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ARGH! Big oil leak! Anyone who has had the timing belt covers off?

So I pulled up to work yesterday, doing the cool down thing. The oil light flickered then went out, I let it idle for a bit more watching closely and it didnt' come back on... Didn't think anything of it really... Came back out and there was a HUGE oil puddle, proably 2-3 qts worth. So I got the little jack out put more oil in and started it. It's leaking on the pulley end of the motor. I pulled the driver front wheel, and that plastic panel that hides the crank pulley. fired it off again. It looks like the oil is coming from behind the pulley, a little to the left (front) and below the pulley, but above the cylindrical portion of the oil filter housing... It was dropping probably 3-4 large drops per second. How deep is the front main seal? Is the oil filter housing part of the oil pump?

I haven't been into the front end of these yet to know how the different timing panels and what not lie... and where an oil leak of that magnitude could originate...
 

strokin4dr

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Savannah, GA
Does the car have the balance shafts still? If they have been previously eliminated then it could be that the block off plug, which is in the location that you are referring to, could have backed out.
Only way to know for sure is to just go ahead and pull the timing cover. Good luck.
 

hm... I'm not sure if the balance shaft is there or not, though I would assume it is. Surely without it there would be noticeable vibration it runs pretty smooth. It's awefully close to the crank as well. (of course it could be running down and pooling behind the crank... Is there a place it could be leaking in that region that the timing belt would stay dry?
 

transparentdsm

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i have the balance shafts out of my car and mine runs smoother that a friends who has the shafts. its all a matter of how the work is done. im thinking it is you main seal. under that pully on the crank there is a rubber O gasket that if it isnt pushed all the way in it will rub and rub and take a few months before it will blow out completely. i had this happen last time i changed out my camshafts and the cam gear was rubbing and i drove it for 6000 miles then pop oil start to come out everywhere. if you do change that you have to pull the timing belt and eveything in there so i would just replace everything with something new if it wasnt already done.
 

Yeah that's kinda what i was expectin for leak...

How is that oil filter housing attached? Is it built into the oil pump? or is it basically the lower timing cover? Now I gotta get the car home... I *think* timing belt and what not should be fairly new. Mitsu did a pretty good job making everything accessible on these cars...
 

transparentdsm

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the oil filter housing is attached to the oil pump with 4 bolts, but there is no need to remove the oil filter housing if it isnt a balance shaft elimination leak. you take off the lower timing cover, remove the timing belt and then pull the crank bolt and sprocket off and thats where the main seal O ring is. if it is faulty you will see a metal O around the crank. that O should be black or brown rubber. if it is bad when you change it out make sure that you put oil resistant silicone all over the outer side of the new O ring before install to prevent oil leak again. take a large socket and press the O ring seal all the way in. everything is really easy to get to and to answer the question about the oil on the belt. ive had puddles in my lower timing cover and by the time it reaches the cam gears there is nothing on it. when you pull the timing cover off you will see where all the oil has went to. it will be disgusting.
 

Ok so i'm assuming the front main seal lives in the oil filter housing then, and the timing belt housing covers the bolts for the oil filter housing?
 

boostedinaz

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In any case you NEED to pull the timing cover, clean everything behind it, and start the car up to see where it is leaking. It could be the balance shaft seals, the front balance shaft tensioner bolt, the main seal, the front case itself, etc...

If you are worried about running the car then pull off the timing belt and use a drill (not an impact) to spin the oil pump. With a decent drill you should be able to build some pressure to spot the leak.

In any case of oil hit the timing/balance shaft belt they need to be replaced.
 

boostedinaz

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I had a similar issue when working on a locals car. It leaked like crazy from the same area. The first big leak was the balance shaft belt tensioner bolt. It was bairly snug and had no RTV on it. Fixed that but it still had a really slow leak that wouldn't show at idle. I left the whole timing side covers off and drive around the neighborhood for a bit. Finally noticed that the oil pump gear was wet. Pulled the gear and replaced the seal behind it. Car never leaked a drop after that.

Another one I did was a crack front case. Guy got a little to eager while putting it on anc cracked it but not enough to see the crack. Put a drill on the oil pump and let it fly after about 30 seconds the oil start to leak from right below the water pump. Replaced the case and no leaks.

They can be a pain to find but cleanliness is the key. Clean every thing then start watching for leaks.
 

jepherz

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You mentioned the timing belt was dry, are you sure it isn't just leaking from around the oil filter housing?
 

Barnes

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Richland, WA
My bet is also on the oil filter housing. It is about the only thing on the car that can fail so dramactically fail and dump that much oil that quickly. It is really common as well. And *especially* if the t-belt is dry, I highly doubt the front main has failed.
 
Last edited:

MuffinMan7580

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Aug 6, 2011
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Fort Bragg, NC
+1 for checking the sandwich cooler on the oil filter housing (if you have it). If that's it, it's just 4 bolts holding the housing on, and much easier to replace than timing/balance shaft belts.
 

Barnes

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Super quick easy check: drain your oil, and remove your oil filter. If the oil cooler, which is directly under the filter, is loose, you have found your problem.
 

I grabbed the filter (it's tight) and put a wrench on the exposed bolts that you can get to on that housing and everything was snug. I finally have time to mess with this... I'm going to try to limp it home tonight and tear it apart...
 

Barnes

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You have to take the oil filter off to really tell if the oil cooler is held down tight.
 

chrisfullwood

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Apr 28, 2006
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bartlesville, ok
you might check your low oil level sensor, its right next to the oil filter. Mine came undone, and blew out 5qts of oil in no time. coated the entire underside of my car.

just a thought.
 

Quoting Barnes:
You have to take the oil filter off to really tell if the oil cooler is held down tight.



Oh that's interesting... I'll check it out

I had a good chance to put it up on stand and put a good eyeball on it. Oil is definitely coming out of the timing cover. After limping it home this time the timing belt was soaked in oil. So it appears it is the front main or somethinginside the timing covers. I'm gonna have to find a good impact to get that front pulley off so that help me up from going any further...
 

frustrating, we're in process of installing a CNC mill in my shop (had to run some beefier wire) could just build something like that SUPER easy. Truthfully it wouldn't be that bad to even do it by hand once the pulley is off...

Eh maybe I'll impact it off then by the time I'm putting it all back together we'll have the mill running and that'll be our first test piece...
 
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