Front Oil Cover Leak? Easy Fix? *PICTURES*

[dongoesby]

I have the SR motor pulled out and noticed some nasty grease around the front of the engline block. I checked around and like to know if you guys can confirm with me that these seem like the front oil cover has been leaking on this motor for a period of time.



The grease seems thick and appears to have been there for a quite long period of time. The wet spots are just some Mean Green that I sprayed on it planning to clean the greases off.





At first, I thought the head gasket was leaking, but after close examination, the grease seems appear around the front oil cover. It seems that it needs new RTV. Is it easy to remove it? Do I have to take off the head to have it removed?

Thanks. Much appreciated!

[Mister.E]

if you read the FSM you will clearly see that it is no easy task. you have to damn near disassemble the whole engine to take the front cover and pump off.

[dongoesby]

i've seen people done it without head off. pretty much crank pulley off, lower oil pan off and higher oil pan off.

I want to confirm if this seems leaking. thanks!

[aNskY]

head doesnt have to come off, but upper pan does. it's pretty easy when the motor is on a stand...

[Mister.E]

my motor is doing the same thing and i have yet to figure out where its coming from.

[dongoesby]

Originally Posted by E Double

my motor is doing the same thing and i have yet to figure out where its coming from.

how is your compression? mine is 145-140-145-150

[aNskY]

Originally Posted by dongoesby

how is your compression? mine is 145-140-145-150

Thats not terrible..

[dori_sil8t]

mine is leaking at the same spot too but i dont lose any oil? or enough to make a difference on the dip stick

[driver11324]

I had the same problem, I took the cover off and resealed it along with a new front seal, o-ring on the CAS and gasket on the chain tension thing. Hopefully it doesn't leak, I will be pissed.

[dongoesby]

Originally Posted by driver11324

I had the same problem, I took the cover off and resealed it along with a new front seal, o-ring on the CAS and gasket on the chain tension thing. Hopefully it doesn't leak, I will be pissed.

This cover uses RTV to seal only right? Please keep us updated!

[landins13]

you can pull the case by dropping both oil pans and the crank pulley, honestly if you arent losing oil, clean it and check it later, its not worth the hassle to pull it if you arent losing oil through it

[Chrischeezer]

yeah, you basically have to take the whole head off to seal that sucker up properly
good chance to do head gasket and studs

[smelly240]

except the head doesnt have to come off... I've done a bunch of em without pulling the head. Kids dont have the $ to do headgasket and studs all the time - pull th elower pan - and u can do it - but try to prime the oil pump a little before u put it back on.

[Mister.E]

Originally Posted by dongoesby

how is your compression? mine is 145-140-145-150

my compression is like yours, its not totally bad. i cleaned the motor as best i could the other day and im just gonna wait and see what happens.

[dongoesby]

Originally Posted by landins13

you can pull the case by dropping both oil pans and the crank pulley, honestly if you arent losing oil, clean it and check it later, its not worth the hassle to pull it if you arent losing oil through it

my engine is out on a stand. If I don't do it now, I couldn't figure out when would be a good time to hassle with it.

The problem right now is that I don't know it is leaking or not.

Originally Posted by Chrischeezer

yeah, you basically have to take the whole head off to seal that sucker up properly
good chance to do head gasket and studs

I researched about how hard it is to take out the head, and I don't really mind doing that. However, sending out the head to shop for deck and machine is another category. $$$...

[JVD]

Originally Posted by dongoesby

my engine is out on a stand. If I don't do it now, I couldn't figure out when would be a good time to hassle with it.

The problem right now is that I don't know it is leaking or not.

I researched about how hard it is to take out the head, and I don't really mind doing that. However, sending out the head to shop for deck and machine is another category. $$$...

It's only like $50 dude...

[dongoesby]

Originally Posted by JVD

It's only like $50 dude...

taking out the head while no money to update cams and other internal parts? what is the point with all the hard work and risk of breaking the vulnerable parts and readjusting timing chain, cas, etc?

plus, a good headgasket costs 200 + head studs... are all money. It would be nice to do them all at once IMO.

[JVD]

Originally Posted by dongoesby

taking out the head while no money to update cams and other internal parts? what is the point with all the hard work and risk of breaking the vulnerable parts and readjusting timing chain, cas, etc?

plus, a good headgasket costs 200 + head studs... are all money. It would be nice to do them all at once IMO.

Just drop the upper and lower oil pans then. Much easier, especially since your motor is already out.

[slider2828]

I dunno it could be also the power steering pump as well.... But the front cover has the oil pump in it, so you might as well replace the oil pump while your at it. Its about $250 for the oil pump with front cover, you might as well do it.

[dongoesby]

Originally Posted by slider2828

I dunno it could be also the power steering pump as well.... But the front cover has the oil pump in it, so you might as well replace the oil pump while your at it. Its about $250 for the oil pump with front cover, you might as well do it.

This one? If it is leaking, isn't it better to change the hose? It shouldn't be changed unless it stops from working I assume.

[Mister.E]

i think my PS pump may be leaking too. is it possible to crack it in half and replace that gasket that you can see in the picture? if mine is leaking then thats gonna be the only place that its leaking. the hoses look fine and i replaced all the shitty factory clamps with better hose clamps.

[Def]

The o-ring on the PS supply tends to compress over time and weep a bit. Mine was staying wet, all it took was replacing the o-ring and it stopped.

It doesn't really look like it's coming from the cover from those pics, but it's hard to tell with that much grime.

[Chrischeezer]

i got a use HKS headgasket for sale if you wana do it, 50 bucks...

[240sxaddict]

Why has no one suggested the front main seal being the problem?

[aNskY]

because the FMS is about 18" below where the leak appears to originate? i guess it's possible that the crank pulley is spraying it up there though...

[orion::S14]

Originally Posted by 240sxaddict

Why has no one suggested the front main seal being the problem?

+1 for that.

That's EXACTLY what a bad front seal leak main looks like...the pulley throws a mist of oil all around, and grime sticks to it. A leaky timing cover will be wet and obviously oily...not caked up dirt like that.

You don't need a headgasket, you don't need a timing cover replacement, you don;t need any RTV to fix this...it's a $7 'donut' seal.

Remove the crank pulley, pry out the old seal...then tap the new one in. Done.

- Brian

[nrmskate]

There is no way that shit is from the PS pump/lines, it uses ATF and that's red, this gunk is black.

I would say since the motor is already out, take the 14 bolts or whatever it takes, take the pans out, pop ur valve cover off, and pop the front cover off, RTV it, and put it back together, it cost no money to do that, unless you don't already have RTV.

Only thing is, is time consuming, really not that hard man.

[dongoesby]

Originally Posted by orion::S14

+1 for that.

That's EXACTLY what a bad front seal leak main looks like...the pulley throws a mist of oil all around, and grime sticks to it. A leaky timing cover will be wet and obviously oily...not caked up dirt like that.

You don't need a headgasket, you don't need a timing cover replacement, you don;t need any RTV to fix this...it's a $7 'donut' seal.

Remove the crank pulley, pry out the old seal...then tap the new one in. Done.

- Brian

thanks! did you ever have the similar bad front main seal leak that happens to be just like this before?

There is no way that shit is from the PS pump/lines, it uses ATF and that's red, this gunk is black.

I would say since the motor is already out, take the 14 bolts or whatever it takes, take the pans out, pop ur valve cover off, and pop the front cover off, RTV it, and put it back together, it cost no money to do that, unless you don't already have RTV.

This is what i'm thinking, better be safe than sorry later. I'd like to do all the seal all over again. Can you explain more about the red ATF that the PS pump is using?

[georgesal]

+1 for the front main seal i would preplace it clean up the motor, some lof like regular road grime and oil from the front main seal. what happens it flings off the pulley when the motor is running

[MrFairlady]

You have to remove the cam on Driverside as well, to access the 1 bolt through the top correct??
I started to remove my cover when I had it on a stand but saw all that was needed to get it off and decided I'll worry about the STUFF I know about 1st.
My Shit Is leaking the slightest bit now that I've finally installed it back in the car.

P/S pump is pouring and Freaking Oil Turbo line (on the block) is leaking also. DAMNIT!!Found a Toyota Double Banjo P/s hose washer that looks to be perfect for the turbo line.

I re-sealed the upper and lower pans after cleaning them and they seem wet after the motor ran for a few mins.I'm only using Regular Castrol oil too.I can only imagine w/ FUllSynth.