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Leaky oil seal fix
Topic Started: Jan 11 2012, 09:44 PM (2,894 Views)
rmcelwee
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enginedoctorgeo
Jan 12 2012, 10:01 PM
I usually smear some rtv around the outter lip of the seal
Hmmm, I have never heard of anyone doing this but it kind of makes sense. You couldn't have told me this yesterday <G>....
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rmcelwee
Jan 12 2012, 10:57 PM
enginedoctorgeo
Jan 12 2012, 10:01 PM
I usually smear some rtv around the outter lip of the seal
Hmmm, I have never heard of anyone doing this but it kind of makes sense. You couldn't have told me this yesterday <G>....
I have seen front and rear crankshaft seals leak around the perimeter. The seal is still good. It gets a little smear of Ultra Black RTV, and back in it goes. For some reason, the camshaft seals tend to deteriorate more often. Probably due to heat from the head.

New seals get RTV. It's good stuff.

The only thing that will be left in this world after a nuclear war will be cockroaches and RTV. :thumb
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dayle1960
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Fastest Hampster EVER

Thanks Glen. Now we have one more product the green police can ban.

GOOD BY, RTV.
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dayle1960
Jan 13 2012, 12:31 PM
Thanks Glen. Now we have one more product the green police can ban.

GOOD BY, RTV.
Damn, Dayle1960. They're knocking on the door right now. Guessing we'll just have to use Elmer's Glue, right? :D
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rmcelwee
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Well, a few days later and I am seeing large oil spots again. I pulled the cover off, cleaned everything and ran the car. I don't see anything leaking. The cam cover looked moist so I snugged up a bit on the cover bolts (they were pretty loose). I'll drive the car a few days with the cover off and see if I can find where it is coming from (hopefully it was a cam cover gasket).

One more thing - I had the car jacked up on the passenger side with the wheel off and the car idling out of gear. The passenger axle was turning??? Was that the clutch so close to the flywheel that the air current was turning it?
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Horn


I dont think air current could do that....thats strange. And no disrespect but how didnt u know about rtv on the seal. It seems like you have car knowledge... And iirc u have a 5.0 miata?
I just grew up putting rtv on almost every seal and gasket. I think,its cuz im paranoid of something leaking after I have many hours invested. Ive heard of several ppl not using most gaskets and just using rtv instead. Iirc its becoming more of a common practice
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rmcelwee
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I've used 1000 tubes of RTV in my life but have never heard of a single person using it on a seal. Personally, it sounds like it would harm instead of help BUT if it is common practice maybe there is something to it.
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Woodie
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Clutch was fully engaged, your foot was not on it. Transmission was in neutral, but the whole input half was spinning with the engine. Simple friction in the bearings, plus the viscosity of the gear lube was spinning the output bits of the transmission.
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rmcelwee
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Woodie
Jan 21 2012, 07:20 AM
Clutch was fully engaged, your foot was not on it. Transmission was in neutral, but the whole input half was spinning with the engine. Simple friction in the bearings, plus the viscosity of the gear lube was spinning the output bits of the transmission.
Duh!

Yeah, that's what it was. I was so concerned with my oil leak that I wasn't thinking about the correct position of the clutch.
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rmcelwee
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BTW, I just looked at the car and still no leakage. I'll have to drive it a bit today.

FWIW, to clean the oil off I have been using something called LA's Totally Awesome (clear bottle, yellow liquid, can find it at the Dollar Store - AWESOME in big letters on the bottle). It has slowly been moving into first place as my cleaner of choice. Cleaning all the fresh oil off my engine was as simple as spraying it on (50% dillution), waiting 5 minutes and then spraying it off with an old used/empty awesome bottle full of water. Motor oil turns purple when that stuff hits it.
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Bad Bent
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Facetious Educated Donkey

The good thing I found when my cam seal blew was that the oil coats the passenger side frame horn and helps keep it from rusting. :D

I don't see any feedback on clarkdw's suggestion on cleaning the PCV valve, and it's "Y" tube. While there is no leaking today and it's likely that the problem was that the original seal was incorrectly installed, cleaning the valve and tube is a good idea, especially if you notice some oil in the air cleaner also.
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clarkdw


Where I work they are big on finding "root cause " for breakdowns. That seal came out of the housing for a reason. Before we can accept poor installation as the reason we must at least check for other possible causes. Excess pressure in the crankcase is a biggie. That could be not enough venting (PCV) or too much air in for the venting available. (excess blowby)

The time required to check both things is minimal and could prevent later grief.
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rmcelwee
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You are right, I should check both things.
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Bad Bent
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Facetious Educated Donkey

One suggestion for finding pressure build up in the bottom end is to place a balloon over the dip stick tube and seal it with a rubber band then start the engine to see if the balloon inflates. :-/
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rmcelwee
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Well, 17 days later and I finally got around to checking the PCV system. Of course, I found the passage in the air cleaner top/lid was plugged (or partially plugged) with old oily "peanut butter". I took the car apart 3 times before checking this. I also just got back from the auto parts store with another cam seal and crank seal (no one has a new belt in stock). I was thinking about changing the crank seal and timing belt for the heck of it but maybe I'll just live with it as is for a while. I should know in a day or two (or maybe 6 since I won't be driving to work for the next 4 days) if the PCV passage was the cause.
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