Turbo Oil Feed Line WARNING
Jul 13, 2009, 08:00 PM
#1
Turbo Oil Feed Line WARNING
This applies to anyone doing work or having work done to their Turbocharger on an Evo X.
Classic case of why braided lines are just so much better. When I torqued down the hard oil line there was a slight tension that at the time of assembly I thought nothing about since it was so close to lining up. Well it lasted about 3 weeks before opening up a tiny crack on the back side of where the smaller hard pipe meets the banjo end. Use all the support brackets and get it aligned perfectly or this could crack open from stress and vibration like it did on mine. Obviously running out of Oil is NOT healthy for your engine or turbocharger!
Proper order:
1) Loosely thread the feed banjo on top of the turbo, even complete hand tightening can cause some stresss in the lower line. This needs to be able to swivel!
2) Torque down banjo bolt into block and make sure it lines up with zero stress.
3) Torque down Oil feed line to block bracket. (Note: Garrett kit eliminates the upper bracket that went to the turbo so make absolute sure the lower one is in place.)
4) Torque down Feed Banjo on top of the turbo.
For the picture I forced open the hairline crack to make it more obvious but when I pulled it off the car it looked solid but was seeping oil. Spraying a quart of oil at high pressure all down the underside of the car and risking a fire is not something I want to see again and was a total nightmare.
Classic case of why braided lines are just so much better. When I torqued down the hard oil line there was a slight tension that at the time of assembly I thought nothing about since it was so close to lining up. Well it lasted about 3 weeks before opening up a tiny crack on the back side of where the smaller hard pipe meets the banjo end. Use all the support brackets and get it aligned perfectly or this could crack open from stress and vibration like it did on mine. Obviously running out of Oil is NOT healthy for your engine or turbocharger!
Proper order:
1) Loosely thread the feed banjo on top of the turbo, even complete hand tightening can cause some stresss in the lower line. This needs to be able to swivel!
2) Torque down banjo bolt into block and make sure it lines up with zero stress.
3) Torque down Oil feed line to block bracket. (Note: Garrett kit eliminates the upper bracket that went to the turbo so make absolute sure the lower one is in place.)
4) Torque down Feed Banjo on top of the turbo.
For the picture I forced open the hairline crack to make it more obvious but when I pulled it off the car it looked solid but was seeping oil. Spraying a quart of oil at high pressure all down the underside of the car and risking a fire is not something I want to see again and was a total nightmare.
Jul 13, 2009, 09:19 PM
#3
Eventually, but for now I had to go with the stock hard lines and just be extremely carefull of alignment this time. If any vendors want to start selling a ready to bolt in line with the right fittings there would definitely be a market.
Jul 14, 2009, 08:49 PM
#6
Sometimes I feel like giving up, after losing a 10mm socket behind the turbo that took me over an hour to fish out with a magnetic snake I get the new Oil Feed Line installed. Took a bit to get the feed into the turbo threaded since when the turbo is on the car the clearances are very tight, tight enough that you can't hand tighten the banjo bolt very well.
I finally got it all buttoned up hoping that I would be golden. There were no leaks at idle so I went to the local gas station to fill up the tank. I didn't notice any leaks so figured I was good but then just as I got back from the under 1 mile return trip I noticed some smoke... oh oh.
I pop the hood and sure enough now the Oil Feed attached to the turbo side seems to be leaking some oil. It was likely only a few ounces but with the hot exhaust side of the turbo right there it was very unsettling knowing that I could have an oil fire at any moment. I grabbed the fire extinguisher just in case and setup a fan to vent the heat and smoke away.
The Garrett kit uses a spacer along with a new banjo bolt so instead of 2 copper crush washers you have to balance 3 while threading in the hole. I had a new linked copper crush washer from Mitsu and figured it would be better than the once used Garrett ones, guess I was wrong! They both have the same inner diameter but the Mitsu ones are wider which means they would seat differently against the spacer. It sure doesn't take much of an oil leak to seriously risk burning up your car.
I'm going to order 2 sets of replacement parts tomorrow but it appears that you MUST use the Garrett combination of copper crush washers with their parts or it won't hold under higher pressures.
Anyone have a Stainless Steel Braided Oil line that would work for me? I've got to get this car reliable by the weekend.
I finally got it all buttoned up hoping that I would be golden. There were no leaks at idle so I went to the local gas station to fill up the tank. I didn't notice any leaks so figured I was good but then just as I got back from the under 1 mile return trip I noticed some smoke... oh oh.
I pop the hood and sure enough now the Oil Feed attached to the turbo side seems to be leaking some oil. It was likely only a few ounces but with the hot exhaust side of the turbo right there it was very unsettling knowing that I could have an oil fire at any moment. I grabbed the fire extinguisher just in case and setup a fan to vent the heat and smoke away.
The Garrett kit uses a spacer along with a new banjo bolt so instead of 2 copper crush washers you have to balance 3 while threading in the hole. I had a new linked copper crush washer from Mitsu and figured it would be better than the once used Garrett ones, guess I was wrong! They both have the same inner diameter but the Mitsu ones are wider which means they would seat differently against the spacer. It sure doesn't take much of an oil leak to seriously risk burning up your car.
I'm going to order 2 sets of replacement parts tomorrow but it appears that you MUST use the Garrett combination of copper crush washers with their parts or it won't hold under higher pressures.
Anyone have a Stainless Steel Braided Oil line that would work for me? I've got to get this car reliable by the weekend.
Jul 14, 2009, 10:40 PM
#10
It seems to be really sensitive although you may have more luck than me. I think if the Banjo bolt could take more torque then it would likely seal up fine but it's starting to twist the corners at the upper end of it's torque spec. It could just be the angle I'm able to get at the head of the bolt, seems everything is either too tall or too short to fit well in there. I may get a 10mm offset box end wrench tomorrow to see if that will work better and give it one more shot on the Garrett washers.
After that I'll just wait for new parts to arrive before toiling over it any more.
After that I'll just wait for new parts to arrive before toiling over it any more.
Jul 16, 2009, 12:18 PM
#11
Does anyone have the exact specs of the Turbo Oil Feed Line? Replacing the stock hard line with a Braided Stainless Steel line would need to be 30" minimum length and 36" would be about the max length for the Male to Male line.
I still could use some confirmation on:
1) Thread and connector size into the Mitsubishi Block = M10 x 1.25 ? (plenty of clearance, uses M10 washers)
2) Thread and connector size into the Garrett GT3076R bolt on turbo center cartridge = M11 x 1.0 ? Stock Evo X Turbo may be M12 x 1.25 ? (Somewhat space sensitive since my tubular manifold is about 3-4" above the threads, width wise the connector shouldn't be much wider than the banjo bolt currently in use. Uses M12 washers, 10mm 6 -point head, 18mm diameter cap to allow crush washers to seat against, body is 12mm diameter where as the threads are about 11mm diameter, overall Banjo bolt length is 35mm with the restrictor hole placed 21mm above the bottom of the bolt.)
The Garrett turbo center cartridge appears to have a restrictor below the female threads but I just don't know the exact stats because the tap and die set didn't have that size of course so I had to use my best guess. I really think that most FP Red, Dom 2 and Garrett turbo purchasers would opt to ditch the factory line if someone had these for sale! Trying to thread the brass banjo bolt with the clearances available was a total nightmare, eventually a 1/4" drive with tall 10mm socket held UNDER the rear coolant line would seat the best on the banjo bolt's head. Unfortunately the swivel joints and other angles I was attempting before have started to twist and round off the bolt so hopefully there is enough torque on it to hold the oil pressure.
Turns out that the Mitsu M12 washers are 18mm OD and 12mm ID while the Garrett supplied ones are 15mm OD and 12mm ID. They warn that as you tighten the Banjo bolt you have to ensure they all stay centered so I had to use a pick tool and small mirror to adjust them as I torqued the bolt down. The smaller OD of the Garret washers seats differently against the spacer they use and is VERY important to allow the setup to seal properly. Attaching and threading these lines is pretty easy when the turbo is off the car but they really need a more service friendly method of replacement with the turbo still installed.
I still could use some confirmation on:
1) Thread and connector size into the Mitsubishi Block = M10 x 1.25 ? (plenty of clearance, uses M10 washers)
2) Thread and connector size into the Garrett GT3076R bolt on turbo center cartridge = M11 x 1.0 ? Stock Evo X Turbo may be M12 x 1.25 ? (Somewhat space sensitive since my tubular manifold is about 3-4" above the threads, width wise the connector shouldn't be much wider than the banjo bolt currently in use. Uses M12 washers, 10mm 6 -point head, 18mm diameter cap to allow crush washers to seat against, body is 12mm diameter where as the threads are about 11mm diameter, overall Banjo bolt length is 35mm with the restrictor hole placed 21mm above the bottom of the bolt.)
The Garrett turbo center cartridge appears to have a restrictor below the female threads but I just don't know the exact stats because the tap and die set didn't have that size of course so I had to use my best guess. I really think that most FP Red, Dom 2 and Garrett turbo purchasers would opt to ditch the factory line if someone had these for sale! Trying to thread the brass banjo bolt with the clearances available was a total nightmare, eventually a 1/4" drive with tall 10mm socket held UNDER the rear coolant line would seat the best on the banjo bolt's head. Unfortunately the swivel joints and other angles I was attempting before have started to twist and round off the bolt so hopefully there is enough torque on it to hold the oil pressure.
Turns out that the Mitsu M12 washers are 18mm OD and 12mm ID while the Garrett supplied ones are 15mm OD and 12mm ID. They warn that as you tighten the Banjo bolt you have to ensure they all stay centered so I had to use a pick tool and small mirror to adjust them as I torqued the bolt down. The smaller OD of the Garret washers seats differently against the spacer they use and is VERY important to allow the setup to seal properly. Attaching and threading these lines is pretty easy when the turbo is off the car but they really need a more service friendly method of replacement with the turbo still installed.
Last edited by Hiboost; Jul 17, 2009 at 11:05 AM.
Aug 4, 2009, 10:18 PM
#13
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any update on the braided stainless line? i might just go to a local tuner shop to have them make me one.
im actually experiencing a minor leak now too...i used the stockwashers.
im actually experiencing a minor leak now too...i used the stockwashers.
Aug 27, 2009, 11:37 AM
#15
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After reading this thread right before my turbo install I decided to make my own stainless steel turbo feed line as mine was also kinked. This is what I did and if anyone is interested I can help them source out the parts or maybe even just buy it then ship it to you.
