Passenger Side Oil Leak

[TheRock0720]

Alright I got the car back last night, was running very strong (minus the slight misfire at idle) but today I found out that I have an oil leak on the PASSENGER side now...

What we did:
Head Gasket
Head Resurfaced and Cleaned
Valve Seals
Water Pump
Timing Belt
Timing Pulley Tensioners
Cam Seals
Valve Cover and Spark Plug Gaskets
Coolant Flush
Oil Change
Front O2 Sensor
Drive Belts (PS, Alt., and AC)
Air Filter
Coolant Rubber Hoses
A Few Vacuum Lines
PCV Valve
and probably a few other things I'm forgetting...

I'm very disgusted at the moment and I can't believe I went through all this work and time and its now leaking on the opposite side of the engine now...

It's not the crankshaft sensor, oil pan gasket, oil filter, or pressure sending unit.

The only thing left on the passenger side is the cam seals and the head gasket. Has anyone had this issue before and know what it was?

I did replace the cam seals, so they're new, and I thought I was pretty sure to push them in all the way....although I did put the cam seals in, then the cams and did the timing, then I put the valve cover on last.... hmm

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That is the only picture I have right now that shows the area I'm talking about. This "area" is where the oil seems to be piling up near

 

[VelocitàPaola]

This may or may not be any consolation to you, but I have an oil leak in the same general area and I'm fairly certain it's the cam seals. I reused mine when I rebuilt the engine, so there's a good chance one of them is the culprit. Did you lube the inside of the seals with a bit of oil when you installed them? Many people recommend spreading a light layer of RTV on the outside too.

 

[Eeeeky]

It could be front main seal? Front case? I dont see a front seal on that list of parts..Being that its as old as the engine still, who knows? When you go replacing seals and such, you just gotta do em all.

 

[TheRock0720]

This may or may not be any consolation to you, but I have an oil leak in the same general area and I'm fairly certain it's the cam seals. I reused mine when I rebuilt the engine, so there's a good chance one of them is the culprit. Did you lube the inside of the seals with a bit of oil when you installed them? Many people recommend spreading a light layer of RTV on the outside too.

Well this gives some hope ha ha. I read up, some stated to put a layer of oil and RTV and some stated to put them on dry. The books I had didn't state much info on installing cam seals, they pretty much stated "install them". So to get back to your question, no I didn't lube them or put a little RTV before I installed them.

It could be front main seal? Front case? I dont see a front seal on that list of parts..Being that its as old as the engine still, who knows? When you go replacing seals and such, you just gotta do em all.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the "Front Main Seal" on the crankshaft? Which is at the bottom of the engine above the oil pan. My leak is around the head/block area on the passenger side (same side is the timing stuff, as you know).

Update: I can confirm now that it is the cam seal(s) are leaking, the inside of the timing belt cover is wet with oil and so is the back of the timing belt cover itself. After about 5 minutes of warming up you can actually hear what seems to be the seals rubbing against something and making a loud noise; louder as the RPM's increase.

I'm going to try to take the valve cover off and hopefully I can just move the seals back into place. I cannot afford, nor do I have the space and tools at the moment, to go back in and replace these seals. They're new, so I'm hoping they just didn't seat right and I can just push them back into place.

 

[TheEagle]

You'd be correct. the front and rear main seals are on the crank. Good you got the issue solved. I got a rear main seal area leak (not 100% sure, but there's nothing else that's between the tranny n back of engine to create this big of a leak), tackling that tomorrow.

 

[TheRock0720]

You'd be correct. the front and rear main seals are on the crank. Good you got the issue solved. I got a rear main seal area leak (not 100% sure, but there's nothing else that's between the tranny n back of engine to create this big of a leak), tackling that tomorrow.

Wow I wish you the best of luck with fixing that! I wish you lived closer, I would toss you a few bucks to help with my little cam seal leak ha ha ha.

 

[TheRock0720]

Just an update-

It was the cam seals that were leaking. We replaced them and also found that the hydraulic tensioner and arm failed and the belt was actually "walking" back and forth on the cam gears. We replaced those with OEM's quickly before we did anything more.

 

[PuNkShoO]

Was the walking causing drag on the cams and having an effect on the cam seals or did you do something different to get them to stay in place this time? I have oil collecting in the same spot and after reading into it on this thread and several more I've concluded its the same leak. I have zero experience with doing anything with timing and my mechanic is worthless and won't even show up at the shop to honor his "warranty" on my build. Nevertheless, did you put RTV or any kind of liquid gasket on them to help keep them in place an not leak? If Im going to do this I dont want to have to do it all over again because they popped loose again, .

 

[TheRock0720]

Was the walking causing drag on the cams and having an effect on the cam seals or did you do something different to get them to stay in place this time? I have oil collecting in the same spot and after reading into it on this thread and several more I've concluded its the same leak. I have zero experience with doing anything with timing and my mechanic is worthless and won't even show up at the shop to honor his "warranty" on my build. Nevertheless, did you put RTV or any kind of liquid gasket on them to help keep them in place an not leak? If Im going to do this I dont want to have to do it all over again because they popped loose again, .

When I installed the cam seals the first time, I didn't pop them in correctly so they just popped out. I actually brought my car to my mechanic and he did the cam seals for me. I don't know the details of exactly how he did it. Maybe someone else can chime in on the steps to do it or maybe even help you with it. Sorry I cannot be of much assistance.

 

[PuNkShoO]

When I installed the cam seals the first time, I didn't pop them in correctly so they just popped out. I actually brought my car to my mechanic and he did the cam seals for me. I don't know the details of exactly how he did it. Maybe someone else can chime in on the steps to do it or maybe even help you with it. Sorry I cannot be of much assistance.

No worries. Thanks for the quick response though. I'd rather pay someone to do it considering how little time I have but the shops around here want like $300 to do it. I mean, yes, I've never done it but if I can do it myself on a day off and save $200... Anyone who has any input: It would be much appreciated! Thanks again and in advance!

[Edit] This would probably be the perfect time to replace the tensioner and install an underdrive pulley too, huh?

 

[TheRock0720]

No worries. Thanks for the quick response though. I'd rather pay someone to do it considering how little time I have but the shops around here want like $300 to do it. I mean, yes, I've never done it but if I can do it myself on a day off and save $200... Anyone who has any input: It would be much appreciated! Thanks again and in advance!

[Edit] This would probably be the perfect time to replace the tensioner and install an underdrive pulley too, huh?

Yes it wouldn't be a bad idea! If it makes you feel better, I spent $395 in labor for my mechanic to redo the timing for me. THEN, just my luck too, the cam seals popped out and the hydraulic tensioner failed so I had to plop him another $886 (500 labor, 387 parts) to go back and replace the hydraulic tensioner, tensioner arm, and cam seals. So it's best to have it all done at once so you don't go through what I did... unless money isn't a factor, then you can do whatever you want.

 

[PuNkShoO]

Yes it wouldn't be a bad idea! If it makes you feel better, I spent $395 in labor for my mechanic to redo the timing for me. THEN, just my luck too, the cam seals popped out and the hydraulic tensioner failed so I had to plop him another $886 (500 labor, 387 parts) to go back and replace the hydraulic tensioner, tensioner arm, and cam seals. So it's best to have it all done at once so you don't go through what I did... unless money isn't a factor, then you can do whatever you want.

Great tip. Sorry to hear you had to go through all that