"New" motor, but oil everywhere under the hood, engine.

EvilStig

New member
Here's a link to a picture album with more descriptions under the photos: https://imgur.com/a/SeJ71

long story short, I bought this ST185 from a friend, the motor was rebuilt entirely with a factory new short block a few years back, but was done under duress by the dealership (they had blown the previous engine by not priming it with oil before starting it after an overhaul, and there was a long and drawn-out battle to make them fix it after that) so I wouldn't be surprised if they just did a really shitty job or even deliberately sabotaged it.

The rebuilt motor has only 48k miles on it, and the turbo, a CT27, has a little less than that.

The intake hoses had all started to rot away and so I've been going through trying to replace them, and in so doing found that oil is everywhere under the hood.

Supposedly there was a major power steering pump leak at one point, which soaked everything, but I'm really not satisfied with this explanation given where the oil is appearing, in the charge pipes, turbo, intercooler, plenum etc... in addition to on the turbo housing, and a ton dripping from the bottom of the motor.

I originally expected a turbo leak, but that was before I learned both the turbo and motor were only 50k miles old, not 150k like I initially thought, and there's no discernible play in the impeller shaft, so I'm now rethinking pulling it and sending it to be rebuilt if there's nothing wrong with it. The question is, where could all this oil be coming from? Any ideas?
 

FC Zach

Active member
This is my guess
"The charge pipes were completely saturated in oil and decaying, lots of vacuum leaks, they need to be replaced. The small hose leads to the PCV valve, so it could be just oil misting from the motor."

"The small hose leads to the PCV valve"
Our cars have a valve? If so, I have never seen it.

As for the leaks on the outside. . it could almost literally be coming from anywhere.
 

underscore

Well-known member
From my understanding yes. Replace the intake piping, clean things up and put a catch can on that line. Is the oil level dropping significantly? If it is then there's a leak that needs to be tracked down, if it isn't then it's probably just the remnants of an old leak.
 

EvilStig

New member
underscore":3ca6oqcn said:
From my understanding yes. Replace the intake piping, clean things up and put a catch can on that line. Is the oil level dropping significantly? If it is then there's a leak that needs to be tracked down, if it isn't then it's probably just the remnants of an old leak.

On that note, any leads as to where to acquire said intake piping?

All the OEM toyota suppliers I've tried say it's discontinued and unavailable for purchase, and no junkyard in town has an alltrac or MR2 turbo.
 

underscore

Well-known member
I've seen a few aftermarket companies that make a kit but that's it. Autobahn 88 and Samco come to mind. A 205 intake coupler can be used as well.
 

EvilStig

New member
underscore":1kuvty8q said:
I've seen a few aftermarket companies that make a kit but that's it. Autobahn 88 and Samco come to mind. A 205 intake coupler can be used as well.
saw the autobahn88 kit but it's branded left right and sideways and doesn't look stock. That's a problem for me in California since only OEM hoses or those which look identical to them will pass smog inspection :/
 

FC Zach

Active member
EvilStig":3i12kpjh said:
underscore":3i12kpjh said:
I've seen a few aftermarket companies that make a kit but that's it. Autobahn 88 and Samco come to mind. A 205 intake coupler can be used as well.
saw the autobahn88 kit but it's branded left right and sideways and doesn't look stock. That's a problem for me in California since only OEM hoses or those which look identical to them will pass smog inspection :/

Not sure which kit you found but this is similar to the Samco kit I have which is a direct replacement.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Autobahn88-...ash=item5433990060:g:WeUAAOSwYvFZEdQT&vxp=mtr

s-l500.jpg

s-l500.jpg
 

underscore

Well-known member
^ that's the Autobahn 88 kit. It is available in black as well, the logos should just be on top of the silicone so you should be able to remove them and make it look close enough to stock? I'm not sure how smog works down there but you might be able to show them the stock intake and how the kit is the same thing? I might have a set of stock hoses kicking around but as they're of the same vintage as your old ones I feel they may not last very long if used on a car much.
 
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