Hi all,

first time poster...

my 98 TF magna has a pesky oil leak which from what i can gather is leaking onto the exhaust manifold (front rocket cover thankfully). i am thinking that it may be the rocket cover and i am not sure if i should get a second hand head and replace the whole head or if i just start with the rocket cover or something else.

i am sure there is no problem with the head gasket as i am not blowing any smoke nor do i have any oil in the radiator coolant, no over heating problems. to be honest the car runs really well.

it does have a crap load of oil underneath the engine. the only leak i can see is coming from or near the exhuast manifold.

keen to hear your thoughts, thank you taking the time to read my very first post ever.

Rocker cover gasket is the common cause of oil leaks on these cars

Yea most likely the rocket cover gasket. They get worn over time and leak oil. The front is easy to replace, just have to source one off of ebay for cheap. lol

I dont know why Mitsi are incapable of making an oil tight seal but the rocker covers and cam seals leak like sieves after 100,000km or so, and both leaks find their way onto the exhausts, the front cover is an easy replacement - probably do spark plug seals at the same time - but take particular care to only tighten the bolts to the specifications in the workshop manual as over tightening will cause more leaks when you bend the cover..

The rear will probably need doing at the same time it's a bit harder with all the intake stuff to remove but if you are mechanically minded it's not rocket science.

could not agree more.

i have already replaced the rocket cover gaskets about 2 months ago (front and back). i think that i may have tightened the crap out of them with my impact driver and possible warped or bent the cover. noticed in the manual (as you suggested) only requires 3-4nm. thanks for your input

yea see post below. i think i over tightened the crap our of the covers by accident.