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Resolved 1G 6 bolt timing belt tensioner oil leak

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all black 4G63

Proven Member
254
43
Aug 5, 2019
Chicago, Illinois
Does anyone have a final remedy to address the oil leak from the lower timing belt tensioner bolt on a 6 bolt? (photo attached)

I have read post, but wanted to get a fresh suggestion as most post are from early 2000's

I have used 3 bond on the bolt, but obviously it still leaks.

Also is there any other areas for potential oil leaks behind the timing belt cover that I should be aware of?

Thank you for the support

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Solution
UPDATE!

Well the f***ing leak is gone. I replaced the seal and sprocket and drove the car hard... there's no oil on the belt anymore and the rest of the timing pulleys are dry.
What's funny is my POS Jayracing ALT relocation bracket (Bottom) finally cracked during the drive so I couldn't go too far, but everything looks OK for now...

"We're on Boost" What I think the lip on the replacement pulley is for is for when you slide the pulley on, the lip on the edge allows the seal to be wrapped around the surface without folding possibly>?

Why all of this occurred. Well.....It may be possible that the original front case/oil pump assembly went through a rough beginning....What I mean is that I think I may have over tighten the timing...
I would use Grey Permatex on it, let it set up for a day and it should take care of it if you clean the threads of oil first.
 
I found the oil leak, it was coming from the CAM seals.

Question. Can these seals be removed/installed without removing the CAMs? Also can the seal be installed with the CAM cap removed? >>>>installed seal, then installed cam cap on top of it?

Thank you
 
I found the oil leak, it was coming from the CAM seals.

Question. Can these seals be removed/installed without removing the CAMs? Also can the seal be installed with the CAM cap removed? >>>>installed seal, then installed cam cap on top of it?

Thank you
Not from what I remember, you need to remove the cams then drive the seals in. Been a while though so could be wrong. I remember using these instructions - http://www.roadraceengineering.com/instructions/caminstructions.htm
 
I found the oil leak, it was coming from the CAM seals.

Question. Can these seals be removed/installed without removing the CAMs? Also can the seal be installed with the CAM cap removed? >>>>installed seal, then installed cam cap on top of it?

Thank you
Yes you can remove and reinstall without removing cams. Yes you can remove the cap and install then put the cap back on. Naturally you have to remove timing belt and cam gears. I've done both.
 
I found the oil leak, it was coming from the CAM seals.
I believe you have a leak from the tensioner bolt, too. That's a common location to leak. Re-torque the front case bolts a little bit and as Marty said, apply some RVT slightly between the bolts and the tensioner. If this doesn't stop the leak, it may be time to replace the front case gasket.
Question. Can these seals be removed/installed without removing the CAMs? Also can the seal be installed with the CAM cap removed? >>>>installed seal, then installed cam cap on top of it?
Yes, you can do it without removing cams as Paul mentioned. And yes and yes.
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Well I finally got everything back together and test drove the car.

What I noticed is that now there is a slight amount of oil on the timing belt (engine side).

I removed the cover and wiped everything clean and drove the vehicle. I can see that the cam seal area seems dry for the most part ( I can't be 100% sure unless I remove the gears) and the tensioner bolts are dry.

What I do notice is that there is oil just along the edge of the tensioner pulley (inside engine side), "which would explain the oil on the belt."

I am wondering if this is residual oil left over from the previous leak?

I want to also mention that I used quite a bit of oil on the tensioner arm bracket (the machined surface the tensioner pulley arm rides on) would this cause oil to sling?

I am sorry to ask where oil is leaking from since I am the one looking at the car, but this is crazy I can't see where its coming from, unless the freaking cam seals are leaking again.

I used new Mitsu seals and even the miller special tool to install them per service info.

thank in advance.
 
FYI: I have a 99 GST and went through a long, small but never ending, oil leak investigation in the TB area similiar to yours which kept getting slowly worse. Granted mine's a 2g but certain things are the same/similiar. I also thought it was leaking under various bolts/seals (like auto tensioner mounting bolt which it was) and so I kept putting RTV and different sealants in these bolt hole places. Now I don't mean to scare you but just prepare you for the worse case senerio which it may end up being (so you know about it) that I went through. When nothing would stop it, I finally figured out it was the front case gasket which was old and cracked. It goes around and sometimes over all the bolt holes (like auto tensioner mounting bolt, etc) so it would allow oil to escape through the hole. The gasket is on the rear engine side of the front case so you have to remove the entire front case, which is a BIG job. So try to solve it other ways first, but if you never can get it to stop leaking, you may have a cracked gasket like I did. I'm the original owner and have lots of pics but of course mine's a 2g. Good luck.
 
Thanks for the reply.
My front case gasket is new granted it was installed 17 years ago with slight RTV, the vehicle never ran until now.

I keep wiping off oil form the belt and wherever else I can see it and drive it hard, when I stop and inspect all I can see is a little streak of oil on the inside area of the belt and the tensioner pulley. It is weird. I cannot see oil coming from the case area or the tensioner bolts at all.

I will upload a photo today.

Thank you
 
The tensioner bolts shouldn't need any sealant to not leak. The only way they should see any possibility of oil leak is if the gasket has failed between the lower bolt hole and the oil channel located above it. You should also be using blue thread-loc on them (as with any bolts on that side of the engine that doesn't have a lock washer).

The one, prime, candidate for leaking is the bolt hole left over from the removed balance shaft tensioner pulley. This is an open port into the block, and most times, requires sealant on the threads/under the head of the shorter bolt used, if omitting the pulley itself.
 
Thank you for the info and reply.

The balance shafts are removed on this engine and I am using the kiggly racing 12 tooth tone wheel and CKP sensor. all this means is that I can see that area of the front cover very well and there is no oil there.

The tensioner I was referring to that has oil on it is the main timing belt tensioner pulley not the actual tensioner or its bolts.

I am almost starting to think that it is residual oil left over from before, or maybe i just in denial...

I will get photos soon after I drive for a little bit,

Thank you

Here are some photos of after I cleaned everything off including the belt and drove it.

You can see the slight oil on the belt. Also I have a photo of the tensioner pulley that is shinny with a little oil.

I am totally unsure of where this is coming from. I don't see oil from the top.

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Just an awful update here,

I replaced the front case and gasket, oil pump, front case balance shaft elim plug, idler and tensioner pulleys along with water pump gasket, AND IT STILL f***ING LEAKS!
This totally sucks!! what a waste of life here!

I don't understand why oil is getting on the belt and accumulating around the tensioner pulley? does anyone have any ideas because I have replaced everything, could it be the block? I didn't see anything when it was out...
 
Can you see where it's potentially leaking? Did you use all the factory hardware? I know the two bolts holding the hydraulic tensioner are shouldered somewhat.
 
Thanks for the reply,

I have run the vehicle previously with the timing cover off and it was still impossible to tell where it is coming from, but I didn't use dye. I will try that this time.

If I could explain where the oil seems accumulates, my best guess is that it is near and around the tensioner pulley and idler pulley (photos from previous post above) which causes it to accumulate on the inside edge of the timing belt. The pulleys also cause the oil to whip around everywhere.

I am using factory tensioner bolts and can verify that the area around the belt tensioner and bolts are dry.

I am almost thinking that by block has porosity issues..... has this ever been seen before on 4G63's?

thanks for all the help!

Have you checked the oil galley plugs on the belt side of the head? Marked up this picture from RRE's website for a visual.

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the area above the timing belt pulley is totally dry no signs of oil near or around the oil galley plugs or cam seals
 
And the bolt hole that holds the balance shaft tensioner pulley has a bolt in it and it is tight, correct? It is notorious for leaking after a BSE.
 
And the bolt hole that holds the balance shaft tensioner pulley has a bolt in it and it is tight, correct? It is notorious for leaking after a BSE.
yes, i have verified that the balance shaft bolt that use to hold the balance shaft tensioner pulley is not leaking, the leak begins above that.
I am currently test driving it now trying to get a better description of where and how severe the leak is.
I will update shortly

Thank you

Huum I can't tell where exactly where....

I am wondering how important it is to apply sealant underneath the 2 CAM caps that house the CAM seals? I did not do this when I replaced my CAM seals, could this actually be the source of the leak?

Can anyone testify to this? not applying sealant under the cap caps is a serious issue??????
 
Huum I can't tell where exactly where....

I am wondering how important it is to apply sealant underneath the 2 CAM caps that house the CAM seals? I did not do this when I replaced my CAM seals, could this actually be the source of the leak?

Can anyone testify to this? not applying sealant under the cap caps is a serious issue??????
Apply the rtv there, as well as in the corners, where the cam caps meet the head. The VC gasket has the potential to leak there as well.
Have you tried putting some uv dye in the oil and lighting it up with a black light to spot the potential source?
 
well I spoke too soon.... This f***ing car is a joke. The oil leak is back on the timing belt and leaking out the bottom.

I added dye a while ago and thought the oil was gone. I was wrong. I removed the belt cover and I still cannot determine where it is coming from. .
Everything has been replaced even the f***ing front cover. The head looks to be dry.
Does anyone have and ideas before I though the towel in???

Thank you

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