[6Speed]

I recently had a small oil leak that was pooling in the V of the engine. Since I just bought the car a few weeks ago I tend to inspect the car after every drive to see if everything looks as it should and notice a small pool of oil in the V of the engine. Before I purchased the car I knew it just had an oil change, so I assumed that it was probably when they changed the oil from a possible sloppy job on the filter removal. However, when I was cleaning it up with paper towels and then q-tips tapped to the end of shish kabob sticks (Lamborghini approved tool for the job) I noticed that there was small traces of oil way further along the back of the block then if it was just a sloppy oil filter change. I cleaned it all up the best I could and took the car for a quick drive. To no surprise at this point there were more small traces of oil pooling in the V of the engine. I searched all over and found a bunch of posts describing this happening to other owners, but couldn't find a good tutorial on how to get to it. At this point I went on the popular online lambo parts seller with the diagrams and found the various gaskets that would be needed. Based on where my oil was leaking I know it was coming from the main oil filter body housing gasket (part #07L103161D). However, after reading more about this common issue I thought it would be good practice from member suggestions to replace the oil pipe gasket (part #07L115359) along with the other common leaking source of the o-ring at the end of the pipe that connects it to the block (part #N91104101) as a preventive measure. Once I had the part numbers I went over to Lamborghini Dallas and got with Andrew Smith in the parts area. Andrew was really helpful, so if you're in the area pay them a visit.

Since I couldn't find a good guide online and have never taken apart a Lamborghini before I did significantly more than I needed to, so please learn from my mistakes... The job is not as bad as I made it for myself. I'll put my logic when disassembling as well below. Also, if you decide to take this on as with any automotive repair good organization of the parts that you pull off will pay their dividends later if you take the time to bag and label them.

Before you start I recommend getting 3-4 large bath towels or moving blankets from the house so that you can place one on each side of the rear quarter panel and then the rear bumper. I made sure the car was clean and free of debris prior to putting the towels down to avoid unwanted scratches.

Here is a photo of the leak that I was experiencing. This was apparent all the way back through the block and could also be seen from the gaps between the intake manifold piping down to the block.

Step 1) Remove the airbox hoses that connect to the throttle body. These are connected by (2) hose clamps on each tube. Just loosen the clamps and pull the hose free from the throttle body. I went ahead and took off the entire airbox upper assembly to make pulling them off easier, but this isn't needed.

Step 2) Remove the throttle bodies. These are connected to the intake manifold by 4 large hex bolts. Use an allen wrench to break the bolts free. Before loosening the bolts entirely or removing them disconnect the connectors connected to each throttle body. Take caution when removing them that there is a gasket between them and the intake manifold. You'll want to be careful to not bend them so you can reuse them. I set each throttle body aside on my work bench and put the long bolts back in them so I would know where everything was when it came time to reassemble. Also, the throttle bodies are both the exact same to my knowledge, but I went ahead and marked with blue tape which side was which just to be safe.

Now this next step is where I feel a bit dumb and hope that maybe, just maybe, my learning curve will be able to help someone else... I searched high and low to research before removing anything. I searched on how to remove the intake manifold so I could freely work on the gaskets for the oil filter housing. I won't be receiving any awards for my googling skills after this, because I could not find any answers to how to remove the intake manifold on our early gallardos besides everyone saying it's easy. In my genius brain I thought I needed to remove the top half of the intake manifold to remove the lower portion. I'm here to share the good news to anyone who isn't aware that it isn't the case and will save you an hour if not two (such as in my case) if it's your first time doing this. Normally this wouldn't be a big deal, but let me tell you what a pain in the a$$ it was to get a star bit into the tiny crevices where the bolts live. Also, half of them are from the bottom side and it's almost impossible to not drop a bolt. Enjoy the next few photos of our beautiful engine, but this part was not needed and I will call these bonus learning photos. I won't post steps to this since it wasn't needed, but if anyone was having trouble removing this for other reasons, like powder coating it, just let me know and I'm happy to help.

Step 3) Remove all hoses. There are quite a few lines that are connected to the intake manifold. Removing them is pretty simple. I took pictures to ensure that I put them back correctly, but to be honest it wasn't that bad. To remove the first few you will need a pair of pliers (ones without teeth would be preferred here to not mar the clamps) to slide the clamps down. Simply squeeze them and slide them down a few inches and then just gently pull off the hoses. These may seem stuck at first, but just keep pulling straight out with force building to not break or bend the metal parts they connect to with the manifold. These aren't cheap or easily available.

 

[6Speed]

Step 4) The next two hoses to remove are a bit larger, but just as easy. The are located in the back on the intake manifold. Simply use a small socket or a flat head screwdriver to loosen the clamps and pull them off.

Step 5) Remove the fuel rail wiring harness for the fuel injectors. The thick black wiring harness is connected to the intake manifold by three (3) bolts on each side on the engine. This is the start to where taking your time will pay off. A trick to carry forward from this point on is using an automotive magnet extender at the end of loosening a bolt to catch each bolt in case it were to fall down into the engine area. The last thing you want is to have to hunt down a bolt that didn't hit the floor. You could also stuff some microfiber towels around to catch anything. Now moving on.. Remove all the bolts holding the wiring harness with the clamp and gently pull it out of the way so you can better see the 10mm bolts you'll need to remove shortly to separate the intake manifold. NOTE: I attempted to remove the fuel rail and the fuel injectors to both inspect them since I had them accessible and make it easier to get to these bolts connecting the manifold, but I could not seem to pull the fuel rail out without forcing it and hitting the tips of the injectors. So I opted to leave them in place.

Step 6) Remove the bolts that connect the top half of the intake manifold bolts. I believe there was six (6) to each side, but since it's been a few weeks I can't quite remember. To start out, if you were like me and left the fuel rail in place the best tool for this job is a wrench with a flexible head similar to the attached. It's not needed, but it definitely makes the job easier to have both. I picked one up on amazon for around $10.

Next, I would recommend starting from the front and working your way back. To get to the first bolt up front it's best to go ahead and lift the green/black connectors up and pull them out of the way so you can see the first bolt. No need to disconnect them, they literally are just sitting in a cutout for them.

Now that you have those clips out of the way go ahead and use the 10mm wrench to loosen all the bolts. I started taking a mental note of how tight bolts were as I pulled things off since torque specs simply don't exist. Work your way down and I would recommend that once the bolt is good and loose to bring in the extendable magnet to save you and grief from dropping a bolt. This is especially helpful for the bolts in the back closest to the cabin. They are hard to get to and easy to drop. I apologize I didn't get great photos since it was such a pain, but this is where the bolts are located and they just follow down the line on each side. Take care to bag these bolts and label them if needed to keep things organized.

Step 7) Remove any remaining plugs/wires and double check your work that the manifold will be free from any obstacles when removing. Here are a few connectors that you should remove and I don't think I've mentioned yet.

Step 8) Remove intake manifold. After making sure everything is free and then double checking you're ready to pull up and lift the intake manifold off. It's best to have a second set of hands on this one if you have a family member or friend able to help. However, I was working late in the garage and was able to do it myself. I covered and protected the rear bumper and all the way leading to the manifold then leaned my body into where my hands could grip in the middle of the intake manifold and I lifted up. It lifted right up with minimal effort besides the weight of it. Make sure to have a blanket for you to rest it on a table of the ground to ensure that you don't mare the aluminum.

You can really see all the oil and how it worked it way all the way down from the leak.

 

[6Speed]

Step 9) Remove the oil pipe. Before you can take the oil filter housing off you'll need to remove the oil pipe. Go ahead and maneuver the fuel like and sensor wires out of the way best you can by separating them from the plastic connector that holds them together. There are six (6) bolts you'll need to remove, but you'll want to do a little prep work prior to loosening them. When you loosen the back two bolts that are at closest to the cabin it is going to leak a bunch of oil. There really isn't a way around this. With that being the case it's best to prepare for it by placing a small catch pan underneath the car where the oil is going to drip down. Also, it's not a bad idea to shove some paper towels around to help absorb the oil. Take mental note of the force required to break the bolts loose since there are no official torque specs. After you remove those two bolts go ahead and loosen the four other bolts that hold the oil pipe to the oil filter housing. The oil pipe should now be free and easy to remove. When you remove it there is still going to be oil in the pipe, so after you pull it up turn it over so the oil won't easily flow out. I drained the remaining oil in an old oil container.

Step 10) Remove the oil filter housing. First you'll need to discount the sensor (pressure sensor?) that connects to the housing. Just gently release the clip and pull the sensor up. Take care to not push the clip too hard and snap the plastic.

Next, remove all eight (8) bolts that hold the oil filter housing in place. Take mental note of the force required to break the bolts loose since there are no official torque specs. Once removed the housing should pull up fairly easily. Please note that I did not remove my oil filter prior to this, so there is still a good amount of oil in there. I just flipped it upside down quickly and brought it over to my makeshift table.

Step 11) Clean the engine. This is a good time to really get the oil spills cleaned up from the removal. I used paper towels to get the big puddles and finished up with q-tips to get the little nooks and crannies. Also, take the time to kinda wipe off the sealing areas from the oil on it. I cleaned the areas well to ensure there was a good flat sealing surface free from debris when we go back to install.

Step 12) Replace all gaskets/o-rings. Now that everything is removed go ahead and remove all the gaskets/old o-rings. Please note that these pieces are made out of aluminum and you should not use a screwdriver or anything metal to remove them to ensure that you do not mare the sealing surface. I used a small wooden toothpick to remove the old o-ring on the oil pipe and the other gaskets just removed by peeling them off. After I removed everything I took the time to clean the surface really well with a paper towel and a little brake cleaner to make sure there was a clean surface to reseal everything. Before placing the new o-ring at the end of the pipe I also took some oil from the housing and slid it around the o-ring to ensure a nice fit later.

Step 13) Reinstall the oil filter housing to the block. I figured out which direction the gasket needed to go then laid that down on the block and lined everything up. Then I went ahead and gently set the oil filter housing on top of the lined up gasket and made sure everything lined up.

Next, go ahead and reconnect the sensor to the oil filter housing and put all the bolts back in place. I used the magnet extender to easily place them back in their holes. Tighten everything down alternating sides similar to a tire. Get everything snug then alternate sides as you tighten everything down. I used the official lamborghini german torque spec of "good-and-tight". The best way I can explain the torque I used was similar to what anyone would do for an oil drain plug and then I put a little extra love into to be sure it didn't leak, but also not too tight to where I was worried about breaking a bolt. Now that you think you're down go back around to every single bolt in a clockwise motion to be sure you don't miss a bolt. Getting back in here later would be a pain in the butt, so make sure you didn't skip a bolt on accident by going around once more final time..

Step 14) Reinstall the oil pipe. Now that you have fresh o-rings and gaskets on the oil pipe you're ready to put it back in place. If you didn't already put a little oil on the end of the o-ring do so before installing. I laid it down and connected the four (4) bolts to the oil filter housing first since you kinda have to hold the gasket. However, before tightening anything down I made sure I had some play in the pipe so I could get the top two (2) bolts in place. Once the top two bolts and the lower 4 bolts are all started go ahead and start snugging everything down using the previous above methods and torque specs. Go around to all the bolts again to be extra sure you got them all. Once again, getting back in here later would not be fun. Take the extra minute to be sure everything is snugged down.

Go ahead and put the fuel lines and sensor lines back in place and clamped together using the plastic holder. Now, get in there and do one more final cleaning with q-tips, paper towels, etc. Depending on your analness time will vary here.

Step 15) Reinstall the intake manifold. Now that you've gone through to be sure you connected everything and torqued everything down it's time to put the intake manifold back on. I'm not sure it's needed, but I rubbed a small amount of oil on the o-rings for the manifold to hopefully preserve them a little. Once again, an extra set of hands here would be prefered by anyone if available. However, it's not impossible to do by yourself as I did since I was working late in the garage and wanted to get the job done. Prep the engine to be sure it's free and there is a clear path for the manifold to go in place. A moving blanket over the airboxes is great so you can set the manifold on it and position yourself before you lift it into place. There are two pins that will position the manifold exactly where it needs to be. Lift if back double check your position then gently set the manifold in place. You should feel those pins line up and it feels perfectly in place.

Step 16) Bolt down the intake manifold. NOTE: It is HIGHLY recommended to use a magnet trick I learned online years ago (can't take credit for this idea) to reinstall the bolts to the intake manifold. Take a small rare earth magnet (I purchased a small tube of these from harbor freight for like $1.99 and they are no bigger than the end of a pencil eraser. If you have a name tag from a conference those are pretty much the same magnets) and drop it in a rubber glove pointer finger hole and put the glove on. This will give you great control over that bolt to put it in place without fear of dropping it into the abyss.

 

[6Speed]

I placed all of them in their holes using this trick before sugging anything down. On the off chance you do still drop a bolt and can't find it and need to remove the manifold again you want to make it as easy as possible. So once you get them all in place start the bolts using your fingers. I used both hands and slowly worked them in until my finger couldn't twist them anymore. I worked my way down then went back with the 10mm adjustable wrench to snug everything down. This took a considerable amount of time for me with the small spaces. Just be patient and take your time.

Step 17) Bolt the fuel rail back to the manifold. Do the exact opposite of step 5. Ignore the fact that the top of my intake manifold is off.

Step 18) Reconnect all plugs from step 7 and position the green plugs from step 6 back into place by resting them in their set spot.

Step 19) Reinstall all vacuum lines and hoses from steps 3 and 4.

Step 20) Reinstall the throttle bodies from step 2 and reconnect the wiring harnesses for each one until you hear the click or they are firmly connected.

Step 21) Reinstall the airboxes.

Step 22) Double check everything one last time. Use a flash light and walk around to double check everything you removed is connected and nothing is out of the ordinary. Also, make sure you removed all tools, etc from the engine area.

Step 23) Replenish a little oil. During the removal you lost a little oil. I put back in 1/4 - 1/2 qt prior to testing the engine just to top off what we lost.

Step 23) Prime/Start engine. Start your engine like normal and monitor the gauges to ensure the oil pressure is good and there are no lights on the dash. If everything went according to plan it should be as good as new. If everything looks normal in the driver's seat go back to the engine area and check for leaks with a flashlight at engine idle. I gave my engine a couple good revs once it was warm and reinspected.

Step 24) Quick test drive. I drove around the neighborhood and re-inspected to not find any oil leaking. Take note that any oil that might have been in the V will slowly work it's way to the little nooks and crannies, but if you dab those off after your first drive with a q-tip and extender it should be dry. This is where double checking you got all the bolts will pay off.

Step 25) Crack an ice cold bush latte. You're done!

It's been a couple weeks since I did this repair and I know I didn't capture all the photos. Hopefully, I didn't forget much and this helps someone else out there with this common Gallardo issue! Good luck!

 

[Kai]

thank you for taking the time to take photos and posting this!, it is great for anyone who will need to do this in the future.

 

[doug_porsche]

Wow,

I didnt know something that beautiful was hiding under those covers.

 

[DiabloClyde]

Holy mackerel, that's a fine job and fine write up! Awesome on you for sharing such detail. BTW, you deserve more than a Busch Latte?!?

I love the magnet-in-a-gloved-finger trick. Wow, what a great idea that would have saved me soooo much time on my Diablo over the years. A couple of questions if you don't mind:
1) did the throttle bodies simply plug back in, no re-adjustments needed, straight plug and play? You felt comfortable re-using the T/B gaskets?
2) you ordered 2 new intake manifold gaskets, 1 oil housing gasket, 2 o-rings on either end of the oil pipe, and 10 o-rings for the intakes. Did you use any gasket sealers such as Hylomar? Roughly how much in parts was that, if you don't mind my asking?
3) sorry if I missed it, but roughly how many hours solo was this?
4) did you ever get a sense for why the leak? Given how many times I've heard stories of oil seepage from the oil filter gasket and 2 o-rings on the oil pipe, I suspect the factory did not torque down the bolts in this area enough and over many heat cycles and vibrations they loosened enough to seep. Or, did you see a gasket or o-ring that had failed or aluminum oil pipe flange that warped?

I'll share a few tricks I use for dealing with my personal nemesis, gravity. I tape sockets to their extensions or to the wrench to avoid the sockets dropping off no matter how tight the fit. As for your comment about unscrewing the upside down bolts from the intake covers, I also use tape across the opening of the ratchet side of the wrench, not tight enough to stick and make the ratchet not work but tight enough to prevent the bolt from dropping through. Finally, here is a tool for every Lamborghini owner, a bendable drill gun extension perfect to getting into offset, hard to reach or tough angle spots.

 

[6Speed]

Holy mackerel, that's a fine job and fine write up! Awesome on you for sharing such detail. BTW, you deserve more than a Busch Latte?!?

I love the magnet-in-a-gloved-finger trick. Wow, what a great idea that would have saved me soooo much time on my Diablo over the years. A couple of questions if you don't mind:
1) did the throttle bodies simply plug back in, no re-adjustments needed, straight plug and play? You felt comfortable re-using the T/B gaskets?
2) you ordered 2 new intake manifold gaskets, 1 oil housing gasket, 2 o-rings on either end of the oil pipe, and 10 o-rings for the intakes. Did you use any gasket sealers such as Hylomar? Roughly how much in parts was that, if you don't mind my asking?
3) sorry if I missed it, but roughly how many hours solo was this?
4) did you ever get a sense for why the leak? Given how many times I've heard stories of oil seepage from the oil filter gasket and 2 o-rings on the oil pipe, I suspect the factory did not torque down the bolts in this area enough and over many heat cycles and vibrations they loosened enough to seep. Or, did you see a gasket or o-ring that had failed or aluminum oil pipe flange that warped?

I'll share a few tricks I use for dealing with my personal nemesis, gravity. I tape sockets to their extensions or to the wrench to avoid the sockets dropping off no matter how tight the fit. As for your comment about unscrewing the upside down bolts from the intake covers, I also use tape across the opening of the ratchet side of the wrench, not tight enough to stick and make the ratchet not work but tight enough to prevent the bolt from dropping through. Finally, here is a tool for every Lamborghini owner, a bendable drill gun extension perfect to getting into offset, hard to reach or tough angle spots. View attachment 288765

Sure thing, Clyde!

1) did the throttle bodies simply plug back in, no re-adjustments needed, straight plug and play? You felt comfortable re-using the T/B gaskets? - Simple plug and play! Also, I felt fine reusing the gaskets on them as I took care taking them off to not bend or warp them. It was pretty simple and they even have alignment pins to make sure they go on properly. Very easy and only took a few minutes. Just 4 long allen key bolts and the wiring harness.

2) you ordered 2 new intake manifold gaskets, 1 oil housing gasket, 2 o-rings on either end of the oil pipe, and 10 o-rings for the intakes. Did you use any gasket sealers such as Hylomar? Roughly how much in parts was that, if you don't mind my asking? - I actually only bought and felt the need to replace the main oil filter body housing gasket (part #07L103161D), oil pipe gasket (part #07L115359) and the o-ring at the end of the pipe that connects it to the block (part #N91104101) in my particular case. Every other gasket/o-ring I reused as I didn't see any wear or need. I will note that I did originally purchase 10 o-rings for the mid level intake manifold that you can see in the photos, but ended up deciding that I didn't need them. I had asked Lamborghini Dallas if they recommended any gasket sealer and it took a few days for a response and I had already finished the job. However, they did say the recommend using "Three Bond High Performance/Adhesion Liquid Gasket TB1207B" to create a good seal in addition to the gasket. However, I didn't do this as when I took apart the parts I did not see any sealer from the factory and thought to myself it wasn't needed and the primary reason it was leaking was loose bolts. If I had some I probably would have thrown it on, but I'm not too concerned about it leaking again in the immediate future since I know I snugged them down good since I did it myself. If it leaks in the near future, which I don't expect, I'll post a follow up and will be sure to use this. I answer this a little more in your other question below. Total cost for those three gaskets/o-rings was right around $150. Expensive for a few gaskets, but cheap as that was my entire expensive for this needed repair! I imagine this would cost well north of $1k at a dealer, but that only just a guess from other posts I've read.

3) sorry if I missed it, but roughly how many hours solo was this? - I did this over the course of about 4 nights after work studying the engine from parts diagrams, figuring out what was safe to take off and organizing the parts as I dissembled in labeled ziplocks so assembly would be easy. I probably had 10-15 hours in it solo. I was being really careful studying things as this was my first time taking my new car apart and as we all know parts are expensive if you break something haha. I did the entire reassembly in about 3 hours though once I got a good feel for it all. If I had a guide similar to this or had to do it again I would estimate it taking around 6 hours probably if you take your time and stay organized. It's really not a bad DIY once you do your first one.

4) did you ever get a sense for why the leak? Given how many times I've heard stories of oil seepage from the oil filter gasket and 2 o-rings on the oil pipe, I suspect the factory did not torque down the bolts in this area enough and over many heat cycles and vibrations they loosened enough to seep. Or, did you see a gasket or o-ring that had failed or aluminum oil pipe flange that warped? - You bring up a great point! Your suspicion if the same conclusion that I came to after I finished the work. When I started to loosen the bolts on the oil filter housing I was paying close attention on how much force was needed to break the bolts free as there are no official torque specs from Lamborghini I was told by a lambo tech. On the primary areas where the oil was pooling the bolts were extremely easy to break loose. I honestly think I could have just snugged them down and been good to go. However, obviously replacing everything is good practice and I had the parts ready. The front o-ring was not leaking (yet), however, I will say that after 16 years of being torqued down it did look a little smooshed and I was glad I replaced it as it was just a matter of time before that started to leak too. Also, from my limited research I think the more common issue here is actually the small o-ring at the end of the pipe for most owners, which just gets smushed down over time and is your everyday basic rubber o-ring. The actual gaskets seem high quality to me.

Thanks for the tips! I'll keep those in mind next time too. I definitely need to buy that bendable extension! I can't tell you how handy that would have been to know about trying to remove the back bolts from the top cover of the intake manifold!! We live and learn.

- Tyler

 

[DiabloClyde]

Tyler, you are really amazing. Good on you for tackling this and writing it up in such a detailed fashion for others. I'll be doing this repair one day, I suppose, and this is a must-read for it. Another question for you: you could see the oil pooling as you mentioned but do you estimate there to be any way to access these bolts down in there to tighten them up without doing the entire job you did? Maybe using a mirror or an endoscope/video to see what you are doing while you would somehow get a wrench down there to tighten?

Note to others doing this in the future: consider drilling a small hole in each of the oil filter housing nuts and oil pipe nuts for stainless steel wire to be threaded through once torqued down as safety wire to prevent them loosening up later on. It would be extra work on a drill press to do so but peace of mind given these seem to suffer vibrational or heat cycle loosening over time.

 

[6Speed]

This forum has been a great resource for me over the years, even prior to my buying my car so I knew what to look for and all the common issues, and I'm happy to contribute what I can to hopefully help someone else down the road who has this issue or any other! I'll be posting a few other repairs/preventative maintenance items that I'll be doing over the coming months and I'll write up and document them as well.

It might be possible to get to a few bolts and snug them down if you had the perfect length extension and a small wrench, but it would be really hard if not near impossible to get them all. One of them is even hidden underneath the oil pipe. I know you have a spider, so it may not be as easy as us coupe owners to get a view from the back of the engine, but it's in a really really tight space. Also, it would be near impossible to properly clean up the oil from the leak even if you were able to. There are so many little nooks and crannies the oil gets into! In my opinion, if it's leaking chances are it's pretty old, saturated from the leak and it would be a good idea to replace and clean your engine while you're there so you can sleep sound knowing you fixed it instead of mending the issue and worrying every drive if it's going to leak again! I drive with confidence and peace of mind that it's fixed now!

Great idea on the safety wire!! I see airplane mechanics use this trick and never thought about bringing that to our cars. That would be a great addition for anyone familiar with that process and has the proper machining tools!

-Tyler

 

[Kenny94945]

Outstanding Post.
Tips, tricks, clear directions.
Thank you.

 

[osti33]

Great write up! Thank you for sharing it with us.

 

[Ozzir]

Holy SH#T. Great post. Its great to have more DIY guys on here to post their repairs.

 

[Vet_Lars]

Great work! Thank you!👌

 

[eaks]

Great write up. I had a similar issue (mine was actually the oil filter housing gasket).

Massive oil leak.. Help

Hey guys, I was out for a drive Saturday morning and on one hard acceleration there was some loose gravel and I bounced off the rev limited.. I also noticed a bit of smoke from the engine bay.. I pulled over and noticed a slight leak. I decided tk head home.. On any acceleration there would be...

www.lamborghini-talk.com

Too bad you didn't see my post prior to you taking this on (I know the intake manifold gasket is fairly expensive).. Wasn't nearly as detailed but

Your post is a hell of a lot more informative then mine. Great job!

 

[rjpalaypay]

thanks for sharing your great work! Love the glove/magnet trick!