trying to find the annoying leak that is leaving oil over the driveway


now i know the front rocker cover is leaking but its only small and to be changed soon

but a fair leak seems to be coming from the bottom of the timing cover

is there somthing over the cover that leaks or is it more commonly somthing that pools there?

rego due very soon so need to find it and sort it asap but donty have cash to have a mechanic spent time looking over it

Could be camshaft seals or crankshaft seal if coming from the timing cover. When did you last have the timing belt changed and were these seals replaced as part of the belt replacement?

Best to degrease area (or wipe clean where degreasing isn't doable), recheck and confirm the whereabouts of said leak.

rego due very soon so need to find it and sort it asap but dont have cash to have a mechanic spent time looking over it

Three seals under the cam belt cover. Two on the cams, 1 on the crank.
Oil leaking can be from any of those. If it gets on the cam belt, you will need a new one, oil damages the belt.
Sorting this needs time and someone who knows their way around the Magna engine.

What are the alternatives? No quick, cheap fix possible.

@ammerty.. car was only purchased a couple weeks ago... so service history
already degreased, and confirmed thanks


@max was dreading that looks like i just need to hope it holds out till tax time when im getting a replacement van
how long does it take oil to wreck the belt?

how long does it take oil to wreck the belt?

How long is a piece of string? Depends on belt age/condition/degree of oil soak; and the severity of the leak.

arrh


thanks all

anyone know how long this sort of job generally takes... mechanics in my area are criminal,, was qouted 3 hours for a rear rocker gasket on the last magna try to avoid them when possible

I wouldn't recommend waiting to replace the belt if it is oily, which it may or may not be. Sounds like a belt change is needed anyway. If you do the rocker cover you need to prob do both covers. This is not difficult nor expensive but to do it needs to take belt off anyway(ooops ... no need to take belt off for that. wait till doing the camseals....edit). This is the time to do the cam seals which again is not difficult in itself, ditto the crank seal. All DIY'able if you take time (a weekend) to work out how and to gather materials and tools prior.

Often the rocker cover gasket is servicable as is the intake manifold gasket. Clean carefully, inspect and if ok use some rtv silicon and correct torque.

One thing to make sure of is why they are leaking in the first place... One reason, which I personally have experience of, is too high pressure in the engine caused by blocked breather tubes on the rocker cover and hoses of same, and the PCV. Cleaning them is very simple and may in fact reduce leakage significantly. The pressure in mine was such it blew one seal slightly sideways and it deformed. Not a huge leak but steady one. I did the crank at the same time as well as the sump none of which was particularly difficul in itself. Total cost was less tha 100 bucks.

If you're proficient you can do it all in a day easy,

I replaced a belt on a TS V6 engine with an oil leak from the crank seal. There was no oil on the old belt, so it's probably not going to be a problem.

You could always take the rear cover off the plastic cam belt covers, and have a look at the belt for oil, and maybe shine a torch down there to see if the leak is from the rear cam seal or from the crank seal?

Unless the Cam or Crank seals are pissing oil from a leak it isn't going to hit the belt, but the air draft from the belt will pull the oil leaks down the side of the engine and make a mess as it hits the crank and sprays out everywhere under the engine. My TS, Th and TJ all have all had the same disease - apparently Mitsubishi employed the same people that made the oil seals in my Jaguar... Is "Oil Challenged" the politically correct description of rubbish oil seals?