DSMTalk Forums: Mitsubishi Eclipse, Plymouth Laser, and Eagle Talon Forum banner
1 - 20 of 39 Posts

90GSTBOOSTED

· Registered
Joined
·
751 Posts
Discussion starter · #1 ·
I have had my 90 GS-T for a whole year and the dipstick never ever came out. Now I rebuilt the engine with all new parts, the car runs ok (still breaking it in so no normal driving yet). Yesterday, after doing all suggested breaking in steps, I was ready to push it slighly and feel the power of the 50-trim but my boost was set to wastegate pretty much and at 7 psi boost you can't really tell you have that turbo. However when I parked the car after five minutes my dipstick had popped out and there was some oil sprayed here and there.
For some reason my aftermarket oil pressure gauge, with the sensor mounted in place of the dummy oil dash light sensor, shows me that my oil pressure is above 100 psi all the time, as it slowly goes down to 80 as the car warms up but still acts weirdly. It's impossible to have such a high pressure, especially at idle. The gauge must be messed up, it's a cheap gauge after all.
I know the dipstick popped out due to crackcase pressure but how would that form??? My PCV valve has opened all the time as it does not go to the intake manifold but to a catch can instead and then vented out. It worked before the engine rebuilt and I never had problems so it can't be that.
Did I make a stupid simple but yet common mistake somewhere?? I don't have any crazy oil leaks due to extreme pressure, just minor small drops from the oil pan and/or my turbo oil drain tube because i did not tighten the bolt good.
I hope someone can point me in the right direction here. I did all the research I could have done but I can't figure out anything after checking some of the common problems.
Please HELP!!! I want to be able to boost my new 50-trim to a nice 20 psi without worrying about things popping out.
 
the seal does get old on the dipstick and it can just pop out with any pressure at all sometimes. others like to make some sort of ghetto rigged clamp to hold it in which honestly i think is stupid because its a band-aid, and fixing the crank case pressure issue is what will fix it.

In your case since the motor was just rebuilt, i'm assuming all is well and compression is good. id go ahead and check the rubber o-ring on the dipstick and see if you cant replace it if its worn, or drill the valve cover for another vent and "t" it into your catch as well. it CAN'T hurt to have two and you know your gonna need it eventually at high boost with a 50 trim anyway. NOt fixing the crank case pressure is gonna cause some nasty leaks to develop over time. (rear main, cam seals ect ect)

hope some of this info helps, good luck.
 
Discussion starter · #3 ·
It sure helps, thank you :)

I just read that new engines have this problem since the piston rings allow a lot of blowby until they fully seat themselves along the cylinder walls. I really hope that's the problem. In the meantime I will try to find a way to release this pressure build-up somehow to avoid more leaks. I will also check out the dipstick more closely, even though it feels just as good as before and I never had any problems with it before I did the rebuild.
By the way, the car does not smoke, any color at all! If there was blowby the car should be smoking blue from the oil, correct? The car has no smoke coming out from the exhaust and only smells rich at some times due to bad tuning at the moment.
I am scared to do a compression test because of the potential bad results but I think I have to in order to get to the bottom of all this. The theory of not-yet-seated piston rings might affect the results from the compression test so it will be really hard what the problem is.
Creating more venting holes or even only one on the valve cover might really help with the release of this excess pressure.

Please guys, if anyone has any other ideas or suggestions please help me.
I just went through 20 pages of different threads related to the word "dipstick" and I am still not really sure what the best thing is.
 
You'd only have Blue-Smoke if you were getting oil into the cylinders... As the rings seat, your problem should lessen. But replacing the O-Rings on the Dip-Stick, is a CHEAP (Home Depot-Plumbing Dept.) place to start in solving the problem...
 
91-Bluebird said:
Like already mentioned I wouldn't worry about the dipstick popping out as it's a common problem on these cars.
:huh:

But it's not normal, you wind up with oil all over your engine bay, and it can be fixed...

I don't know about you "Blubird" but I like to keep my oil inside the engine where it belongs... :wall:
 
Arctic_GST said:
:huh:

But it's not normal, you wind up with oil all over your engine bay, and it can be fixed...

I don't know about you "Blubird" but I like to keep my oil inside the engine where it belongs... :wall:

That's not what I meant. He's worried because the dipstick never popped out on him until after the rebuild thus the concren that it may have something to do with the rebuild. What I was trying to say is that its a common problem, not to worry about it, and simply get a new o-ring or ghetto rig it or whatever but not to get stressed over it. LOL yes oil spraying all over is not a good thing.
 
Arctic_GST said:
Yes, but the point is "Bluebird" that the op, posted looking for answers & fixes, not just a pat on the back "It's Ok..." LOL

Later, George

Yes "George" but since the solutions to fixing the dipstick had already been mentioned I was merely reiterating that the dipstick problem is indeed a 'common problem' so as to help put the guys mind at ease as far as that aspect is concerned -- sorry if you failed to understand that.
 
Lots of variable when you rebuild a engine. Take your time and check everything.

You think the PCV valve is good; doesn't mean it's good. Many time it turn out to be the little thing.

By not running pcv into the intake; you will have higher crankcase pressure. All the blow by is just vent and not being actively suck out.

Not really related:

Did you remove the balancer shaft while rebuild the engine? That can result in the high oil pressure. Make sure filter are of good quality. You can also use a oil restrictor to reduce the oil pressure going into the turbo.

I would use a junk turbo while the motor is broking in. Less chance of metal shaving going to the 50 trim.

--
David
 
obviously if he's blowing the dipstick out there IS A PROBLEM... pressure is forcing it out which means EXCESSIVE crank case pressure the oil drainback holes in the cylinder head DO LEAD straight down to the oil pan :) so yes the bottom end is pressurized causing the dipstick to blow out since its the only way out. start by checking pcv, and all hoses, if nothing else then drill and tap valve cover for another vent to try to rid the excess pressure.

/story
 
Discussion starter · #15 ·
Wow, that's a lot of responses in a day, thank you all for posting here and trying to help.

I will try to fix the dipstick from coming out so easy but regardless, I really hope it's only a temporary thing. Maybe it's "normal" for dsms to have their dipstick pop out but overall maybe the whole thing should not be happening, period. I will definetely make another hole on the valve cover with another outlet plug so it definetely releases more pressure.
I am hoping that this is all because of the rings not being fully seated yet. If getting a new dipstick is something that can help then I will get one to prevent my car getting on fire in the meantime. I still think there might be something fishy going on inside besides that. I will also connect my breather hose to the intake pipe of the turbo and I might just put a brand new PCV valve connected the right way, to the intake manifold. I wish I could put a pressure gauge that measures low to mediaum pressure inside the crackcase to monitor the pressure constantly.
 
You shouldn't have to tap another hole in the valve cover. If you just hook up your pcv and valve cover breather lines the way they are supposed to be hooked up, the turbo will suck out pressure in the valve cover during acceleration, and the intake manifold will suck out pressure during idle.

I understand why you would be concerned, but it's really not as bad as you're making it out to be. The grommet on the dipstick wears out over time and gets stiff, which causes it to not seal as well as it used to, making it easier for it to be pushed out.
 
Discussion starter · #17 ·
Well my car was apart for 4 months so I can see how the groomet could have gotten hard and stiffer in that time period with no lubrication whatsoever. I will get a new dipstick or at least fix the seals on this one and go from there. I will also connect everything the right way.
Thanks for all the help. Any other suggestions, please keep them coming, everybody.

94turbodsm said:
You shouldn't have to tap another hole in the valve cover. If you just hook up your pcv and valve cover breather lines the way they are supposed to be hooked up, the turbo will suck out pressure in the valve cover during acceleration, and the intake manifold will suck out pressure during idle.

I understand why you would be concerned, but it's really not as bad as you're making it out to be. The grommet on the dipstick wears out over time and gets stiff, which causes it to not seal as well as it used to, making it easier for it to be pushed out.
 
SINCE the dipstick popping out is a fairly COMMON PROBLEM on our cars I'd replace that asap and see if the new one pops out or not. PERHAPS your dipstick was borderline before the rebuild and there is in fact a slight but inconsequencial increase in crankcase pressure due to the rebuild and it's just enough to make it pop out now AND get you really freaked out in the process. IF you were to replace the dipstick and it didn't pop out anymore would your mind be put at ease? If so then you need to go get a new one.
 
94turbodsm said:
You shouldn't have to tap another hole in the valve cover. If you just hook up your pcv and valve cover breather lines the way they are supposed to be hooked up, the turbo will suck out pressure in the valve cover during acceleration, and the intake manifold will suck out pressure during idle.

I understand why you would be concerned, but it's really not as bad as you're making it out to be. The grommet on the dipstick wears out over time and gets stiff, which causes it to not seal as well as it used to, making it easier for it to be pushed out.
You are most likely right here, I bet he has the breather ports on the valve cover open to the atmosphere instead of having then hooked up right.

To the OP, even if the dip stick seal is less than optimal, it still shouldnt pop out. So you either have a bad pcv valve or you need to hook everything up the way it should be.
 
All this over a fucking dipstick? Dear christ... :rolleyes:
Do any of you guys OWN DSM's? :confused:

Take a pair of pliers... give the tube a slight squeeze with the stick in it...
Problem solved.

Jesus...

PS, my dipstick is from a 90...
My engine has <200 miles on it. It stays put.
Blow by is common in the beginning... but you should make sure your pcv, and breather tube are connected for good evacuation while your breaking it in. It helps the rings seal which is very important right now. (and later) The minscule amount of oil you might get in your intake etc right now is worth it until you get it settled.
 
1 - 20 of 39 Posts