Callaway's extra (turbo) oil sump, need advice

[malc350]

It's a bit oily under my turbos, so I've decided to have a liitle investigation before hanging myself if it turns out to be a turbo problem...

My rubber oil lines (from the extra "sump" on the cross member" to the turbos are old and feel a bit hard so I've gone and bought some proper oil line, new clips, new bolts, and gonna make some new gaskets to see if I can clean it up down there.

I have one pipe off and I'm letting the oil drain from the "extra sump" so I'll need to partially refill the oil.

What I'm wondering is: should I attempt to put oil directly into this sump before starting the car as I don't want to starve the turbos of oil, even for a second.

Or will oil find its way in there by just adding it through the cap in the valve cover (just loosen off the intercooler...)

 

[*89x2*]

if you know how much oil came out of the small turbo oil pan, I do not think it would hurt in the least bit to "pre-oil" by adding it back in, before starting.
As you mentioned, by completely draining, you may have a momentary period of very little oil going through :eek

I like your thinking An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, in this case, a quart of prevention

 

[90Callaway]

Oil collects in that sump after it's been cycled through the turbos. It's drawn back to the oil pan by the belt driven suction pump. So, no you do not need to prime the sump to get oil to the turbos. It exists because the turbos are below the level of the oil pan and the oil needs to be pumped "up hill" to get back to the pan.

 

[malc350]

cool

cheers guys!

 

[SurfnSun]

Malc I think the reason those lines feel hard is b/c they are steel braided...check to be sure before you toss them. I know the ones that run to the oil cooler are. They are steel braided with a rubber coating over the steel.

 

[8388]

If you do end up replacing the hoses, go with a hose that is made with Teflon on the inside.

 

[malc350]

Josh I know what you mean

The oil cooler lines are braided with a black plastic sleeve on them but the oil lines to the turbos are definitely just rubber. Actually they're not in bad condition if they're original which they probably are because they still had the original type clamps on them.

I was going to buy braided but after my local shop quoted me a ton of money I went to my local speedshop that do a lot of stuff specifically for turbocharged applications.

I bought some special hose (it says "oil hose, 350 psi" on it so it should be good enough).

Interestingly the other hoses (not sure without looking if they're oil or water) that run between the turbos, are braided. Sure you guys know the ones I mean, they get in the way of the oil drain plus and were hanging down slightly on my car (!) so I made a little steel brackets to keep them out of the way though I have to bend the brackets to get to my oil drain plug .

I cheack the lines fairly often but all looks in really good shape under there.

That oil sump thing I was on about sure looks a little lower than it should be though I haven't decked it yet.

 

[malc350]

Just finished putting the new lines in

As it happens, I hardly lost any oil at all so there was nothing really to worry about. New lines look good, shame nobody can see 'em!

 

[Peer81]

Buy a digital camera Malc
Or i'll take some pic's of them this summer (now find a way to get under your vette

Groeten Peter.

 

[malc350]

Hi Peter

don't know if they're worthy of a picture! Just made me feel good after.

The ironic thing is when I got under and had a good look at the turbos I think the oil is actually dripping down from somewhere else - most likely the rocker cover gaskets...!

 

[*89x2*]

Now that is a fairly common this with the small block Chevrolet

Easy enough fix though - I was checking out your site again today, I saw you had added new pix

Enjoy your B2K

 

[malc350]

Yeah, I'm keeping the Callaway faith

As you may know I looked at a couple of other vettes including modded examples with more HP but there's something special about knowing you have a Callaway.

When I first went to one the monthly regional Corvette Club meetings a couple of months ago, I was joined by about 10 or 12 members (pretty much all that turn up in winter) in the freezing cold car park who wanted to see my car.

Apparently they had "never seen a Callaway". How about that for exclusivity!

Did I open the hood.......

 

[TheCarVette]

Funny...I bought the first CALLAWAY I ever saw!