Oil Leak

[ryans_supra]

I just recently had to replace the coolant gasket that mounts the hardline right below the exhaust manifold. in the process i had to remove the turbo and the exhaust manifold to get access to it. I replaced the seal on everything that i took off with new gaskets, washers, o rings. after putting everything back together and was ready to purge the cooling system it started the car and noticed a really bad oil leak comming from the large return oil line from the turbo.
when i had everything off i tried my best to clean the gasket mating surface but evidently i did not do a good enough job and will now have to do the turbo twice. at least it only takes me 30 minutes to pull the turbo being my second time doing it

Now for the question. What have people used to clean the mating surfaces well enough to get a seal? that gasket was baked on there and would not come off. Second question is did anyone use anything in addition to just the gasket? (ie: Liquid gasket)

Thanks (sorry for the long post)

Ryan

 

[Idealsupra]

a rzor blade and brake cleaner is the best option for cleaning...

toyota FIPG would probably work well there i think it should hold to any heat and its oil resistant anyways since its used for the oil pan as well...

 

[wh0wants2know]

i used MEK (methyl ethyl ketone). that shit dissolves anything, just DON'T get it into your oil system or you'll wish you hadn't. also, if you touch it, it burns like hell, so don't touch it. don't ask me how i know that, but i did use this stuff on tha same seal. HOWEVER, are you SURE that it's the seal that's leaking? that flexpipe is easy to break if you twist it wrong (again, ask me how i know that. . .) so i would double-check it. i wouldn't personally use the toyota FIPG because i would be concerned that the excess of the material might get into the oil system and clog that line. the oil pan i wouldn't worry about as much because there's a filter that will catch this crap before it hits anything in the engine, but i would not like having a small area like that get clogged with gasket material or even to impede the flow of oil at all.

 

[ryans_supra]

I know for sure because the source of the leak is right above the passanger side engine mount. the flex tube had no oil on it when i pulled it out. I guess i will just keep cleaning it till i get every last piece of the old gasket off.

 

[theDon]

I just did this during a turbo upgrade and had the same issue with the gasket being "caked" on the block REAL good. I used a razor blade mostly and also used dremel tool for some fine touches to get the surface preped. I used OEM replacement, nothing more nothing less.

I took my time and did it as best I could and enjoyed hugging my supra for a good hour or so

 

[ryans_supra]

thanks for the info. i pulled the studs and used a razor blade and cleaned up the surface real well. It was built up on the outside edges of the studs and without removing them it is impossible to prep it. this time around it should seal.