Hey guys,
Got a weird one here. I had a fairly bad oil leak for awhile, and first thought it was the front main seal. I tore into it, and replaced the seal, the timing belt (while I was at it), and the oil pump gasket among other things. Got it all back together, fired it up, and still had a leak. Parked, used engine degreaser on the same side, sprayed off all the accumulated crud, fired it up again and watched. I thought maybe the oil pump O ring had come loose, as they'll do, but I stuck it in place with some RTV when I put it all back together. The pump gasket looked great. The leak is actually coming from BEHIND the oil pump, between the block and the oil pump housing.
Pic of the area with the oil pump housing removed, and the location of the leak circled....this was prior to removing the old gasket and cleaning up the mating surfaces of the block and the housing. Most of the rubber had worn off of the metal gasket, and so I wasn't surprised it was leaking. I WAS surprised that it was only leaking in that one area!
![165006]( "165006")
Both surfaces were clean before I put on the new gasket, and I didn't see any sign of a crack or warping. I used RTV again, but not an excessive amount. Put it all back together, fired it up, and it immediately started leaking again. Bolts were tight but not overtightened.
Any idea why this would be leaking again? The gasket alone should have sealed it and stopped the leak but a layer of RTV AND the gasket REALLY should've stopped it.
Is it possible the block or the housing is either warped or cracked? It leaks only under pressure; once the car is off for a little while the leak slows to a stop pretty quickly. I've never had any overheating issues. No issues at all, really. I bought the car with 158,000 miles and I've put over 80,000 on it since then. The leak started slow and gradually got worse, just as you'd expect as more and more gasket material either dried out or came out.
Thanks in advance for any ideas y'all might have!!
Patrick
Got a weird one here. I had a fairly bad oil leak for awhile, and first thought it was the front main seal. I tore into it, and replaced the seal, the timing belt (while I was at it), and the oil pump gasket among other things. Got it all back together, fired it up, and still had a leak. Parked, used engine degreaser on the same side, sprayed off all the accumulated crud, fired it up again and watched. I thought maybe the oil pump O ring had come loose, as they'll do, but I stuck it in place with some RTV when I put it all back together. The pump gasket looked great. The leak is actually coming from BEHIND the oil pump, between the block and the oil pump housing.
Pic of the area with the oil pump housing removed, and the location of the leak circled....this was prior to removing the old gasket and cleaning up the mating surfaces of the block and the housing. Most of the rubber had worn off of the metal gasket, and so I wasn't surprised it was leaking. I WAS surprised that it was only leaking in that one area!
Both surfaces were clean before I put on the new gasket, and I didn't see any sign of a crack or warping. I used RTV again, but not an excessive amount. Put it all back together, fired it up, and it immediately started leaking again. Bolts were tight but not overtightened.
Any idea why this would be leaking again? The gasket alone should have sealed it and stopped the leak but a layer of RTV AND the gasket REALLY should've stopped it.
Is it possible the block or the housing is either warped or cracked? It leaks only under pressure; once the car is off for a little while the leak slows to a stop pretty quickly. I've never had any overheating issues. No issues at all, really. I bought the car with 158,000 miles and I've put over 80,000 on it since then. The leak started slow and gradually got worse, just as you'd expect as more and more gasket material either dried out or came out.
Thanks in advance for any ideas y'all might have!!
Patrick
