Help me find my oil leak
 

My car is leaking oil, to the tune of 1/2qt per day (~150mi). It is not burning, and completely damps a layer of kitty litter overnight, as well as leaving spots wherever I park.

I cleaned and checked my oil drain, no dice. Then I started noticing that oil was pooling on the water neck, and bottom of the valve cover.

Attachment 198436

It seems that it leaks while sitting still, but possibly more while running. At first I thought it HAD to be something below oil level to lose that much oil while not running, but the fact that I've got oil all over the front of the motor makes me think otherwise.

Also, I did put in the "special" bolt for the oil pump that you have to use after removing the AC compressor bracket. This motor came without that bracket in place, and I didn't notice it for a few days. I had hoped that that would fix it, but the problem is persistent.

Please take a look at these pics, and if someone has had a similar problem chime in.


Intake cam gear
Attachment 198437


Exhaust cam gear
Attachment 198438


Driver side block and oil pan
Attachment 198439


Pass side
Attachment 198440


Driver side timing belt pulley
Attachment 198441


Pass side

Attachment 198442


Note that the timing belt itself stays dry...



Also, previously had checked the back of the head, and it was dry under the CAS. Now there's just a little bit of oil there.

Attachment 198443


Attachment 198444


Thanks guys.

For the eleventy billionth time on this forum. GO TO ADVANCE AUTO AND GET SOME OIL DYE AND A UV LIGHT!!!!

Time.
Money.

Neither of which I have.

I do have a membership to this forum though...and figured someone else just might have seen the same spread on their beater.

I guess when you have oil leaks it's all over the road...no need for dye.

Front cam seals.

I Lol'd.

Good luck with finding the leak. My only solution was to buy a 2.0.



Have you checked the torque on the front 2 cam caps, if loose, they could leak between the seals, just like the CAS cap being loose in my case.

That's really what I was afraid of, and why I asked before biting off another fun project.



I checked the cam gear bolt torque when putting the adjustable gear on, didn't check the caps...good idea.

this


don't have the 20 minutes it might take to cure?

I hate it when you're right.

imo vc gasket in the front maybe loose cas in the back or damaged oring. disasemble and rtv or good cleaning etc and let the shit cure should help. unless you fuxared your oring on the cas and then you will need a new oring.

New o-ring after replacing CAS last month. I checked it daily after install...never leaked. Very little oil back there, nothing like the CAS leaks I've seen.


I was hoping it could be VC gasket. I've done that job 5 times and never fucked it up, but I guess there's a first for it all. I probably didn't let it cure enough this time. Easier to try that than the cam seals.

Front cam seals and/or vc gasket, especially the cam humps? I wouldn't think it would get as high as the lip of the vc if it didn't originate high up. That's a lot of oil, though.

Valve cover gasket?

cam seals... Valve cover gasket. both will take time and money to fix, so eh, just pour more oil into it.. Be sure to RTV' the corners of the cam caps when you put a VC gasket on.

Go OEM or do it again.

Yes, it's a lot of oil. I'm really frustated. Need to be focusing on studies and don't have time for it, but a quart of synthetic every other day is straining the wallet.


If it's that high though I wonder how it continues to leak when not running. I guess it's possible it's filling the timing belt galley and leaking out down the oilpan.


I get oil splotches on the floor at the very front and very back of oil pan.

the VC gasket might be gone too, but there's no where else to get that oil on the front.

did you have the cams off recently? You might have just not lined the seals up under the front caps...

When's that last time you replaced your valve cover gasket?
It looks like it's at least the cam seals too.

The best course of action right now is to clean off the front of the motor, and then see where it's weeping/flowing from.

Hmm... looks like I took way to long to reply.

I may have a spare VC gasket lying around let me check my stash.

O hai, I want to waste a lot of time hunting around for an oil leak and spending money on parts only to find that I didn't need to replace that part and my problem still exists instead of buying a $2 bottle of dye and a $1 uv light from a part store. I am so smrt!

I always change the cam and front crank seals when replacing the timing belt at its regular interval. It's a lot more fun than doing it twice. And I change the rear main seal when doing a clutch at the end of its normal life span. I guess I don't much like dropping the tranny.

Cams have not been off. Just swapped cam gears.




Replaced valve cover gasket when doing the cam gears. May have fuxored it this time, but have done it several times before with success. I'm blaming it on my wife nagging me when working in the garage...



Will clean motor...check, consider dye and light...check. Most likely will just throw parts at it. Replace cam seals and valve cover at the same time.

yay cam seals.

I just finally said F it and pulled my entire motor out to redo all my gasket and seals. They all leaked.

I TOOK MY TIME... used OEM seals and RTV called "the right stuff" . it comes in a half caulking bottle and is 100000% worth the 30 bucks you pay for it. Knock on wood I dont have a single leak now.

Sorry, I'm here studying, or thinking about my car when I should be studying. The car is a 15min walk away and I haven't had much garage time recently. Internet diagnosis is free, and maybe, just maybe, will allow me to concentrate once I know what it is and tell my mind to shut up.

And I didn't know UV lights were so cheap. Thanks.



Me too, but this motor came with recent timing belt and water pump. I did put a new rear main on it when bolting up clutch and tranny before dropping it all in.


I really don't want to do my 5th TB job in the last year...

did you use rtv?

Always.

My cam seals leak too. I find that a nice coating of oil on the autox course helps even the playing field in my favor.

But seriously, mine dont leak that bad at all.

I just assume that you have a light on a hook like everyone else that works on cars. You can just go to like a party store and get a UV lightbulb.

I had something like this in mind.

http://www.steam-brite.com/store/ima..._Optimized.jpg

I forgot they made UV lightbulbs. Been a long time since I was a pothead, and I forgot most of it...



I'm sure I can google this, but it's more fun you ask you:


How do you go about this?


Just pour dye, leave car running, and shine da light? See where it starts glowing first?

Love ya bunches.

Whichever you do, try to get it fixed quickly. It won't be fun working on the car when oil and dirt have coated EVERYTHING.

It also won't be fun swapping the motor again because I didn't realize how fucking fast I was losing oil and it was 1.5qts low by the time I checked it (every other tank).

That scared the crap out of me...need to fix pronto. If I can finish this one assignment I can hit the auto parts store on the way home and do this this afternoon if I beat my wife home.

I'm almost afraid to tell her something's wrong with my car again...she's so fed up with this shit. I may be driving a Metro next time I post...

I gotcha covered, dude.

http://easttexas.craigslist.org/pts/1680552291.html

Every time you mention your wife (usually negative) i'm so glad I have a girlfriend that supports my car addiction 100%. She even helps me work on my car sometimes. And she isn't a bull-dyke!

Yes, that's what my marriage needs. I can see it now, single, broke, and drivingworking on a Metro...this is how lives get thrown away.

Not being a bull dyke is apparently a plus in your world, but it's usually a prerequisite standard for the rest of us.


My wife has been great recently. I'm honestly just so stressed with what I've got left to get done this semester I can not see straight. She is just tired of seeing me spend what little free time I have out in the garage instead of with them, and she knows I am always sidetracked, thinking about what I'm doing to the car next.

This is my stress relief though. lol

DD :ne: aftermarket turbo. I'd consider that my policy.

Yeah, should have parted it out after I parked the DD in the forest...but I'm an idiot.

Live and learn...don't date bulldykes.

You pretty much have it right. I would degrease it as it sits, and let it dry that was you have a clean slate. Then you just put it in the oil, run it, and wait with the light. Especially easy to diagnose at night. You will immediately see where its originating.

Lol I only said that because I had a gearhead friend in highschool and she was a total bulldyke :giggle:

QFT

I love having a second car and driving my miata WHEN I WANT

Buy this and share it with the wife.

You guys are right.

I've been fighting with myself about this ever since I wrecked her car. I knew I should have let the project go, made it a daily, and focused on making it up to my wife. Instead I continued full steam ahead with upgrades, and keep scaling them back, ramping them up, and leaving them abandoned due to budget, time and marital constraints.

The whole reason I put so much effort into the Miata is because I dearly miss my bike. I have yet to make this car replace what the bike was to me though. The bike was fast, so fast I didn't have to prove it. The bike was always in one piece...there's only so many upgrades you can make to a 0.955L machine that made almost as much power as my Miata does now (TBR can, PowerCommander etc.). The bike was perfect for throwing a leg over and ripping a few ridiculously fast miles of on to peel away all the stress and worries.

I never drive the Miata just to drive it, where as I used to go on "rides" on the bike. I never had to race anyone on the bike. I knew how fast it was, and it was like the guy with the black belt, use only as much force as necessary. The bike was track ready, out of the box. I was just getting into track days when I let it go.

I'm obsessive about the Miata because it's the only stress relief I really get that's mine. But I try to bite off so much I frustrate myself. I need to let it go.


Expect a part-out thread soon...this car's going back to stock to daily it. I need a proper weekend toy.

First I've got to fix an oil leak....



All of that aside...I am having horrible luck with a turbo'd DD Miata. Yes, it's fun when it's all together, but I spend way too much time working on it, planning upgrades, installing upgrades, fixing botched upgrade installs, uninstalling upgrades, selling/shipping upgrades....etc.

Werd, thats why I sold my miata yesterday.

Dude I have no issues daily driving my turbo miata. Just be sensible and get it right the first time. I take pride in how reliable it is.

Of course as I say this its sitting in my driveway dead. I think its just out of gas though =P

But seriously, the only issue's i've had were related to me installing something wrong or cheaping out on something.

My problem is really the same thing. This is really about me not having time to do things right, or finish them properly. I hurried to do a motor swap over the weekend, and was still sorting out major running problems a month later.


I've been consolidating my build efforts recently to focus on reliability (and speed), and maybe I can make it work. But maybe I'll just get more fed up and be out more.

My brother was laughing his ass off at me over lunch. Three weeks out from finals and I'm talking about the turbo I'm about to upgrade to. Then about how I shouldn't spend more money on the car, then about the manifold I want to have built.


I'm going to take some time to reassess all of this, but a lot of my point boils down to the fact that I'm really not enjoying it as much as I should.

I love working on cars, but hate not having time to do the job properly.

I love going fast, and getting the most out of a setup, but hate driving something that is problematic, and is giving me grief because I tinkered with it.

I love researching and getting new parts, but hate when I have to sell them, lose money, and deal with online sales.

I love studying up on how to go faster, and planning, but hate it when I turn around and didn't get an assignment done, or forgot to mail a bill.



On the enjoyment side, I need a hobby that frustrates me less, doesn't hinder my necessary transportation, and is pure stress relief when I'm doing it. I've always believed in work hard, play hard...but recently my play has been as gratifying, and I think it affects how hard I work since I'm reverting to the "pleasure principle" when I am used to toughing it out and sacrificing to the "reality principle." I'm getting worse at delayed gratification since I'm more stressed, and less gratified.

If I were single this would be easy, I'd just chase more tail. Being married (and devoted) I have to be a little more responsible, and keep my time to things like golf, building cars, fishing, riding, or something that doesn't end in divorces or herpes.

http://www.aka.kite.org/


On a serious note, Write down your plan for the car item by item. Then put the list in order of importance. Then stick to it. If you never plan you will constantly keep doing and undoing. "You rack disciprine!" ...and focus...and direction. You need a firm plan.

haha...thanks


I actually make a nice list every season. It usually goes out the window due to other problems, good deals I catch, and an incredible lack of time to actually just do what's on the list.

If I could just go down the list, I would enjoy this. Unfortunately I put lots of miles on the car, and constantly am "fixing" the last thing I put on or touched in the process. Maybe I'm subconsciously a masochist.

It is a hard decision to make but in your case i think it will be a good one. Your wife was probly being abit to nice for her own good when she persuaded you to stop selling the shit the first time. And might even regret it the more time you spend on the miata. I hate to see you leave the ranks of turbo miatas but you have to ask yourself honestly if this will be the ultimate end for you i think not. I look forward to more good shit when you get school and the rest of your life back on track gl to you man.

Buy a Kart for your daughter, 50cc comer. Family time and it's fun. Then you can talk your wife into letting you get a kart so your daughter can follow you. This is what my dad did and now we have half of kart track paved in our back yard lol.

also,

The world's longest game of Monopoly lasted more than 660 hours.

Thank you man. I can tell you put effort into your grammar there, which means more than the words convey, all they do convey quite a bit when decipherable. Don't worry, I'll be back, with a vengeance. You're right on a lot of the above advice though, and I've been too stubborn to see it.



If I ever told you that you're a dimwit I apologize...you've got at least a 15W bulb flickering up there.

You hit the nail on the head though. When I first starting going out to the garage my daughter would go with, and my wife didn't mind because she could tell I was enjoying it. I think I got to the point my wife could tell I'd had a bad round of golf each Sunday morning, and my daughter got bored as I became more concerned with wrapping up what I was doing and less with keeping her involved.

You apparently had great parents, and I'm going to try and do that. I've learned recently from kayaking that the things you can do with your kids are ten times more enjoyable, regardless of where they fall on the efficiency island.

It was a joke originally, but have you ever taken your daughter out to fly a kite? They can be pretty cheap and it will be something she will always remember.

Internet Porn. May still be somewhat of a divorce risk, but meets all of your other criteria.

More seriously, have you considered brewing beer? It's a gear sport - check. You get to play with fire (or heating elements if you go electric) - check. As your brewing equipment list grows you can end up playing with pumps, automated controllers, all kinds of fun tech geeky stuff - check. You get to drink beer - check.

Good call. Brewing beer is a very fun hobby and you can totally nerd out on it.

I love nerding out. I nerd out on embedded computing all day.

Haha sounds fun, but I actually need to not nerd out on something for a while. I tend to delve into thing entirely. If I don't know everything about it and how to do it right I don't stop reading/talking/researching until I do.

The bike I'm looking at has belonged to a friend of mine for 3yrs. Full build thread, detailed maintenance spreadsheet, all the mods I'd do already there. Just get on and ride, no plans, no projects.

I just picked up a few of the parts I needed to get the Miata back to stock, and, oddly enough, this will actually be a fun project this summer. Fix major issues, get it running, clean everything up and have a good daily driver. I've got an engine on the stand I'll still finish rebuilding, and I have spares of nearly every critical part. Should be dependable and easy/cheap to fix.

Just make sure that returning to stock is actually going to achieve your reliability goal. If you keep working on your car the same way you're just going to end up with a slow car that still breaks down all the time.

It will take some work, but once done it's done. I'm also waiting til summer to do this, when I have more time.

I could keep the turbo car reliable, if I'd stop tinkering with it. Problem is I'm always changing or upgrading something, and working out the kinks. I can't stop since the whole point is to get the most out of it.

If you touch 20 bolts a week, and you don't mess them up 99% of the time, then every 5 weeks you'll still have a bolt fall off.

You think you're bad? Scott has been doing that going on 5 years LOL.

I talk to him on gchat daily. He is my main motivation for doing this. I look at that loser, and I think: " I don't want that to be me."

Jk, he's hanging by a thread, if he had a kid and was still studying he would have already parked the bastard. He's a trooper though, knows too damn much, and like innovation. He needs to drive the Altima for a month, and then remember why he puts up with a 15yr old convertible.

The Miata is GREAT when you're mid corner, rolling into the boost, top down and smiling.