is my fortay and it all happens at the "oil manifold" (I keep calling it that but I have no idea if there is a different propper term), my suggestion is to pull the oil fiter and try removing the oil manifold, from what little I see in the FSM it looks like it's got 3 bolts holding it on, I should think you can figure out the removal, once it's off you'll see an "O" ring that seals it against the block, check it out, if it's cracked or even questionable replace it! there should be some sort of fittings where the oil cooler lines attach, look at where they attach, if they use a copper crush washer as the L6 does, replace them, it they use O rings, replace them, put it all back together with a fresh oil filter and top off the oil level, make sure you have no dead end hoses, if your not running the cooler thats fine but the 2 lines should be connected, and the turbo drain lines need to go to the oil pan and the feed lines for the turbo's have to be hooked up!

the water cooling lines for the turbo's can be bypassed but not the oil lines!

it looks like the oil pump can be replaced in the car is you lift the engine enough to get the oul pan off, but lets start trying to fix the source of the problem and hope the oil pump survived the backpressure, looks like it has an internal relief valve that may have saved it

[95-J30tt]

just checked with the service manual..... changing the oil pump requires engine lifting (it doesnt specifically say remove engine, the manual says to lift the engine via slingers (i dont have them) using a proper engine hoist then extracting the oil pan, and finally replacing the oil pump (pump is not the same as the VG30DE).....

can the gasket (of the oil filter bracket or manifold) be replaced by a liquid gasket ?

any help on this and the above post is much appreciated

[evildky]

no you can't use formagasket, it isn't meant to seat tight enough for that stuff to work, you're gnna have to order an O ring from a dealer, even at dealer frices I'd be suprised if it were more than $10

[95-J30tt]

thank you evildky, i'll diagnose it again (this time with the oil cooler lines bypassed properly, or if i get the shipment from ebay, i'll just install the oil cooler) but hope that this time will leak less or atleast at a less rate...... spot the exact leak place and order the part (hopefully just the seal)

there is something that i noticed when i was plugging the oil cooler line (from the oil filter bracket side), the plug that i installed never really fully tightened, and thank god that i didnt keep going with tightening it, according to the service manual, there is a valve (pressure sensitive) that is exactly where the oil cooler line leaves the oil filter bracket, could i have damaged it ????

where can i get a multi pressure gauge from ?, i need one for a lot of testing, for the cylinder compressions, the oil pressure at the cooler line, and coolant pressure

[evildky]

that valve should be in the block safely ut of the way, it's to allow oil to bypass the filter in the event it were to become clogged, I would still recomend pulling the manifold and inspecting the seals, getting ahead of yourself is why it's in question to begine with, it takes less time and money to do it right the first time, as for testing pressure any auto parts store shoud sell some sort of generic pressure gauge that'l work, if you can't find something suitable just buy a cheap oil pressure gauge