motor oil leak! please help

[MitsubishiLover1996]

I was going to change my spark plugs and when I opened the cover, I noticed there was lots of oil. There was a little more than the picture but I cleaned it before taking the picture. Could anyone tell me what it is?

 

[Timechg]

I was going to change my spark plugs and when I opened the cover, I noticed there was lots of oil. There was a little more than the picture but I cleaned it before taking the picture. Could anyone tell me what it is?

If you are missing any valve cover bolts or they don't have washers, you will be leaking oil from the bolts. Also make sure you are no over-tightening the valve cover bolts because you could cause the valve cover to crack.

 

[DogWhistle]

Mitsu used the least expensive metal for the valve covers. Most of them develop hairline cracks, especially at the belt end, near the center. Because there is no baffle under the center section, the oil is splashed underneath these cracks and puddles in the spark plug bay.

Clean the cover thoroughly and check for hairline cracks. The solution we chose was removing the cover and welding the cracks from underneath to both seal them, and prevent them from spreading.

 

[MitsubishiLover1996]

When I bought the car which was a month ago, it didn't have bolts, only 2 so the rest I barely got them from engines I took out of in the junk from other eclipses. Some are loose so might be that. Would this make any damage to the engine? Thanks guys

 

[lasershark]

i had the same problem so i cleaned up all the oil and lined the spark plug bay with paper towels and took it around the block and found a hairline crack
like TIMECHG said careful not to over-tighten them

 

[McDizle]

When I bought the car which was a month ago, it didn't have bolts, only 2 so the rest I barely got them from engines I took out of in the junk from other eclipses. Some are loose so might be that. Would this make any damage to the engine? Thanks guys

First off, I'd go to your nearest Mitsubishi dealership and order new bolts and a gasket! Nothings worse than old bolts breaking on you. I personally would never use old bolts except if I needed to measure them so I could order new ones. After you get the bolts, clean the cover real good and look for cracks. If it's cracked you either should replace it or as said have it welded up. After you address that, remove the old bolts and valve cover have it repaired or replaced, replace the cover and gasket and than tighten the bolts until you see the gasket start to squish than go about another 1/4 turn of a ratchet. If you over tighten these bolts the cover will definitely crack! Good luck and be careful!

 

[Mitsu82330]

You might also look at the gasket for the oil fill cap. They tend to leak even when new causing the problem your describing. Sometimes people will double the gaskets there to create a better seal.

 

[bryanwheat]

First off, I'd go to your nearest Mitsubishi dealership and order new bolts and a gasket! Nothings worse than old bolts breaking on you. I personally would never use old bolts except if I needed to measure them so I could order new ones. After you get the bolts, clean the cover real good and look for cracks. If it's cracked you either should replace it or as said have it welded up. After you address that, remove the old bolts and valve cover have it repaired or replaced, replace the cover and gasket and than tighten the bolts until you see the gasket start to squish than go about another 1/4 turn of a ratchet. If you over tighten these bolts the cover will definitely crack! Good luck and be careful!

You will strip the threads in the head before you break the bolt, there is absolutely no reason to buy new bolts just to replace a valve cover. The stock bolts will be just fine if the threads are good.

 

[1G Eclipse94928]

First off, I'd go to your nearest Mitsubishi dealership and order new bolts and a gasket! Nothings worse than old bolts breaking on you. I personally would never use old bolts except if I needed to measure them so I could order new ones. After you get the bolts, clean the cover real good and look for cracks. If it's cracked you either should replace it or as said have it welded up. After you address that, remove the old bolts and valve cover have it repaired or replaced, replace the cover and gasket and than tighten the bolts until you see the gasket start to squish than go about another 1/4 turn of a ratchet. If you over tighten these bolts the cover will definitely crack! Good luck and be careful!

Go to the mitsu dealer for BOLTS?! Are you trying to get ripped off?

Go pick up some new bolts just make sure you get the right size and get a new valve cover gasket set if you don't find any cracks. Also make sure it wasnt from you spilling oil and not cleaning it all the way.

 

[dsmcrazy2]

Completely normal thing that happens over time due to the extreme heat cycles it goes through.. Simple fix so don't worry. The valve cover gasket needs to be replaced. Nothing major, just make sure to clean out the cylinder ports free of oil prior to taking out the spark plugs. Valve cover gasket is all you need to fix your problem. Make sure you don't over tighten the new gasket when replacing.

Good Luck. Have fun.

If you realize the valve cover is cracked and causing the leak. Let me know, I have a bunch of covers in perfect condition laying around. Some Jdm and some U.S

 

[ChrisMgst]

Yeah what BryanWheat said.
And don't use a ratchet!
A nut driver is perfect.

 

[bryanwheat]

Yeah what BryanWheat said.
And don't use a ratchet!
A nut driver is perfect.

A nut driver is just what I like to use with these. You can get a lot better feel for how tight they are, and it is hard to over torque them.