Why Is Oil Dripping Behind My Oil Cap?

[Thamobster1578]

ok after removing my valve cover about 50 times do to various leaks i thought i finally solved the problem.but no.theres still a leak on my 420a eclipse turbo thats driving me nuts.it leaks in the back left corner behind where the oil cap is.i can see it spraying out the valve cover gasket when its reved high.it leaks next to the timing belt and down the block.could this be the oil cap gasket causing this or something else.ive rtv'd the whole gasket and its still giving me problems.its just this one area.ive researched this and thought i figured it out but i guess not.please help

 

[DSMcrazy3]

Is it leaking from the actual cap or inbetween the valve cover and head?

 

[talon749]

did you put a new gasket in there, or just RVT the old one? my old gasket did the same thing

 

[VelocitàPaola]

I'd eliminate the easiest and cheapest potential problems first: replace the oil cap, and get a brand spankin' new valve cover gasket. You shouldn't really need RTV on the new gasket, although, a little might help it stay in place while you seat everything.

If those don't solve the problem, maybe one of the camshaft seals if dying.

 

[Thamobster1578]

yeah i actually replaced it with 3 felpro gaskets which all failed so i went with the oem and i thought that solved it but it didnt.it def fits better and resolved a leak from a different area but its still leaking betwwen the gasket and the head. i also replaced the spark plug gaskets as well.only thing i didnt do yet was the oil cap.I just i figured it couldnt be the reason for it squeezing between the gasket..but could it.i guess il try it if it could be a problem

 

[DSMcrazy3]

You did smooth all surfaces before installing a new gasket correct?

 

[Thamobster1578]

the head was smooth.i tried getting all the rtv sealent out of the cracks from the previous install the best i could and believe it was well enough.this time i only used it on the half moons and the outside of the gasket ### i know they didnt use it inside the valve cover at the factory

 

[bullettdsm]

Any chance you could take a pic? I have found that a picture can be worth a thousand words with an oil leak.

MB

 

[Thamobster15781]

unfortunately there really isnt an area to take a pic from where its dripping.the easiest way to describe it is that if ## looking at the front of the 420a engine its leaking from the top left corner of the valve cover from between the head and gasket.its about an inch over from the left far left corner of the cover.ive tried everything.i just replaced the oil cap and that didnt work either.not sure what the hell it could be.

 

[VelocitàPaola]

Have you looked into the camshaft seal like I suggested?

 

[Thamobster15781]

i havent checked that out..how can u tell if the seals are bad.can u tell by looking at them.and can they be replaced without removing the timing belt and cams.thanks

 

[VelocitàPaola]

You should be able to see oil leaking from the seal, but you'll probably need to clean the area thoroughly to identify the leak's source. If you have the timing belt cover still installed, you'll need to remove it (and thus the timing belt too) to take a good look at the seals.

You have to remove the cam gears and timing belt to replace seals. You might have to remove the first cam cap too, but you can probably just puncture the thing with a sharp awl or something and rip it out. Then just coat the rim of the new seal with RTV and evenly tap it in place.

 

[bullettdsm]

unfortunately there really isnt an area to take a pic from where its dripping.the easiest way to describe it is that if ## looking at the front of the 420a engine its leaking from the top left corner of the valve cover from between the head and gasket.its about an inch over from the left far left corner of the cover.ive tried everything.i just replaced the oil cap and that didnt work either.not sure what the hell it could be.

Much better description of location. From your location that rules out the cap. You can check the cam seals without screwing with your timing. Zip tie your belt onto the gears. Pull out one bolt on one gear while engine is totally cold (that's when you have the most slack in the belt). You will be able to pull that gear off enough so that you can check the seal. Then put back on (being sure to line up the dowel) and do the other, if necessary. I would do this with my alignment marks lined up (just in case).

MB

 

[Thamobster15781]

ok cool thanks guys il try to check that out tomorrow.so how hard would u say the seal is to replace.can it be done by just moving the timing belt with the gear or does the whole timing belt need to be removed.in otherwards is this an easy task or something i shouldnt mess with if i dont know much about it.thanks

 

[dr1665]

First thing that comes to my mind, aside from damned double posting the same problem, is failure to use RTV at the appropriate location. Okham's Razor - The simplest solution is usually the right one. In this case, we're over thinking this way too much.

1. You need to be damned sure where the leak is coming from if you want this to be easy.

2. I'd be willing to bet you didn't use RTV where you are supposed to when installing the new gasket. See the third image down on this page to see where you need to apply a small amount of RTV.

3. If your cam seals are leaking you will need to remove the timing belt, which is a major pain in the ass. Now you see why I'm hoping this is simple.