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Help me find my oil leak

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Old 04-15-2010, 12:26 PM
  #21  
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Originally Posted by neogenesis2004
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!

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.


Originally Posted by sixshooter
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.

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...
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Old 04-15-2010, 12:26 PM
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Originally Posted by gospeed81
Cams have not been off. Just swapped cam gears. Replaced valve cover gasket when doing the cam gears.

did you use rtv?
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Old 04-15-2010, 12:27 PM
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Originally Posted by Braineack
did you use rtv?
Always.
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Old 04-15-2010, 12:31 PM
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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.
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Old 04-15-2010, 12:31 PM
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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.
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Old 04-15-2010, 12:34 PM
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Originally Posted by neogenesis2004
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.



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.
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Old 04-15-2010, 12:35 PM
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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.
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Old 04-15-2010, 12:38 PM
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Originally Posted by Bryce
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 ******* 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 ****. I may be driving a Metro next time I post...
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Old 04-15-2010, 12:41 PM
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Originally Posted by gospeed81
I may be driving a Metro next time I post...
I gotcha covered, dude.

http://easttexas.craigslist.org/pts/1680552291.html
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Old 04-15-2010, 12:42 PM
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Originally Posted by gospeed81
It also won't be fun swapping the motor again because I didn't realize how ******* 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 ****. I may be driving a Metro next time I post...
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!
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Old 04-15-2010, 12:42 PM
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Originally Posted by mgeoffriau
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.
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Old 04-15-2010, 12:45 PM
  #32  
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Originally Posted by wayne_curr
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!


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
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Old 04-15-2010, 12:45 PM
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DD aftermarket turbo. I'd consider that my policy.
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Old 04-15-2010, 12:46 PM
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Originally Posted by webby459
DD 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.
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Old 04-15-2010, 12:50 PM
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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.
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Old 04-15-2010, 12:50 PM
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Originally Posted by gospeed81

Live and learn...don't date bulldykes.
Lol I only said that because I had a gearhead friend in highschool and she was a total bulldyke
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Old 04-15-2010, 01:28 PM
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Originally Posted by webby459
DD aftermarket turbo. I'd consider that my policy.
QFT

I love having a second car and driving my miata WHEN I WANT
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Old 04-15-2010, 02:48 PM
  #38  
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Buy this and share it with the wife.
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Old 04-15-2010, 02:51 PM
  #39  
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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.
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Old 04-15-2010, 03:01 PM
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Werd, thats why I sold my miata yesterday.
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