Help find oil leak on passenger side 420A

[IIv SHaDoW vII]

I noticed a leak under the passenger side of my car. I got under there and looked and the leak seems to be above even the alternator because I see oil on it as well. I don't see any visible leaks from the VC but I didn't look too thoroughly either. I get something like 4 to 5 drips per night. I haven't had a chance to really inspect anything yet but I don't think the leak is coming from the oil pan itself. I could be wrong though.

EDIT: "Passenger side" is too ambiguous.. The leak is visible on the bottom and rear portion of the engine towards the passenger side. I can see oil around the oil pan and filter but again, I think the real leak is coming from somewhere higher on the backside of the engine somewhere.

UPDATE (4/9 9:20pm): Aside from a possible oil pan leak, I think I have found the major oil leak to be either the valve cover or the camshaft seals. Can someone please give me some good advice on how to replace the camshaft seals? I plan to do both of them.. and since I read that I have to pull the VC anyway, I will replace that gasket as well.

I am also interested to know if I am overlooking anything else that could be leaking from the area described above.

 

[sheral]

I had the same thing happening to me. When I bought my Eclipse there was a huge amount of built-up oil on the sides of the motor and around the bottom, including the oil pan area.

I started by doing the small stuff I intended on doing any way. I replaced the Valve Cover gasket (and painted it while I had it off, killing two birds with one stone). After I had that installed, I super-cleaned the motor and watched for leaks.... That was it. Except for the final tightening of the valve cover screws, I haven't had any other leaks. It ended up being the half circle and two stripped screws that was causing the huge oil build up over time.

Being new to working on my own DSM, I found the VFAQS site very helpful. Tons of information there.

 

[IIv SHaDoW vII]

Thanks for the reply. I was also leaning toward the valve cover. I think the oil cap is leaking excessive oil.

To pose a new question, could the problem be from the seal around the oil cap under the VC or is the problem probably from excessive blow-by? My problem of leaking has just started recently. It is not a problem that has gotten progressively worse over time.

 

[Silver99OZ]

I hate to say it but the leak is most likely coming from your head gasket. There was a problem with the factory head gaskets on the 420A cars which causes them to fail, also it has been said that the hole for one of the head bolts (I think cyclinder #4) was not drilled deep enough so the bolt bottoms out before reaching the proper torque. There is an oil passage on the backside of the block which ends up leaking very badly when the gasket starts to fail. You can go ahead and change the valve cover gasket and see if that is your leak, but if that does not fix the problem then your head gasket is leaking.

 

[krackit]

^^ That head gasket fail usually shows oil build up on the driver's side though, not the passenger. I am replacing my headgasket as this is the leak I am dealing with at the moment all on the driver side of the engine. More than likely I would saw a VC gasket if it is leaking right near the top.

 

[IIv SHaDoW vII]

Thanks for the replies but I am pretty sure the leak I am experiencing is from the valve cover, namely the oil filler cap seal. I can now see a puddle of oil in my VC and I am confident that it is leaking backwards as well. There is oil all over the top of the intake toward the passenger side and it seems to be running all the way down to the oil pan and dripping off.

I am just hoping that replacing my valve cover gasket fixes the problem.. My mechanic said that he thought the cause was excessive blow-by (though he didn't start the car and check for any blow-by).. I am interested to know if a failing VC gasket or oil cap is a more reasonable assumption than excessive blow-by forcing air through the cap.. My PCV valve is functioning properly and I also have the vacuum line properly connected from the VC to the intake.

 

[Silver99OZ]

You never mentioned how many miles were on the engine. I would start with the replacing the valve cover and the oil cap.

 

[IIv SHaDoW vII]

Good point. I have 139k miles on the engine.

 

[sheral]

I did forget to mention that the oil cap was also an issue. The seal was hardened and after I did the Valve Cover, I kept getting oil in recessed VC area. So I replaced the cap and then no more oil.

Although someone told me the same thing about the Head Gasket, so far I don't have that issue and I continue to have no oil leaks. If you look at the first picture before I did the VC gasket, you can see the oil on the front of the motor and the altenator.

 

[IIv SHaDoW vII]

Here is some updated information.
I looked harder from the top of the engine and found oil all over the corner area of the head. (circled in picture) (AND YES, the part ABOVE the headgasket)
I see oil on the top of the grey part with the indention. It is covered in fresh oil. However, I can't see a trail from the valve cover (may just be too hard to see due to the horrible angle).

Does this mean it could only be leaking from the valve cover? I have already replaced the oil cap and it didn't seem to fix the leak. I have a valve cover gasket on the way, but I just want to hear thoughts for what else may be the problem.

 

[VelocitàPaola]

Does this mean it could only be leaking from the valve cover? I have already replaced the oil cap and it didn't seem to fix the leak. I have a valve cover gasket on the way, but I just want to hear thoughts for what else may be the problem.

It could very well be coming from the camshaft seal too.

 

[IIv SHaDoW vII]

That is another thing I suspected. How easy are the seals to replaced?

 

[VelocitàPaola]

Considering you'll have to remove the timing belt... they're not the easiest things to replace. Supposedly there's a trick where you zip-tie the cam gears in place to the timing belt to save you a little bit of work, but I've never done it. I think mbullett has though.

 

[Slo2gen]

On cam seals I normally don't pull the cams out to change them, I just get a seal puller, aka a pick tool, and jab it in the cam seal and pull it out. Once the old one is out wipe out the area around it really good, maybe even spray some brake cleaner in it and then just give the new seal a tap until it is in where its supposed to be.

 

[VelocitàPaola]

On cam seals I normally don't pull the cams out to change them, I just get a seal puller, aka a pick tool, and jab it in the cam seal and pull it out. Once the old one is out wipe out the area around it really good, maybe even spray some brake cleaner in it and then just give the new seal a tap until it is in where its supposed to be.

Yeah, you shouldn't have to remove the cams, just the cam gears.

 

[bullettdsm]

but I've never done it. I think mbullett has though.

Yup, extremely annoying, awkward and difficult to get back on (you're basically fighting the tensioner). I only did it that way because others have talked about it, so I felt I would have to try it to see how it easy it was. I wouldn't do it that way again.

MB

 

[IIv SHaDoW vII]

Sorry for bumping my old thread but I just now got around to having my car inspected by a shop. They said my leak is definitely coming from the cam seals. My question is, can anyone provide a detailed walkthrough of how to replace the seals on these cars? I know some of the above posts give a limited walkthough, but I would like an in-depth description as I have never done this before.

A few misc questions as well..
Can I replace them without having to raise/lower the engine?
How long should I expect it to take?

An in-depth description from people who have done this before will probably answer any other questions I have. Thanks.

 

[CODE4]

Follow the same procedure for a timing belt service, as mentioned above. Once the belt is off, remove the cam gears, and replace the seals.

2GNT.com - Timing_Belt_Replacement

Download a copy of the Factory Service Manual or buy a repair manual to help.

 

[IIv SHaDoW vII]

Thanks for the quick response. I bookmarked that write-up in case I have to go that route. Does anyone have any comment on an easier way to do this? Right now the seeping cam seal is not getting oil on the timing belt so I was hoping I could just do something to cheat my way out of having to remove the timing belt. I replaced the belt less than a year ago.. It was a major pain in the ass for me.
Anyone ever try the zip tie method? How would I go about doing it that way?

Also, the specific cam that is leaking is intake cam seal (the one further back, towards the intake manifold).