Ever since I've installed the 20G I've notice a small amount of coolant leaking out of the coolant lines where they bolt to the turbo. I used new washers, new bolts and torqued these to spec. It only seems to be a few drops here and there.. but any is enough to bother me.

Perhaps this is normal and it takes a little while for things to seal? I kind of doubt this but I thought I would throw it out there.

The only things I've been able to think of is maybe the bracket that bolts the assembly to the block is a little loose... this could cause everything to move a little bit which may cause the leak? I kind of doubt this is the problem but I plan to check it out anyways.

Also, maybe there is air in my coolant which may be causing the leak?

The oil lines are just fine.. no problems there.. no problems with anything else

Anyone have this problem?

 

There is a TSB for turbo coolant leaking, not sure that applies for you though since you are not running a stock turbo. If you can look it up, it may give you a hint ...

 

I think that was a coolant hose on the 05's but i'm not 100% on that. I'll check it out and see if it may apply.

 

Sometimes, the crush washers and seals between the new hoses and hard pipes take a few heat cycles before they fully seal. I'd wait for a few more heat cycles before removing any parts.

 

All it takes is on tiny spec of somthing to cause any kind of a leak. You will probably need to pull the line off and try again, inspect the washers for a inclusion on them. Most of the time you can see the problem on the washer or on the bolt/housing mating surfaces.

 

Here in Europe we had an recall by Mitsubishi depending an turbo coolant return line failure.

On some of the cars , these lines were getting cracks inside the rubber material, so they were replaced by a new one with an other part number.
I could not describe the real problem, because it is only for 04/early 05 models of the EVO 8. Also i didnt know if it is also an known problem for the US Version.

The failure is comming up on running cars immediately, causing an massive leak!
maybe, doing an install of an turbo, you caused the problem to become slowly, so best is to check the Hoses itself for hardening or cracking, and change them to new ones if there were some cracks.
The return line is cost about 8 bucks, so that should not be a problem to do a exchange for safety !

Steffen

 

Thanks for the advice.. but again it's the hardline that bolts to the turbo with the "eyebolt".

It's possible that a spec of something got on the washer.. I'll keep an eye on it for another week or so before I drain the fluid and put new washers in. I've been monitoring the level in the overflow tank and it appears the level is the same.

 

Sorry to bring this back from the dead but I have the same problem on my turbo. I have tightned everything down and it will not stop. I am going to give it a little while and watch my coolant level and the leak to see if it stops on its own. Anyone have a similar problem and fixed it. My overflow tank seems to lose coolant rapidly as well but my radiator stays full,

 

Simple fix... retighten the eyebolt. I know you said factory torque spec, but sometimes you gotta put a little more grip in it. If it still leaks, remove it all, check the ports on the turbo for flatness on the surface. You can run a small file across the face to take any burrs off. Washers... double up on them, and lastly, apply a very thin coat of heatproof RTV around the port. This, plus doubled up washers and going a little tighter than factory torque spec and you should not have issues with leaks. I've been there before and this was my fix and it has lasted 5 years now

 

Thank you for the help. I was not sure if doubleing up on the washers would cause the eye on the bolt would be in the wrong spot. Do you double on the side closest to the turbo or both. I will have to try the rv sealant. I have put some muscle behind it but I am considering puting a pipe on the wrench to get better leverage to turn it a little more.

 

It'll be ok to double up on both. The hole will still have plenty of clearance, for the copper crush washers aren't that big. Using a pipe for leverage to get a tighter turn is a good idea. Good luck

 

Ugh, I just finished installing my BBK turbo and am now getting this same leak. Unfortunately, mine started dripping as soon as I refilled with coolant, didn't even start the car. The coolant flows into the turbo from the eyebolt facing the front of the car right? The torque on it is 31 ft#s right? I guess I'll try tightening it just a bit more.

 

Did you make sure the crush washers were in place before you reinstalled the eye bolt?

 

Yep, for sure.

 

Think I found the problem. The washers I was trying to use for replacements were the ones from FP which turn out to be seemingly identical to the standard washers sold at pep boys, etc. When I got the line off the turbo today I could plainly see where the coolant was getting past one of these washers. On top of this problem the washers weren't even a good fit to begin with as I had to file the interior diameter a little just to get it to mate up with the underside of the head of the eyebolt. Off to Mitsu tomorrow then.