Exhaust manifold leaking oil or??? (1 Viewer)

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Oct 22, 2019
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Was testing the arb air lockers today and when I tested the front I got a big puff of smoke and the sound of wheezing. Clearly the line had torn.

Looked underneath and It seemed like the exhaust manifolds were leaking oil? I couldn’t find a source of oil above/around them and each pipe had the same wet underside. I figured this hot oil then dropped onto the air hose and burnt through it.

Is this something common? The car leaks very little for it’s mileage (258k), just the occasional drip. I drove the car later and looked underneath and this same area was dry as a desert. The exhaust is pretty rusty and was to be replaced but I didn’t noticed it getting rusted through anywhere. Is the oil from a valve gasket leak or something?

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This is front passenger side.
Also to note I went out driving in the desert yesterday although I don’t expect that to be a factor. I had tested the lockers prior to leaving for that trip yesterday morning and they all functioned as normal.
 
Seriously?

That's the blown air line for your ARB's. That's oil from your compressor......blowing up onto the exhaust down pipe.

Can you not see that?
 
Seriously?

That's the blown air line for your ARB's. That's oil from your compressor......blowing up onto the exhaust down pipe.

Can you not see that?

I did actually think that made more sense but didn’t think anything but air would be coming through. I don’t have any experience withlockers.

no need to be so hostile damn
 
I did actually think that made more sense but didn’t think anything but air would be coming through. I don’t have any experience withlockers.

no need to be so hostile damn
Sorry, I thought you were being sarcastic.

Look at the pattern of the spray. It goes right up from the frayed spot on the hose. Couple that with a failed ARB actuator, looking at the oil dripping down the frame, the pattern is from the bottom up, not the top down.
 
Sorry, I thought you were being sarcastic.

Look at the pattern of the spray. It goes right up from the frayed spot on the hose. Couple that with a failed ARB actuator, looking at the oil dripping down the frame, the pattern is from the bottom up, not the top down.

yeah you’re talking to someone with little experience unfortunately

I did think that made more sense but again, just ruled it out because it was clearly oil and I figured If it was just the line that blew it would just blow air.

if I just replace the line is it that straightforward? Figure I should get a couple spares for future failures and just tape of the tear for now?
 
yeah you’re talking to someone with little experience unfortunately

I did think that made more sense but again, just ruled it out because it was clearly oil and I figured If it was just the line that blew it would just blow air.

if I just replace the line is it that straightforward? Figure I should get a couple spares for future failures and just tape of the tear for now?
Tape won't hold. You'll need a short piece of hose and two repair couplings. I don't think one repair coupling will be long enough looking at that tear.

This runs at 60 psi if I recall correctly, so go get a coupling from a hardware store. I assume that's 1/4" od tube, so you can get either the push-in kind (better) or the compression kind with ferrules. If compression kind you'll need the tube inserts or it will blow apart.
 
Tape won't hold. You'll need a short piece of hose and two repair couplings. I don't think one repair coupling will be long enough looking at that tear.

This runs at 60 psi if I recall correctly, so go get a coupling from a hardware store. I assume that's 1/4" od tube, so you can get either the push-in kind (better) or the compression kind with ferrules. If compression kind you'll need the tube inserts or it will blow apart.

oh sorry I meant tape it just to prevent any contaminants getting in it (taping it shut) while waiting for a new line to ship from arb.

Just wondering if I can switch the line out just that easy or do I need to worry about any of this compressor oil still getting in the line/locker system
 
oh sorry I meant tape it just to prevent any contaminants getting in it (taping it shut) while waiting for a new line to ship from arb.

Just wondering if I can switch the line out just that easy or do I need to worry about any of this compressor oil still getting in the line/locker system

Yes, see if you can tape it to keep contamination out.

It could also be gear oil it carried with it when the line blew and depressurized the differential.

You can do a line repair and use it while waiting for new line from ARB.
 
Yes, see if you can tape it to keep contamination out.

It could also be gear oil it carried with it when the line blew and depressurized the differential.

You can do a line repair and use it while waiting for new line from ARB.

cool thanks man. I’ll give it a shot. No need to line repair I’m not going anywhere for another week or two.
 
chances are that if its oil then your copper line inside of the diff has a hole in it and thats how oil is getting inside the line. There should not be oil in the air line.

Test this by fixing your broken hose and the engage the air locker and see if the compressor runs constantly. If it does then you have a leak, more than likely its rubbed on the ring gear.
 
cool thanks man. I’ll give it a shot. No need to line repair I’m not going anywhere for another week or two.
ARB air lockers are notorious for allowing gear oil to migrate into the air system. Honestly, it's not any sort of "disaster", as long as the system holds pressure.
However, if the air lines are good and the compressor runs continuously, the likely culprit is the air seal O ring inside the locker. The high pressure cutoff switch that ARB supplies is not very accurate and can overpressurize the system. Despite what ARB says, lockers will reliably engage at 68 to 70 psi. The cutoff switch runs around 90-100.

As previously mentioned, the hard line inside the diff housing could also be an issue if the install was done poorly, but more than likely it would have become an issue soon after installation.

The nylon ARB blue air line is easy to cut and splice with press on fittings.
Have a look at this old thread:
 

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