psreynol

I came off track pretty hot and noticed oil is leaking pretty good. Ive looked all over trying to determine where the oil is coming from. I thought it was the rear main seal but when replaced my trans a few weeks ago, the bell housing was oil free.

I need to address this issue because I want to do a track event in 2 weeks.

I found this post tonight

Oil Leak

and it sounds like he went through what I'm going through. turned out the leak was a bad head gasket.

is it possible for me to check this out, test the head gasket for oil leaks, before pulling the head? I just did a bunch of stuff that I would need to take apart to remove the head, and I would want to get the head checked out and what not once it is all apart.

hustler

iTrader: (6)

Leak-down tester, everyone should own one.

curly

iTrader: (25)

Oil dye saved my butt. Cool stuff.

psreynol

I own a leak down tester, I used it and found a massive injector seal leak but i'm not sure it will help me see this leak, leakdown was pretty much perfect.

oil dye, I will check that out. can I get that at a retail location like napa? how did you use this dye?

curly

iTrader: (25)

Yeah napa, autozone, o'rilleys, etc.

It's an oz. of dye, dump it in the oil, run the car for a while, turn out the lights, and point the black pen light that comes in the kit at the engine. The died oil will show up bright green against the pre-existing oil from your leak.

mx5-kiwi

You sure it's not the Crank Angle sensor o ring in the head?

Oh 1.8, not sure if they are like a 1600 or not, but both ours leak there and it gets everywhere on the back of the engine and down to the trans tunnel.....replaced one in the turbo car but haven't got round to the n/a one yet...Must do that one day!

psreynol

no, i'm not really sure of anything. I'll check it out. the entire bottom of my car is covered with oil now and I left a very large oil stain in the padock. when i came off the track I was seeing several drops a second from 2 locations right by the block /bell housing.. seems like a lot of oil for just a bad CAS

pmhaddad

iTrader: (2)

The 1.8 doesn't have a CAS like the 1.6 but it has a metal cover that is bolted down with a bracket. It can still leak - I put RTX all around mine and that seals it well enough so it doesn't leak. It is pretty surprising how much you can get leaking from that location, mine was all they way down to the trans and dripping that's how I noticed it. Only a few drops hit the ground but the back of head on that side was covered in oil.

MartinezA92

iTrader: (4)

some 1.8s definitely have a CAS. I know this because mine has one.

albumleaf

iTrader: (7)

Unfortunately oil leaking out of the back can't really mean too much. Even if your undertray is clean, cam/crank seal leaks can follow the engine back and drip off the back. I used to think I had a RMS leak too until I replaced the CAS, valve cover, camshaft and crankshaft seals. Obviously start with the easy stuff and move

If the whole bottom is covered I'm going to guess it's something else. Get a viton o-ring for the CAS if you take the time to replace it.

pmhaddad

iTrader: (2)

Ah, I mis-spoke - the NB never came with one. You have an NA 1.8 judging by the pic. So its not a 1.6 vs 1.8 thing, its a NA vs NB thing.

Mobius

iTrader: (2)

My cam seals have a very slight leak. Slight enough to wait until winter to fix it, but it's enough to get the whole front and bottom of the engine, as well as the subframe, grimy over the summer.

psreynol

at the track the oil spot I left was about 2ft by 3ft. a significant leak. my leaked about 1/2 a quart

moliver

iTrader: (1)

I have been having about the same issue...come off the track stinking like burning oil.

Oil splashed on the steering rack on the drivers side. Looked like it was coming from the oil pan on side of the oil pump. I thought I solved the problem by putting the missing bolt in the oil pump that got left off when I removed the AC...still didn't fix the issue.

Been thinking I need to pull the engine...but will probably be smart and do the dye thing.

psreynol

mmm dont want to hear about people that have the same problem. I want solutions! I'm going to dye today, will report back..... thanks capt slow for the good idea, got the light dye, and glasses for 20 bucks at auto zone.

curly

iTrader: (25)

You don't need the glasses. I think they're supposed to help in brighter areas? I saw the leaks with and without them. I have no windows in the garage and could turn all the lights off. They do make the world a brighter place though.

psreynol

I added the dye tonight and let the car run for 10 minutes but i could not find a leak at all. I will need to run the car a bit and see what I come up with. I also removed the boot from the clutch slave because oil was all around it plus it was damaged any way. I will order a replacement but in the mean time I hope it helps clear up where the leak is coming from.

Mobius

iTrader: (2)

Perhaps your leak is only leaking under track conditions, and is fine for idle warmup or daily driving.

Check:
* gauge senders sealed properly
* oil filter on tight
* oil filter sandwich plate, if you have one, on tight enough

Do you have a local road where you can do a few hard pulls? Maybe you can get it to leak.

psreynol

yeah, going to take it on the highway and get some heat into it. I really hope to figure out the leak and tear down this weekend so i can track next week.

I thought it could be the sandwich adapter but i see no oil in that area.

phee

are you sure it isn't your front main seal?