97 855R A couple leaks I found today..big deal??

koffinb · Post by **koffinb** » 06 Aug 2014, 18:19

Hey everyone. I am sure you all are getting sick and tired of me already

just trying to gain as much knowledge as possible about my new obsession. I found a pair of ramps my neighbir was throwing away today on the side of the curb so I decided to grab them. Now I can do my own oil changes in my driveway! I drove up on the ramps for two reasons. 1. To make sure the R's bumper would clear the ramps (It barely did) and 2. To have a look around and make sure everything was ok. Upon inspection under there I noticed a couple oil leaks and wanted to know the exact culprit of each and the severity. I never would have guessed as the dipstick is always showing full, and I never notice any oil stains on the ground either. I have tested the PCV and everything checks out, no blowing smoke or anything.

This is the first one...is this the infamous rear main seal leak?

And this is the second one. Turbo lines/seals

Are these both hard jobs that need immediate attention? I assume not, only because they seem to be very slow leaks, but hopefully you guys can shed your expertise and offer me the best honest advice.

Post by **abscate** » 06 Aug 2014, 19:20

No oil underneath and dipstick constant....probably year or 10k miles from attention at least

koffinb · Post by **koffinb** » 06 Aug 2014, 19:52

abscate wrote:No oil underneath and dipstick constant....probably year or 10k miles from attention at least

Ok. Was I right about the rear main seal and turbo line?

Post by **erikv11** » 06 Aug 2014, 20:49

Number 1 looks like a very slow leak from the RMS. As long as it stays that slow, you don't need to touch it. You could go to a higher viscosity oil, that might help contain it. Clean it up with brake cleaner and a rag every time you change the oil, that way you can monitor it. But don't inhale brake cleaner fumes while you are under there!

Number 2 is a turbo on an 850. Almost every one of the looks like that. It is probably leaking from the intercooler coupler hose on top of the turbo, but it could be a turbo seal or a leak on one of the banjo bolts. Like number 1, this does not require immediate attention as long as the leak remains slow. But it is much easier to fix if you need to.

koffinb · Post by **koffinb** » 06 Aug 2014, 21:12

erikv11 wrote:Number 1 looks like a very slow leak from the RMS. As long as it stays that slow, you don't need to touch it. You could go to a higher viscosity oil, that might help contain it. Clean it up with brake cleaner and a rag every time you change the oil, that way you can monitor it. But don't inhale brake cleaner fumes while you are under there!

Number 2 is a turbo on an 850. Almost every one of the looks like that. It is probably leaking from the intercooler coupler hose on top of the turbo, but it could be a turbo seal or a leak on one of the banjo bolts. Like number 1, this does not require immediate attention as long as the leak remains slow. But it is much easier to fix if you need to.

Thanks for your reply. You think maybe some 'high mileage Mobil 1' would slow it down a little? I heard those oils and some sort of sealant in them to help stop or slow down minor leaks.

babelfish · Post by **babelfish** » 07 Aug 2014, 08:44

koffinb wrote:Thanks for your reply. You think maybe some 'high mileage Mobil 1' would slow it down a little? I heard those oils and some sort of sealant in them to help stop or slow down minor leaks.

Yeah, it may help, and I can't imagine it would hurt.

The second leak you posted is probably the gasket on the oil return line (left of those two in your photo). The gasket's cheap, and a lot of people say it's an easy repair. I couldn't wrestle the damned return line out of there to clean it up and get the new gasket it and ended up just spending a half-hour's labor to have my mechanic do it. YMMV.

Post by **rspi** » 07 Aug 2014, 09:05

koffinb wrote: I heard those oils and some sort of sealant in them to help stop or slow down minor leaks.

No, oils do NOT have sealants in them, they have conditioners that are suppose to try to soften (and swell) the seals so they are not so hard.

As for the PCV test, have you done the glove test on the oil fill cap? When I got my car there was NO smoke coming from the dip stick and my system was old and clogged. I wish I could wave my hand over my computer and remove ever post about people pulling the dip stick out and checking it for smoke and thinking that is a "good" test. Again, mine did NOT smoke at all and I found a mention of doing the glove test over the oil filler and the glove nearly blew off. Caused a RMS leak and the ports on the block were 30% and 80% blocked.

koffinb · Post by **koffinb** » 07 Aug 2014, 09:15

rspi wrote:
koffinb wrote: I heard those oils and some sort of sealant in them to help stop or slow down minor leaks.
No, oils do NOT have sealants in them, they have conditioners that are suppose to try to soften (and swell) the seals so they are not so hard.

As for the PCV test, have you done the glove test on the oil fill cap? When I got my car there was NO smoke coming from the dip stick and my system was old and clogged. I wish I could wave my hand over my computer and remove ever post about people pulling the dip stick out and checking it for smoke and thinking that is a "good" test. Again, mine did NOT smoke at all and I found a mention of doing the glove test over the oil filler and the glove nearly blew off. Caused a RMS leak and the ports on the block were 30% and 80% blocked.

Okay, I will try the glove test and report back later today/ Thank you!

Post by **erikv11** » 07 Aug 2014, 20:38

babelfish wrote:... The second leak you posted is probably the gasket on the oil return line (left of those two in your photo). ...

Have to disagree here. If the turbo oil drain return leaks at the upper gasket, the pipe itself gets all oily, especially the flange where it attaches to the turbo. But the flange and the pipe are both bone dry in the pic. The oil is most likely coming from up above.

V70R-adrian · Post by **V70R-adrian** » 08 Aug 2014, 02:34

erikv11 wrote:
babelfish wrote:... The second leak you posted is probably the gasket on the oil return line (left of those two in your photo). ...
Have to disagree here. If the turbo oil drain return leaks at the upper gasket, the pipe itself gets all oily, especially the flange where it attaches to the turbo. But the flange and the pipe are both bone dry in the pic. The oil is most likely coming from up above.

What he said, I have had similar. Look behind the camshaft position sensor to see if there is any oil leaking from oil seal there. That will come down and drip from the bottom of the turbo.

Its only a few min to check out.