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Min
06-07-2013, 01:49 PM
I`ve got a 94 TS v6. Its leaking ALOT of oil. I`ve replaced rocker gasket (front only) and oil cap. There is no leak from there anymore. Rear rocker cover seems to be not leaking.
Bottom of the engine is covered with oil. I`ve also had to replace the starter motor twice as both times it was flooded with oil and cheaper to get a new one.
I`ve just high pressure washed the engine and when I got home I cant see any oil leaks but under the car the little cat converter on the exhaust is oily and lots of smoke coming of it. I`ve got now idea as to where the oil leak is coming from. Atleast 1 liter a week is needed to be topped up.
I`m starting to think its the crank seal but this doesn`t explain how the starter is getting flooded with oil.

Any and all help/idea/suggestions welcom and appreciated.

MadMax
06-07-2013, 02:52 PM
Been there, done that. Have the T-shirt to prove it.

No, honestly. Get a torch and shine it down past the intake runners where the valley of the V6 is. If you see a sea of oil down there, the problem is on the passenger side at the rear bank, where the distributor is.
The distributor sits in a housing which is bolted to the cylinder head. The housing is sealed to the cylinder head with an "O" ring. The distributor gear runs off a gear on the end of the cam, the housing is always full of oil so if it leaks it does so all the time, even if the motor is not running. If that "O" ring leaks, oil flows into the engine valley, and overflows onto the gearbox and onto the starter motor.
Found this leak accidentally when overhauling the cylinder heads on my TS V6.

Min
06-07-2013, 03:10 PM
Thanks for the reply MadMax. I just had a look past the intake runners and don`t see any oil in the valley. I also took the passenger front wheel off to have a look from there. The crank seal seems to look ok. But looks like oil might be coming out of the black covers just above it. The rear rocker cover looks ok. Ran my finger across and no oil. But most of the back of the engine (Firewall side) has lots of oil on it and so does the alternator. What is behind this black plastic just above the crank?

MadMax
06-07-2013, 05:24 PM
Crank seal is well hidden and you need to remove a lot of stuff just to get to see it, whatever you were looking at wasn't the crank seal.

Blank plastic covers hide the cam belt. No oil behind there usually. There are oil seals behind it - 2 cam seals, 1 crank seal - but if they leak it comes out of the bottommost part, ie behind the crank pulley.

Only way to find and solve this oil leak is to start removing bits to get a better look.