Oil Leaking (420A)

[E362G]

Hey guys so I was wondering if there were common places on these cars for oil leaks. I researched and found out the Camshaft Sensor O-ring usually leaks and that's my first leak which I believe is leaking onto the top of the tranny. I also have a leak in the back of the engine bay and thought maybe oil pump o ring?? I don't really know what else in the back might leak. Maybe the head gasket (hope not)? Tomorrow I'm changing the camshaft position sensor o ring, coolant flush, Valve Cover Gasket, rear sway bar end links, tie rod end links. Thanks again if anyone knows any probable leaks from the back. Also I believe the crankshaft position sensor is bad because when I came off the highway the car stalled out and then stopping at a red light it shook a lot then stalled and shook then it was fine and got me home... Any insight would be appreciated.
Here's the Car, picked it up today for $1100:

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[Aproductions]

I just picked up my first 420a as well. I believe the Valve cover leaks, cam sensor oring, also with these cars the head gasket goes out because the back driver side corner head bolt is too long and there are not enough threads for it to get tight.

Goodluck with the car man

 

[Leonthefaded]

Nice find!

 

[Aproductions]

are the console and dash different colors?

 

[dalesmitsu]

Nice find. Valve seals leak also. One way to know is if there's oil in your sparkplug wells and valve gasket spark plug ring can also do this. But a more serious problem like blown piston rings can bring oil up into the wells.

A compression test good numbers across he board in good indicator everything below is good to go.

Remember changing the valve cover gasket kinda pita due to the harness along the timing cover and rear. After a few VG(valvecover gasket) changes you get the hang of it, from I was told.

There's a write on 2gnt.com and might as well be one also here on tuners.

 

[Abe'sGST]

My old 96 NT leaked oil from the CMP o ring as well, before you start changing gaskets verify where it's leaking from. BTW great buy, just wash and clean that bad boy up. I would consider changing the front bumper and headlights to a 2gb style, much better look IMO. good luck

EDIT: put a filter on the intake tube too, before you get something in the engine you don't want.

 

[skunkdsm95]

sweet find! just pick ed up a 420a myself

 

[E362G]

So I have white smoke, engine stalls now and then.. oil leaking. And smells like oil is burning. I'm thinking head gasket? Any advice?

And it has a filter just was replacing during pic

 

[ThunderChild]

Before I rebuilt my freinds 98 gs, it leaked every where. The head gasket, crank sensor, cam sensor, valve cover...etc. sounds like ## head gasket might be leaking, just have to to get back there and look around

 

[Cdc1221]

Definitely the head gasket. 420as are notorious for leaking oil out the back of the hg. But seems like your burning more than oil. I would pull the head and have it reworked, but before anything id run a compression test to make sure the bottom end is worth putting a reworked head on. 420a's are inexpensive to replace

 

[E362G]

Well no knocks, the engine did pull when I drove it. It felt like a solid motor up until after running 30 min at operating temp.

I picked it up 5 miles away and when I got home no oil registered on the dip stick. Also the coolant hoses were bulging and were running extremely hot. White smoke and oil leaking. Almost at the head now.

 

[blindboarder_02]

Oil sending unit on the backside of the block can potentially leak oil also.

Edit: White smoke is not a good sign. Is it white smoke right away when you start it, or after its warmed up?

I would put money on the head gasket is junk. My head leaked oil at #4 and had white smoke on start up. Coolant was passing into the cylinder and getting burned up with gas-thus white smoke.

 

[E362G]

Oil sending unit on the backside of the block can potentially leak oil also.

Edit: White smoke is not a good sign. Is it white smoke right away when you start it, or after its warmed up?

I would put money on the head gasket is junk. My head leaked oil at #4 and had white smoke on start up. Coolant was passing into the cylinder and getting burned up with gas-thus white smoke.

Only when it is warmed up. I drove the car home without any issues, when I put some oil in it and did some small things the engine was still slightly warm, 10 minutes later it was jerking and stalling some. I took it home and figured head gasket after all the coolant hoses were bulging. I have everything taken off to get to the head other than the timing belt area, engine mount, PS rack and need to buy couplings to take off the head itself.

Also other than inspecting the head and block when I get there today is there a way to know if there is a crack in the head or block? Common on these motors? For example on the M54 BMW motor a cracked head is common and on an M44 you usually get away with just the gasket.

 

[Abe'sGST]

If you haven't started taking the head off, do a compression test and see how good it is. If any cylinder is much lower than in specs i wouldn't hesitate to just go ahead and rebuild the whole engine. By the end of the day you will have a nice car with a very reliable engine for the price around 2k, that's including what you spent on it buying it. You can't beat that

 

[Anubis_4_99]

Well no knocks, the engine did pull when I drove it. It felt like a solid motor up until after running 30 min at operating temp.

I picked it up 5 miles away and when I got home no oil registered on the dip stick. Also the coolant hoses were bulging and were running extremely hot. White smoke and oil leaking. Almost at the head now.

If the hoses are bulging and feeling hot, i would make sure to change the thermostat and check that the radiator isn't clogged.

Also other than inspecting the head and block when I get there today is there a way to know if there is a crack in the head or block?

If there are doubts about the head or block it's best to have them tested and machined at a machine shop.

 

[Dohcpaul]

Hate to revive this but I'm new here, I bought this car two days ago am now having this issue but it seems like my oil is leaking from under crankshaft on passenger side ( or whatever that is that my power steering belt is hooked up to ). The oil is very clean like it looked like fresh oil. It's not a bad drip but when I looked under the car the suspension piece and that box looking thing at the bottom of the engine are really greasy. The car runs perfectly fine though and the leaking oil seems unused so I'm confused what the problem could be.

.
1996 Mitsubishi eclipse, 420a, manual transmission, 147k miles, no a/c installed

Maybe oil pan or something? I'm far from a mechanic and this is my first project car. I'm trying to learn.

Guys before me uninstalled everything air conditioning related. Didn't have power steering until I found this forum. (400k5) belt to crank and PS. Under crank is very greasy oil leaking.

 

[Jsrunnlus]

There will be a seal that goes around the crankshaft and the point I would examine just based on the mileage. Then you have a seal on the oil pan. They make a dye that can be added to the oil in effort to help determine the point it is leaking.

 

[Dohcpaul]

After further examination. (Pics below) it looks like it's taken a beating on the pavement. Jackass who I bought it from has the front end deadly low to the ground. I'd say the front bumper is around 2.5in smh. Looking into buying stock shocks soon (pic), anyway

Is that the oil pan?? Idk what that is.. is this catastrophic?

 

[Jsrunnlus]

Image 222 is showing some oil in a suspicious location at the edge of the block and directly above the oil drain. Crankshaft pulley appears to have a chunk taken out of it on the back side as well. No obvious signs of oil being slung by the pulley but you can tell it is getting back up on the CV axle.

 

[Dohcpaul]

I didn't notice the crank shaft chunk I'll examine that further.

Well I've just called a mechanic and he's coming to check it out in about 20 minutes. I'm going to have him thoroughly look at it and I'll post what he says. I guess my main question is going to be what all I'm going to have to replace to get this car in working order. I'll post again soon.

Different angles of problem area in pics. Car has to be at most four inches off the ground at oil drain.

 

[Jsrunnlus]

You can see the front pulley also has a piece broken from the edge (IMG 244 at the 1 - 2 o'clock position). Signs of oil from the crankshaft seal. Oil pan bolt likely missing the seal. Those photos don't show anything major.

 

[Dohcpaul]

Mechanic said replacing the oil pan is a must & raising the car is a must but it's not a major problem. But he wants like $150 for the job. Is it something a beginner like me can do or is that a reasonable price?

Also that chunk out of crank shaft is on the power steering / Ac pulley. He said a new engine but also said I could drive it as is. What do you think

 

[Jsrunnlus]

The pulleys bolt to the crankshaft with that bolt in the center. Likely has a keyway cut into it keep it from spinning. it will be tightened well and may even have loc-tite on it. I have electric and pneumatic impacts and pullers but can tell you from experience if you are using just a ratchet you may have a few choice words breaking the bolt loose. Especially if you have an automatic transaxle.

I don't know the current price of oil pans but it's not a major job to replace it. You can see the bolts that come out. Obviously you have to have clearance from the exhaust for it to come completely off. Clean it up along with the block area for the new seal. Depending on whether that includes the parts to do the work it could be reasonable.

I would remove the crankshaft pulleys and check the crankshaft seal. In those photos you can see it is rather damp around the 5 o'clock position of the seal at the block.

 

[Dohcpaul]

Thanks for all your help man you've been seriously helpful my dude