oil leaking from intercooler connections

[rockymtnslayer]

Hi lads I noticed a wee oil leak this morning and while looking around the engine I noticed oil leaking from the intercooler connections, especially from the turbo side. Im guessing this is bad news? Turbo seals gone?

 

[solarman216]

Not necessarily, they all pass a bit of oil, I have yet to remove an inter-cooler from any motor and find no oil in it, it depends how much is passing, if you are not using any oil then it is nothing to worry about, just check the clips are tight, worm drive are better than the springy ones, Rick

 

[Daemo]

Maybe not seals, think barbeast did a strip down and rebuild on his patrol which will be similar and worth a look on his build thread. You get oil residue going through might just need everything cleaning and new gaskets, wash out inter cooler with kerosene or similar. Think barbeasts intercooler was split.

 

[Banshee]

Hi lads I noticed a wee oil leak this morning and while looking around the engine I noticed oil leaking from the intercooler connections, especially from the turbo side. Im guessing this is bad news? Turbo seals gone?

Chances are there will be splits in he pipe caused by the clamps being too tight and the pipes just getting old

 

[rockymtnslayer]

Brilliant. I will check the beasts thread. So the oil leak is coming from somewhere else its dropping around about a 15cm patch of oil a day but really not noticed on the dipstick. Did piss my mum off leaving oil on her new garden driveway. Mybad

 

[Banshee]

Brilliant. I will check the beasts thread. So the oil leak is coming from somewhere else its dropping around about a 15cm patch of oil a day but really not noticed on the dipstick. Did piss my mum off leaving oil on her new garden driveway. Mybad

It happens bro, I'm looking at getting something that I can slide under the car every night then just slide it into the garage when I leave for work. I've just moved into a new house (renting with the girlfriend) and I've had nightmares where I've woken up because I dreamt the sump had opened up :lol :lol

 

[Barrbeast]

Yeh a little bit of oil can make a big patch!

You'll always get a bit of oil in the intercooler as the crankcase breather vents into the air intake (after the filter) but for some reason Nissan intercoolers have pressed edges rather than being fully welded and over time they'll start to leak air (and oil) along the seams :doh so you make a mess and you're engine loses performance!

Like Daemo says I recently replaced my intercooler with an aftermarket fully tig welded one as mine was leaking :thumb2

 

[Davey Boy]

Ordered mine today from the land of Oz:thumb2
My crimped edges are letting by now.

 

[solarman216]

just cos you may be leaking a little oil does not mean your power output is diminished, if you are able to detect a hiss of air then maybe, but not otherwise, Rick

 

[Barrbeast]

Totally agree Rick, mine was leaking oil for while with no noticeable effect but it started getting worse and performance was down. Fitting a new one solved things.