It has been going on for awhile now. It is leaking behind the a/c condensor and all the power steering mumbo jumbo.

I have elimated:
1) valve cover gasket
2) cam seals
3) oil seal on the cams

There is no oil:
On the cam gear side
On the header side
On the oil filter side
On the passenger side


The rest of the block is totally clean and there is no oil to be found. It clearly drips where the a/c condesenor bracket meets the oil pan. If left leaking long enough it does seem to travel up wards. Unusual. It could also be the headgasket but then, I have checked all areas of it and could it possibly be the area which I cannot see which is where all the p/s and a/c stuff is?

Can I move that stuff out of the way temporarily? If so, how?

Edit: The car has only 21k miles and I do not drive hard at all. 3k daily driving. Grandma style y0!


Modified by B2FiNiTY at 10:04 AM 5/18/2003

 

Well....the power steering is pretty easy to deal with....in fact if you're careful about it, you can just remove the belt and just tie it out of the way with out completely taking out of the car...You don't want to do that any way, becuase the power steering rack needs some sort of lubrication so it doesn't seaze up, it doesn't need to be powered, just there.

As far as the A/C goes, it's a little more of a pain in the neck, not to mention that the thing holding the A/C compressor to the block is a motor mount, which you'll likely also want to remove to see behind that. In other words, what you're proposing isn't that hard, just kinda a pain.

If I were to guess, I would say that at some point in time perhaps you wacked your oil pan on a speed bump, and it either shifted a little, or slightly tore you oil pan seal, causing it to have a slight leak...either that or your head gasket...but if that were the case, you would more than likely be leaking from more than one place....easy way to tell that one, is empty your oil and coolant into seperate buckets, and see if you have oil or coolant mixed in either.

Oil traveling up huh....I'd love to see that one....hahhaah.....jk

 

I just took off the bolts holding the a/c condensor and it seems that the bolts themselves are soaked with an oil like substance. It does not seem to smell like oil but has its properties. Anyways, I abandoned the whole idea and will tackle it later.

Could it be the condensor leaking oil?

 

It's possible, but refrigerant oil usually isn't the same color as engine oil, but I guess after a while in a condensor, you never know...

Take off your a/c belt, and just drive it around for a couple days, and see if it's still leaking, though, more than likely, if your compressor was leaking enough to be visible on your block, then your A/C wouldn't work at all, or your compressor would have locked up by now from the lack of lubricant...

Good luck with it, let us know...

Later,
Aj

 

I rarely use the a/c and haven't used it in the last 6 months or more.

I elminated the a/c condensor because I just checked my oil and it was below the first dot. Barely any on the dipstick. Filled it up though... just a matter of time before it runs empty again.

 

I believe, I'm back to square one which is a leaking head gasket...

 

Dennis, I would make sure that it is actually oil first and not power steering fluid or something like that. I would also spray everything down with some kind of carb or brake cleaner to get all the oil off of the block, then check it VERY frequently to see where the leak is originating from.

 

As I said, easy test for the head gasket is just look to see if there is any coolant in the oil or vice versa...they'll stay seperated, so you'll be able to see it pretty easily once you dump it out...Also...try pulling off your oil pan gasket and replacing it...that may also solve your problem, and for like 15-20 bucks, it's a cheap solution...

Later,
Aj

 

There is no oil/coolant mixed.

I am planning on replacing the headgasket because it seems to be the only problem.

It is not the oil pan because it does not come out of there. I wish I had pics...

 

Have you actually pulled the cams? Or just the valve cover? Sounds exactly the exhaust Cam seal leak I had. When I pulled the valve cover there was no signs it was a cam seal since they are covered up.

 

Yeah, take off your timing belt cover, and look to see if there is any oil kicking around that area....becuase, honestly just replacing your head gasket is a pretty fair amount of work compared to replacing a cam seal...try the little stuf first, then go from there....unless you were planning on doing a head gasket for compression or something.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by B2FiNiTY &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">There is no oil/coolant mixed.

I am planning on replacing the headgasket because it seems to be the only problem. </TD></TR></TABLE>

You don't know for sure there is no coolant in the crankcase. Oil analysis will point it out. Appearance is deceiving. Leaky cam seals are common, like Trey said. Just hate to have you spend dinero on a new head gasket and labor.

 

I checked the cam seal on both sides and it is not leaking from there.

It is only coming from the front, where all the accesories are. No leakage from anything above or the sides.

 

I should have been more clear. Have you seen the cam seals on the cam?

Mine appeared to be coming from the exact same place. What was reall happening was the exhaust cam seal had moved out towards the cam gear and oil was leaking down the side of the head behind the BACK piece of the plastic timing cover. YOu can't see behind there unless you take the timing belt off, pry with a screwdriver and have a flashligt.

I knew instantly when i saw the position of the cam seal but yours might be more subtle.

 

Last weekend I took off the valve cover, and the middle timing belt cover. That side of the motor was completely CLEAN.

Did yours have oil coming from there? I remember you had a pic where there was oil near the top of the motor.

 

No, no oil was visible until you too the cams out and looked behind the piece of plastic behoind the timing belt. And even then you had to pull it back and have good light. The only visible oil i had started lightly at the corner of the block at the head gasket and went behind the accessories like the AC brackets. Dripped onto the splash shield under the car and unto the floor.

$100 says it is the cam seal .

Ph and I would HIGHYL suggest getting in there and checking. Cams seals cost around $10 and take 1/3 the time a head gasket. I even made the mistake of buying the head gasket and then having to return it.

Trey

 

Interesting point. So you had to remove the cams to check the leak?

Edit: I bought 2 of the seals from the dealer last weekend because I thought I would be replacing it.

 

Yes I had to remove the cams to see the leak and it was obvious the cam seal was off once I pulled the belt and carriers.

Not that time consuming and better than having money in a head gasket.

 

How could you tell it was the cam seal?

 

The cam seal was .5"-1" out of place. The should be as far as possible into the head and it was out next to the cam gear. Changed it and no leak since.

I was bound and determined it was a head gasket and the FI guys all beat me about the head and shoulders that that wasn't going to be it. They mentioned that unless you see a milky oil change the cam seal.

 

Yeah, I have been trying to avoid changing the head gasket. I guess I'll get started this weekend and remove the cams anyways since changing the headgasket requires this.

Thank Trey.

This has really been bugging me for the last 3 weeks. Just can't seem to sleep anymore.

 

car trouble sucks.. i hope its as simple as ur cam seals dennis... bump for my buddy

 

I have one more test for you before you break down and replace your head gasket.

Clean the area that is leaking oil. EVERYTHING.

Then unplug the hose from the intake arm to valve cover, Just vent the valve cover to atmosphere.

Then drive your car around. If the oil leak stops, then it was your headgasket.

FYI, there are many parts of the head/block headgasket seal that can leak and not cause oil/coolant mix.

As oil returns from the head to the block (dripping down walls), crankcase preasure can cause oil to get "pushed" out through the headgasket.

It may be a longshot, but try it anyway.

 

That is a really good idea! Thanks. I clean EVERYTHING all the time. I can't stand the oil taking over my car.

 

I might add that positive crankcase pressure could make almost any seal leak.