Oil Leak Timing Belt Area

[WIDSM]

I did some searching but didn't really find anything. I have an oil leak somewhere in or around my timing belt. I just replaced the head with a built one that I purchased from someone on here. I still have bs. I thought it was leaking from the valve cover because the gasket edges are wet on that side, so I tightened down the valve cover but today it was still leaking. My belt has oil on it so I'm sure it's spreading it everywhere making it harder to find where it is actually leaking from. I know that oil isn't coming out the back side of the timing cover but it is the front. The block and oil filter housing is wet. So where can oil be leaking from on that side? I didn't touch the ofh besides installing an oil feed line, and I still got my bs. Could the valve cover still be leaking oil even though I tightened it down, maybe not getting a good seal? It's a pretty good leak too, but not to the point that'd it's going to go out of oil.
I can get pictures of it tomorrow if that helps.

 

[1990gsx1781]

how where the cam seals? is it sparying on your hood?

 

[ed_dogg23]

I have tightened the timing belt to tight before and trashed the seal for the oil pump. In turn the pump housing was trashed as well and I had to replace the oil pump. Any oil coming out of that shaft will ride along the belt and splash everywhere making it difficult to find the leak! Good luck bro.

 

[WIDSM]

Did the car still run, as in did you still have oil pressure and such. I did tighten my belt kind of tight.

Also I didn't replace the cam seal, I reused them. Yeah I know looking back that probably wasn't the best idea. However I don't think it was wet around them, but I will look at that tomorrow. I'm going to bring a flashlight with and try to pry the timing cover away enough to see in there and maybe I'll be able to tell. It seems to me that it's starting at the top though, because the belt isn't soaked and throwing oil everywhere but it is saturated. I think that it's coming from the top but I won't know anything for sure until tomorrow. Just when I thought I had it dialed in finally.

 

[1990gsx1781]

YA when i put my 272's in i reused the old cam seals bad move for me haha had to take it all apart and re do it with new ones

 

[justinhill98gst]

How long did you let the oil problem go for? you change your timing belt and tensioner? you do not want a belt soaked in oil or a weak tensioner i made my mistake that cost me a ton of money when i did my bc 272.

 

[WIDSM]

Today was only like the fourth time I started my car since I finished it last week. I drove around for a bit today hoping that I had fixed it and the oil would clear out but after I parked it and checked the oil was still leaking. Belt and tensioner are/were new.

I forgot to mention that it only leaks when the car is running if that helps at all.

 

[romeen]

Put some thread sealant on the bolts that hold on the hydraulic tensioner and make sure they are torqued to spec. The bottom one in particular can allow oil to leak past the threads. The bolt that holds on the balance belt tensioner pulley can also leak oil past it's threads (not common but it does happen).

Other than that there are quite a few seals on that side of the motor. Have you tried cleaning that side of the motor with some brake cleaner then letting it idle (not driving it) to see if you can pinpoint the leak? If all else fails a UV dye leak test kit can be an investment that over time can pay for itself.

 

[WIDSM]

I wasn't sure if I should spray brake clean on everything because I wasn't sure if there were any ill effects of doing so, but I guess I'll try that out to.

 

[ed_dogg23]

Did the car still run, as in did you still have oil pressure and such. I did tighten my belt kind of tight.

Also I didn't replace the cam seal, I reused them. Yeah I know looking back that probably wasn't the best idea. However I don't think it was wet around them, but I will look at that tomorrow. I'm going to bring a flashlight with and try to pry the timing cover away enough to see in there and maybe I'll be able to tell. It seems to me that it's starting at the top though, because the belt isn't soaked and throwing oil everywhere but it is saturated. I think that it's coming from the top but I won't know anything for sure until tomorrow. Just when I thought I had it dialed in finally.

Yes the car still ran and had the same oil pressure but it leaked like a siv. It slighly chewed up the housing and the gears as they were cocked inside the housing. I did not run it very long however, just long enough to get it to the house. After replacing the pump the oil pressure is fine and the motor is not damaged in any way.

 

[WIDSM]

Well today I sprayed everything down with brake clean, and the belt dried up while it sat there idling, so I drove around a little on base and parked and popped my hood to see that it was exactly as before. Not really a surprise or anything, I'm pretty sure it's coming from the valve cover gasket though. Hopefully autozone has one in stock so I can replace that and then see if it persists.

I replaced the valve cover gasket that day and since then my timing belt has been dry and everything else is drying up now. There's still spots on the ground when I park but I'm pretty sure that it's just oil slowly making it's way down. I'll keep an eye on it and my oil level though.

Well the valve cover did not fix my problem. I took the lower timing cover off yesterday and sprayed it all down. I didn't want to start the motor but I cranked it with the mpi fuse out. There was no noticeable oil leaking when doing this, but The cam seals seem to have gotten wet after cranking a few times. I'm going to replace them and put thread sealer on my tensioner bolts. Which color loktite do you suggest me using for that? Also do you think I should replace my belt, it's a greddy kevlar I'm not sure if those strech or not. It's still very tight after cranking the car at all spots on the belt.

 

[hairybeanbag]

Did you use Teflon tape or past on your timing belt tensioner bolts? The bolts run threw the front cover into the block, I've had them leak on me before! NAPA also sells a dye you can add to your oil, which is illuminated with a black light.

[Do not use toilet repair materials on an automotive engine. Use automotive sealants.]

 

[romeen]

Well the valve cover did not fix my problem. I took the lower timing cover off yesterday and sprayed it all down. I didn't want to start the motor but I cranked it with the mpi fuse out. There was no noticeable oil leaking when doing this, but The cam seals seem to have gotten wet after cranking a few times. I'm going to replace them and put thread sealer on my tensioner bolts. Which color loktite do you suggest me using for that? Also do you think I should replace my belt, it's a greddy kevlar I'm not sure if those strech or not. It's still very tight after cranking the car at all spots on the belt.

If you use Loctite I would recommend using the blue. But I would recommend a paste thread sealant. This is what I used. It works great.

http://www.permatex.com/products/Au..._Permatex_High_Temperature_Thread_Sealant.htm


Unless the belt is covered in oil or appears damaged I think you should be ok reusing the kevlar belt if it doesn't have a lot of miles on it.

 

[WIDSM]

Ok I see what you guys mean now by thread sealant. I'll go get some of that, I have a few other bolts that could use it too. Until I started this thread I've never heard of the tensioner bolts leaking. I've done a lot of t belts and never had a problem.
Also should I go to the dealer for the cam seals, or is it something that I can just call autozone and get?

 

[romeen]

I personally prefer to use the oem seals. I have compared them to the ones that NAPA sells and they seem a bit more rugged. The steel cable that you can see on the back of the seal was a bit thicker on the oem part. But having said that I have never used the aftermarket seals so I really can't say that they won't work as well. More than likely you will be fine with them.

Since you are doing the cam seals you should consider doing all the seals on the front of the motor since you're already there. Front crank seal, oil pump shaft seal, front balance shaft seal.

 

[romeen]

While the t-belt is off there is one other thing you can try to isolate the leak. Use a drill to spin the oil pump and look for the source of the leak.

 

[WIDSM]

Pulled the timing belt off and when I took the tensioner off the threads of the bolts were dry, so I know that isn't it. The ofh was dry except were you could tell oil was dripping down. The exhaust cam gear had more oil on it and surrounding it, so I believe that it's that cam seal. The seals were wet to. I still think that there is a possibility that it's my oil pan leaking and the belt it throwing it around.
I bought the cam seals today but I'm not sure if they're the right thing because the people there seemed confused.
Here is a picture of one of them:

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If that's not the cam seal that I need please tell me.

 

[newtypedsm]

what's the number on the seal? if it is a bca/national cam seal it should be 3771. the felpro kit # (which is most common) should have been TCS45483, and i think it consists of national seals anyways. i put a very light coat of ultra grey rtv on the outside of the seal and, of course, a light coat of motor oil on the inside lip when i installed mine. your picture looks to be the right seal, but i can't judge the actual dimensions from that pic.

 

[romeen]

Pulled the timing belt off and when I took the tensioner off the threads of the bolts were dry, so I know that isn't it. The ofh was dry except were you could tell oil was dripping down. The exhaust cam gear had more oil on it and surrounding it, so I believe that it's that cam seal. The seals were wet to. I still think that there is a possibility that it's my oil pan leaking and the belt it throwing it around.
I bought the cam seals today but I'm not sure if they're the right thing because the people there seemed confused.
Here is a picture of one of them:

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If that's not the cam seal that I need please tell me.

One thing about that seal that looks a little different from an oem one is the three ridges around the outer circumference. IIRC, the stock one is smooth. But as long as the dimensions are correct I don't see why it wouldn't work.

Remember to put a bit of clean motor oil on the outer and inner portions before install. Also make sure you don't push it in at an angle. It should be pushed in flat relative to the seal housing. Use a socket of the same diameter to apply even pressure around the seal to get it seated correctly.

BTW, is the outer edge of that seal tapered from front to back? Maybe just the angle of the pic but it kind of looks that way to me.


For reference, here is a pic of an oem axle seal.

 

[newtypedsm]

if you look at that picture long enough, your axle seal looks tapered also

 

[mosul210]

I would definitely go with OEM seals from the dealer. I went with Autozone seals once and they would leak. Replaced them with OEM and the leak went away.

 

[WIDSM]

Well I replaced my cam seals today. I went with the felpro ones, because the closest dealer is a pretty far drive from me. I haven't started the car because I'm letting the thread sealant I used on some bolts cure. I am pretty positive that this was the problem, I got a picture of the old cam seal.

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It was pretty much falling apart when I touched it. The rubber was so hard it was just cracking apart. The intake side wasn't as bad, it had a few cracks but I still replaced it. Tomorrow I'll take it for a drive and see how it.

 

[ChiTownHussla]

Any update on this? My car is leaking and is very hard to find as well. Please lemme know. THanks

 

[ChiTownHussla]

Any update on this? My car is leaking and is very hard to find as well. Please lemme know. THanks

 

[EC17PSE]

I've also got a similar problem to this! My oil pump and oil pan was a little wet with oil and I replaced my oil pan seal and its a lot better now! Every time I started the car I'd see oil spin around on the clear cam cover I have and it annoyed me! Since I've changed my pan seal its a lot better but I still get small amounts and its making me think my pump gasket is leaking a little its not doing any harm and pressure is fine!

Have you checked that gasket aswell??? As it might seem as if its coming from the top but it might just be thrown up from the bottom off the belt.