this sucks

I have an oil leak...I noticed oil dripping (not all that slowly) from under the car, right behind the driver's side intercooler. It was getting kind of dark and I was late for a class so I didn't get to look into it too much. When I got out of class, I checked my oil level, low but not empty. I went to Mobil and watched the oil pressure gauge (seemed normal), and bought some oil. I tried looking under the car in their parking lot, but couldn't see much, but the intercooler piping definantly has a bit of oil on it.

I'll have to wait until tomorrow morning. I'm hoping the filter just came loose or something, but I'm expecting alot worse...this sucks.

Damn, dosent oil in the intake mean a turbo is leaking?

Well I don't think its in the intake piping and it's not the intercooler piping, its behind the intercooler. I once again was denied the opportunity to check it out thoroughly because I left my jack at home, but I tried looking up under it and feeling around.

There are 2 tubes behind the driverside intercooler, both have oil lining the outside of the tubes. Also some oil has splattered onto other stuff, but it seems to be most prominant on one of these tubes. So either one of them is leaking, or there is a leak above and it is dripping down the tubes...however I can't see much from looking down on them.

Also I turned the car on, and it didn't seem to drip, but after I drive the car for a mile and park, I notice it dripping pretty fast.

This just pisses me off, and I wish I had a jack here with me now, so I could get the car up high enough to crawl under and see where it is leaking from and where those tubes run to.

dont forget to check an make sure the cooler isnt cracked itself- check the corners an what not...

Good Luck with her!
~Matt~

Well I had a chance to look and ask around, and I think it's one of the lines running to or from the oil cooler...so I may be upgrading to SS lines earlier than I had planned.
Any suggestions/thoughts?

Well at least its probably not your turbo.

Nope turbo is fine, but I gotta figure out if it is the line or the fitting, and then waste an hour or 2 out of my week and 20-75 bucks outta my wallet to fix this thing in the freezing cold...and while SS lines are definantly the way to go...at this point in time, I might have to go ghetto stock rubber hoses again due to price.

Would you ever have considred upgrading to the SS lines before this? Are they worth the cost?

ehh, for the turbo lines yes...the ones going to the oil cooler...possibly, but it wouldn't be high on the priorities list for me. Apparently, after having done some research, they have a tendency to rot/rust out in wintery colder climates after a decade or so. (which seems to hold true for my 96 in NY :) ) But prior to this, I hadn't heard of anyone upgrading the oil cooler lines to SS, unless they relocated the oil cooler to the front of the car by the radiator or a FMIC. Other than that, I don't think the majority of people really think about it all that much.

Well if theres no real gain except for longevity I say go rubber, I mean are you gonna have the car for another 10 years?

no one should ever sell a vr4 ....... ever i know im never gunna sell my SL. i just love these cars too much if i could i would buy all of them and dish them out to only those who are worthy mwaaahhahahaha jk lol

Go the ghetto route. Better to have a quick fix then let it go for much longer. These lines only go from bad to worse once they start leaking.

Well I checked it out today, and it's not the rubber line, but the hard line that connects the rubber line to the oil cooler...so right now I'm trying to decide how much I really want to spend on this, I've heard this part should only run $35, but the way the whole thing looks, I wouldn't mind swapping everything out for a new oil cooler and SS lines...but $350 is a bit hard to do right now.
Anyway, I suggest everyone who drives their vr4 in the colder climates...park your car, turn your wheels as far to the right as possible. Unbolt the 3 10mm bolts holding the wheel well plastic cover to the front bumper, peel it back, and check out the oil cooler and lines...mine were freaking nasty!

yeah, i had to replace the oil lines running to the turbos. The dealership cost 350 for parts and 350 for labor. it sucked

The hard lines can be purchased for about $20 each from one of the discount dealers. Try mentor Mits in ohio a search on 3si should get you the web address.

How hard the job is depends on the amount of rust on the joint bewtween the hard line and the rubberline.

make sure to get all the crush washers.

THe bolt that goes thur the line into the oil cooler is large at lease 22mm.

You can do the job by pulling the wheel and going in thru the fender plastic.

Already got the hardline, 8 crush washers and an extra banjo bolt in case from 3sx. Plastic fender is already pulled and I've been working on cleaning the rust with PB blaster and brake cleaner, while I've been waiting for the stuff to arrive.