My Nuts are Leaking! Mobile 1 Sux!

[RarlyL8]

Another lesson learned the hard way. Got a problem? Fix it yourself or some lame-a$$ will charge you $80/hr to screw it up more.

A routine valve adjustment left this undesirable side affect when the P-mechanic used Mobile 1 instead of the Penzoil 10W40 I told him to use. I had to waste $100 worth of oil and filters to put it back with the correct, less leak prone, dino. I'll also have to change the oil at least two more times to get all that expensive leak creating crap outta my oil cooler.

So here's the question: Why are my nuts leaking (besides the fact that I've been married for waaaaay too long)? Will replacing these nylon nuts cure the problem now that the oil has been switched back?

[bell]

if you told him to use dino why did you have to pay $100 for the mobil 1?
is there a chance the nuts are too loose/tight? maybe crawl under there with a torque wrench and check a couple, they should only be 6 ft.lbs or something like that.

[RoninLB]

Originally posted by RarlyL8
Fix it yourself or some lame-a$$ will charge you $80/hr to screw it up more.

Why are my nuts leaking (

Maybe your nuts will feel better if you install carbs?
otherwise I dab black silicone on threads before install, then clean 'em up at end of attachment.

[ruf-porsche]

Did you use new nyloc nuts after the valve adjustment? Nyloc is a one time use nut. When you purchase a valve cover gasket set for your engine it should have also contain new nyloc nuts.

[Steve87-911]

I can't answer your leaky nuts question but I'd be seriously PISSED (or super crotchety) if a wrench made such a bonehead mistake. Especially after you *told* him you want dino and especially after he drained dino from it. What was he smoking?

[RarlyL8]

At this point I couldn't be certain of anything this guy did. I was out of town when it all happened. Many turbo guys swear by Mobile1 so I let it go. Didn't notice the leaking 'till I smelled it a few days later.

Looks like maybe I should buy new nuts and change them out and re-torque one at a time. Sound reasonable?

As for carbs, I don't think they'd work well with the turbo.

[Eagledriver]

There is nothing wrong with your nuts. These don't seal anything. The gasket on the valve cover does the sealing. You can try tightening them slightly. I've found that the only seal that works well for me on these covers are the green ones with the bead of silicon around them. Also the pure silicon thick ones probably work well. Many times these covers are overtorqued and warp. The solution then is to have them resurfaced to get a flat face again. The choice of oil will not cause these covers to leak.

-Andy

-Andy

[MobileWrks]

I agree with eagle,its not you nuts AKA the ones on you car...also make sure the washer is crushed. usually tighten them till snug,and give them a quarter turn.. But the valve cover gaskets that i only use are the grey grafite ones,but also belt sand the covers for a second or too,too make sure they are flat..(i put them on dry)

[kqw]

re-torque and or change out the nuts.

or..you can take a chance and pull the covers to make sure that the gaskets didn't get pinched. If it is, your mechanic should be good for a new set of gaskets, nuts and oil.

[MartiniRacer]

Dino oil in a Turbo Engine ? Never heard that one before i must say. How many miles on the Turbo ?

[TC_SJ]

Originally posted by Eagledriver
The choice of oil will not cause these covers to leak.

-Andy

I heard the using Mobile 1 on older cars (Porsche) will cause leak ?

This happend on my Corvett and Porsche. I now using regular oil, and have not seen any leak thru the nuts or gasket

Just a comments

TC

[ruf-porsche]

If they used the old nyloc nuts they could be backing out since the purpose of the plastic insert is to prevent the nut from backing out. Like I said before, nyloc nuts are a one time use only.

[wastintime]

HEY HEY, no blaspheming! Mobil 1 is awesome! Sorry, just had to chime in, but I do agree with Bell, we've accidentally put Mobil 1 in a couple of cars and found out that the customer didn't want it, but we certainly didn't make them pay for it, you bite the bullet and make them happy. Unless it's a car that was factory filled with Mobil 1 and they didn't tell us specifically not to use it.

[beepbeep]

I run Mobil 1 on my turbo...it leaked from valve covers until I changed gaskets and retorqued valve cover nuts. So it wasn't the oil itself.

My guess is that your mech messed up somehow, either by overtorqeing the nuts, reusing nylock nuts, pinching the gasket or mix of forementioned misstakes. Mobil 1 is good stuff and these stories about synthetic leaking easier is not quite true as almost all modern oils (including minerals) have detergents that will "wash away" the sludge.

Unfortunately, due to these popular myths any sort of leak problem is often blamed on synthetic oil to begin with (if engine happends to have synthetic in it).

PP sells nice valve-cover gaskets with extra bead...these stopped my car from leaking even though i run fully synthetic.

[ischmitz]

Check if the covers are warped. That and/or old paper gasket residue is the reason for your leak. You might be surprised how even the later style turbo covers warp over time. You can sand them down on a true surface with 400 grid and your nuts will be bone-dry again.

On the topic of synthetic vs. dyno some swear that synthetic oil causes oil leaks because gaskets that are used to dyno shrink. Unless you plan on 15k miles oil change intervalls or have overheating problems I would stick with dyno. Why take chances.

ingo

[RarlyL8]

The fact, and the reason for my displeasure, is this engine had several very minor leaks from day one. They totalled one obligatory oil drip in the garage each time parked.

Now, after the Mobile1, each of these leaks is much much worse. There are no new leaks that I have found, the old ones have turned into gushers.

This will be my one data point for the myth buster. I have done nothing more than changed the oil to Dino. If the leak "heals" itself then Mobile1 is the culprit. If it does not we have no definitive result - the mechanic altered the system by changing the gaskets and nuts.

[SLO-BOB]

Blaming Mobil 1 for leaks is like blaming your car for getting speeding tickets. There is a pre-existing condition (as stated by you) that has been made more apparent by synthetic oil-that's all. Mobil 1 does not suck-your gaskets, torqueing, and/or valve covers do. Fix the root problem, the rest will follow.

I have a 2.7 that doesn't leak at all using Mobil 1.

[KLR]

Blaming Mobil 1 for leaks is like blaming your car for getting speeding tickets. There is a pre-existing condition (as stated by you) that has been made more apparent by synthetic oil-that's all.

This is such a tired line. Of course his existing leaks can be fixed and of course synthetic isn't causing them per se. So what? He started with a limited seep that didn't merit the hassle and expense of disassembling the motor to replace a variety of seals and now has "gushers" that are unacceptable. The benefit of going synthetic certainly doesn't outweigh the accelerated and unnecessary maintenance that may now be required.

Don't bet that the leaks will abate when you switch back, either. Some people are that lucky, but in many cases (e.g., the cam tower gasket on my 951 -- leaking right onto the crossover pipe), once you've opened the spigot, it'll just keep leaking.

[SLO-BOB]

Originally posted by KLR
This is such a tired line.

Someone's used that speeding ticket analogy before? And here I thought I was being original.

once you've opened the spigot, it'll just keep leaking.

and speaking of tired lines and even wive's tales.....

[ZOA NOM]

wow, tough crowd.