Notices
Evo General Discuss any generalized technical Evo related topics that may not fit into the other forums. Please do not post tech and rumor threads here.
Sponsored by: RavSpec - JDM Wheels Central

Oil on the front of the engine, under the manifold.. any ideas?

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old Jan 26, 2020 | 08:22 AM
  #1  
Butt Dyno's Avatar
Thread Starter
EvoM Guru
iTrader: (10)
 
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 1,702
Likes: 127
From: Why do they always call the Evo the Dark Side?
Oil on the front of the engine, under the manifold.. any ideas?

Engine died in 2018, my fault. It's been about 1500 miles since the rebuild, about 700 miles since it was tuned.

About a month after the tune I was driving it just to keep it from sitting too long (I try to drive it to work every 2-3 weeks), I went to a gas station and checked the oil level. Oil level was fine, but there was a little smoke/smell coming from the engine bay. There is an oily film on the front of the motor underneath the manifold - see attached. First noticed in August 2019.

The oil level is still fine, whatever is happening here must not be that serious but I'm surprised there would be any oil on the front of the engine.

Is this possibly something left over from the install? The car hasn't seen any real load since the rebuild - ~800 easy miles then the tune and since then the occasional commute. The tune was really the only time the car has seen any load, no autox / track / drag / whatever.

Thanks!

Old Jan 26, 2020 | 10:05 AM
  #2  
CDrinkH2O's Avatar
EvoM Guru
iTrader: (7)
 
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 1,146
Likes: 157
From: San Francisco
Oil on the front of the block could be due to the valve cover not sealing, or more usually from the exhaust manifold studs. Some of the studs enter the oil return galley in the head and need black permatex sealant applying during assembly to prevent leaks. It is an easy thing to forget - don't ask me how I know!
The following users liked this post:
cerevo (Apr 14, 2020)
Old Jan 26, 2020 | 11:33 AM
  #3  
deylag's Avatar
Evolved Member
iTrader: (23)
 
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 1,744
Likes: 128
From: Milpitas, CA
Yea the lower exhaust manifold studs need to have RTV applied to them. There is an oil galley right behind those studs.
Old Jan 26, 2020 | 03:58 PM
  #4  
LetsGetThisDone's Avatar
EvoM Guru
iTrader: (1)
 
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 15,875
Likes: 1,579
From: Las Vegas
Also going to say that it's likely the E/M studs
Old Jan 26, 2020 | 06:17 PM
  #5  
hutch959's Avatar
Evolved Member
iTrader: (18)
 
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 1,459
Likes: 110
From: Chattanooga, TN
ok... wait a minute...
ive never used any thing on my head studs and haven't had any issues.

which ones go into the oil galleys?
Old Jan 26, 2020 | 07:00 PM
  #6  
Butt Dyno's Avatar
Thread Starter
EvoM Guru
iTrader: (10)
 
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 1,702
Likes: 127
From: Why do they always call the Evo the Dark Side?
Thanks y'all, that is somewhat reassuring
Old Jan 26, 2020 | 10:32 PM
  #7  
LetsGetThisDone's Avatar
EvoM Guru
iTrader: (1)
 
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 15,875
Likes: 1,579
From: Las Vegas
Originally Posted by hutch959
ok... wait a minute...
ive never used any thing on my head studs and haven't had any issues.

which ones go into the oil galleys?
Sometimes they weep, sometimes they don't.
Old Feb 1, 2020 | 05:15 PM
  #8  
Butt Dyno's Avatar
Thread Starter
EvoM Guru
iTrader: (10)
 
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 1,702
Likes: 127
From: Why do they always call the Evo the Dark Side?
One other suggestion I got, for anyone else that finds this, is retorquing the head bolts.
Old Apr 5, 2020 | 08:32 AM
  #9  
Butt Dyno's Avatar
Thread Starter
EvoM Guru
iTrader: (10)
 
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 1,702
Likes: 127
From: Why do they always call the Evo the Dark Side?
Final ruling from the Evo tech at IAG performance (hopefully I'm describing it correctly) - it was not oil, and no actual oil leaks were found- the crud was the stuff that they put on the block when it's sitting in the warehouse so that it doesn't rust, etc.

Just in case someone finds this thread someday..
Related Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
nikg
Evo Engine / Turbo / Drivetrain
5
May 2, 2014 10:25 AM
detroit pistins
Evo Engine / Turbo / Drivetrain
26
Dec 31, 2008 09:04 PM
jds89
Evo Engine / Turbo / Drivetrain
16
Dec 6, 2008 08:44 PM
kouzman
Vendor Service / Parts / Tuning Review
29
Jan 30, 2008 01:27 AM
josep1001
Evo General
43
Nov 3, 2005 10:35 PM




All times are GMT -7. The time now is 01:16 AM.