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| oil leak; timing belt cover | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: May 13 2011, 11:56 AM (1,761 Views) | |
| bobozr | May 13 2011, 11:56 AM Post #1 |
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New Member
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My 92 vert has an oil leak at the timing belt cover. Tired of it spotting up may driveway. The head had been rebuit when I aquired the car, so I'm guessing that the leak source is probably the camshaft oil seal. Of course it could also be the crankshaft oil seal. I won't really know what's leaking until I get the timing cover off. From what I can tell, it looks like you may have to take the wheel and fender liner off to get to it. Car has about 125000 miles on it, runs great, just leaks. I was hoping for some advice from anyone who has done anything like this before. Always good to know what not to do before I tear into it. I'd appreciate any advice I can get. Thanks in advance bob |
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| Coche Blanco | May 13 2011, 12:05 PM Post #2 |
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Troll Certified
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Crankshaft/camshaft seals are the same. Buy 2. Pull them out. Clean the surface of the block. Coat the outer edge in RTV and press them back into the block. |
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| mcmancuso | May 13 2011, 12:09 PM Post #3 |
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Yep cam or crank seal are likely, just do them both while you're in there, they are both leak prone. Buy 2 cam seals, they are identical, but the crank seal is listed as more expensive. Pull the tire, engine side fender liner, belts and timing cover (have to remove the water pump pulley and lower crank pulley 5 bolts) loosen the cam and crank center bolts(I put 12" of nylon rope into the #1 cylinder through the spark plug hole to hold the crank still)then take the timing belt off and pull the gears. Pull the seals, and replace (put a film of RTV on the outside radius of the seals and oil on the inside). set the timing and put everything else back on. |
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| bobozr | May 13 2011, 12:17 PM Post #4 |
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New Member
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Thanks guys. I appreciate the info that the seals are the same. I'm planning to just take it off the road for a week or so and do struts and a brake job while I have the wheel (s) off. No telling what else I'll discover then. bob |
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| Coche Blanco | May 13 2011, 12:23 PM Post #5 |
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Troll Certified
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If you were on the other side of the state I would be more than happy to help you. Good luck! |
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| rdcouch | May 15 2011, 07:04 PM Post #6 |
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New Member
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I just came across this thread by searching for the same leak. I thought the leak was from my oil pan but it now looks like my leak is coming from the timing belt cover and dripping down to the pan, then going everywhere. I just got the car a couple weeks ago, how long will replacing these seals take? a saturday afternoon? Whole weekend? I'm confident I can do it, its just that I'm used to old pushrod v8's not these small overhead cam engines. How do you ensure the crank&cam don't move while the belt and gears are off? Here's my main question though: Will using an oil leak stop additive actually slow this leak down? I won't have the time to be able to replace the seals for a few weeks and don't want to have to keep dripping as much oil everywhere. When I do this I take it I should probably replace my timing belt as well, my car has 133k miles and I don't know its service record |
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| mcmancuso | May 15 2011, 07:08 PM Post #7 |
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Its a couple hour job(2-6 depending on how handy you are), easier with the 3 cyl than 4 since there's better pulley access. DO NOT PUT STOP-LEAK IN THIS ENGINE you'll end up with clogged oil passages and a burned up engine, and the leak won't be stopped. Timing belt has to come off the access the seals so its a great time to do that too ![]() There's a how-to on this job in the forum somewhere with specific instructions, good luck! |
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| Bad Bent | May 15 2011, 08:04 PM Post #8 |
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Facetious Educated Donkey
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It's a good idea to pull the timing belt cover back a little to inspect the cam seal. My PCV valve clogged up along with the hose and pressure in the valve cover blew out the seal. I just pushed mine back in and it sealed. Lucky, eh. But if it's not the cam seal leaking then the crank seal would be the one and the cam seal is cheaper to buy.
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| starscream5000 | May 15 2011, 08:35 PM Post #9 |
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Got 70 MPG?
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The cause of all of these leaks in the first place for most everyone's car is a cloggled PCV valve, so replace that at the same time. |
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| rdcouch | May 15 2011, 09:17 PM Post #10 |
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New Member
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Thanks for the info on the stop leak, I have always been uneasy with those products. I replaced the PCV last week when I did my tune up so that is good now. I will take off the cover tomorrow to inspect it, maybe I'll get lucky and just be able to press in my seal too! I am still wondering how to secure the crank and cam when taking everything apart, but perhaps the FAQ on this will cover it, once I find it! |
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| starscream5000 | May 15 2011, 09:26 PM Post #11 |
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Got 70 MPG?
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You just need to come in this with the mind set that you are resetting your timing, because 95% of the time that's what is going to happen. The camshaft loves to be pushed around by the valve springs.
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| Bad Bent | May 16 2011, 01:12 AM Post #12 |
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Facetious Educated Donkey
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If you do then you might smear a thin film of RTV around the outer edge of the seal and press it back in. this I've learned from other members lately. Oh, yeah, if you have to do this more than once... many of us have been there. Good luck.
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| bogs | May 16 2011, 04:01 AM Post #13 |
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Duct tape heals all wounds
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Crank Seal - How To -> http://geometroforum.com/topic/3083546/1/ Welcome aboard ![]() |
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