Need help tracking down an oil leak

Mates, I just returned from a ~3500km round trip up north on winter roads here in Siberia. Great trip and quite the challenge to drive. I will do a full write up later.

Overall the patrol ran great, but when I checked it out before heading back, I noticed a pretty big oil leak and my oil level was down about 1.5L. I added oil, drove back the remaining 1400km and checked again. Again same thing - oil level down 1.5-2L.

After checking things out a bit more, it appears there is oil around the rear main seal on the turbo side of the engine but not around the other side. Further inspection showed an oilish mixture around the intake manifold at the junction of the rubber hose to the manifold after the intercooler. Also saw oil around the #1&2 cylinders - where the intake manifold bolts to the head.

Any ideas? Am I screwed with this engine? Have I done permanent damage? This didn't happen before I installed a boost controller. Would winding the boost too high cause this? I've since removed the controller. For those who can't see my signature I'm running a 1999 GU RD28Ti with a mechanical injector pump.

I am trying to get it into a shop but everything here shuts down for about 10 days around the new year and I am supposed to head back up the winter road on the 11th of January.

EDIT: pictures added

http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forum...015/12/202.jpg
http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forum...015/12/203.jpg
http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forum...015/12/204.jpg

1999 GU RD28Ti; mechanical injector pump, 5kBt Webasto circulation heater, 33" Yokohama Geolander I/T, SaaS boost & EGT gauges, 2" Ironman suspension...more to come

Take the outlet pipe off the turbo and check for oil in there. If theres oil in the pipe from the turbo to intercooler and none, or very little, in the intake side of the turbo. You could have a dud turbo maybe. winding up the boost could have done something( or not have helped ) if the turbo was on its way out, but if the turbo was fine then it would be o.k to use. Blown seal in the turbo could use a fair amount of oil...

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Originally Posted by mudski

Take the outlet pipe off the turbo and check for oil in there. If theres oil in the pipe from the turbo to intercooler and none, or very little, in the intake side of the turbo. You could have a dud turbo maybe. winding up the boost could have done something( or not have helped ) if the turbo was on its way out, but if the turbo was fine then it would be o.k to use. Blown seal in the turbo could use a fair amount of oil...

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It's a brand new turbo. Had it replaced at the end of September. Will pull the hoses and check tomorrow and take it back to the shop that swapped it out.


1999 GU RD28Ti; mechanical injector pump, 5kBt Webasto circulation heater, 33" Yokohama Geolander I/T, SaaS boost & EGT gauges, 2" Ironman suspension...more to come

Might sound silly but when you do an oil change in these extreme climate conditions
does it expand after getting hot and therefore giving you an over full condition.
Hope that makes sense ,sort of

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Originally Posted by threedogs

Might sound silly but when you do an oil change in these extreme climate conditions
does it expand after getting hot and therefore giving you an over full condition.
Hope that makes sense ,sort of

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Not a silly suggestion at all. Oil changes are done in a heated garage, after the engine is warmed up, so there's not much chance of that being the case.

Sounds like a turbo related oil leak, isn't it?
Obviously it's a major leak by looks of the pictures.
Any chance of spraying some good degreaser and giving it a high pressure spray wash to wash off all the oil and
then have a good look to see where the oil's coming from?
You might be able to patch it up for the time being if you find the exact location of the leak.

would fitting a catch can prevent this, Cant see how it was OK and then this massive leak.
Can you think of anything specific youve done that may be causing this to happen

I have a catch can fitted (Provent 200). The only thing different I did was fit the inline boost controller, but it wasn't wound super high. Factory boost was cruising at 5psi at 100kmh, peaking at 10-11psi under full load. I wound it to 15 under full load and cruising 6-7psi @100kmh. Nothing else has changed. Turbo is under warranty, so I'm headed to the shop today to see what's up


1999 GU RD28Ti; mechanical injector pump, 5kBt Webasto circulation heater, 33" Yokohama Geolander I/T, SaaS boost & EGT gauges, 2" Ironman suspension...more to come

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SiberianPatrol

I have a catch can fitted (Provent 200). The only thing different I did was fit the inline boost controller, but it wasn't wound super high. Factory boost was cruising at 5psi at 100kmh, peaking at 10-11psi under full load. I wound it to 15 under full load and cruising 6-7psi @100kmh. Nothing else has changed. Turbo is under warranty, so I'm headed to the shop today to see what's up


1999 GU RD28Ti; mechanical injector pump, 5kBt Webasto circulation heater, 33" Yokohama Geolander I/T, SaaS boost & EGT gauges, 2" Ironman suspension...more to come

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That sounds like the right thing to do. Let them figure out what went wrong and fix it under warranty.

Well, some good news and some bad news. Good news is the turbo is fine - no leaks, no damage. They discovered a few places in the intake system that weren't completely sealed, thus allowing dirt, dust and other junk into the system. Got a few things rerouted and sealed off. They said the oil in the intake was coming from the Provent 200 catch can since the clean air outlet was on the bottom of the can, allowing oil to mix with the air again before it re-entered the intake. I showed them the manufacturers website and instructions, but they insisted that logically it can't work properly with the return on the bottom. We made some modifications and got that all squared away. If it doesn't work, I'll hit them up for warranty work again on the turbo and a replacement catch can.


1999 GU RD28Ti; mechanical injector pump, 5kBt Webasto circulation heater, 33" Yokohama Geolander I/T, SaaS boost & EGT gauges, 2" Ironman suspension...more to come

Now the bad news. We got the intake oil taken care of only to find I have a blown head gasket. On the very back of the engine, right over the last cylinder is the leak. That is what caused the massive oil level drop. So, needless to say I'm having to pull the head and get it checked to make sure there's no other damage. The plan is to pull it the 4th of January and completely rebuild the head and get everything done by the 8th. Not at all what I was planning, but it's the only option right now as I'm in a time crunch.


1999 GU RD28Ti; mechanical injector pump, 5kBt Webasto circulation heater, 33" Yokohama Geolander I/T, SaaS boost & EGT gauges, 2" Ironman suspension...more to come

Bad luck to have happened at this time of year. Don't forget to check the top of the block to see if it is flat, while the head is off.

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Originally Posted by mudnut

Bad luck to have happened at this time of year. Don't forget to check the top of the block to see if it is flat, while the head is off.

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That's the plan. The shop doing it is a small local outfit that seems to know their stuff. He already said he'd check the head and the block for any warping, plus check all the valves, lifters, etc. It will be a complete head rebuild by the time it's all said and done.


1999 GU RD28Ti; mechanical injector pump, 5kBt Webasto circulation heater, 33" Yokohama Geolander I/T, SaaS boost & EGT gauges, 2" Ironman suspension...more to come

The rd28 uses the same block as my rB30. I recently had to do a head, then do a water pump only a few thousand ks later. If you have the cash available, I would recommend
changing out your water pump and timing belt if they have done more than 80000km. Also check the harmonic balancer key, as they are prone to failure on the RD.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mudnut

The rd28 uses the same block as my rB30. I recently had to do a head, then do a water pump only a few thousand ks later. If you have the cash available, I would recommend
changing out your water pump and timing belt if they have done more than 80000km. Also check the harmonic balancer key, as they are prone to failure on the RD.

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I have a new water pump in hand to be installed. Timing belt was changed back in September so it should be good to go for a while.


1999 GU RD28Ti; mechanical injector pump, 5kBt Webasto circulation heater, 33" Yokohama Geolander I/T, SaaS boost & EGT gauges, 2" Ironman suspension...more to come