Hi Trev here,I have a 2002 TJ manga v6 executive Auto,i got a oil leak/leaks just wondering if some one can spot where its coming from,i am thinking rear tappet cover gasket and or distributor o ring needs replacing,car leaks oil down the sump near the drain plug but down the side of the motor and around the gear box/bell housing also a leak at front cylinders near the header wondering if it more than 1 oil leak.Notice the drip on the distributor.http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/540/r9CdUt.jpghttp://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/633/fGV8cI.jpghttp://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/537/ExnnY5.jpghttp://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/540/5KTwWh.jpghttp://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/911/ERYJaJ.jpg Pic 1 distributor,Pic 2 rear tappet cover.Pic 3 front header.Pic 4 sump

Photo's not big enough mate! Seriously, impossible to tell from that photo. Both distributor O-ring and rear rocker cover are common leak points, only way to tell is clean the motor down and check for the source.

Ok thanks,its awkward to get my spray bottle degrease in there,would you suggest removing some parts,I will put it up on the jack stands and spay the degreaser up from the bottom than house it of.

I would say do the rocker cover x 2, spark plug seals x 6 and the dizzy o-ring. 5 years seems to be it for the rockers , had mine done just under warranty (<5years) and weeping again now at 10 years. I get the cam and crank seals done when a Timing belt is changed adn I just had the box off and no weeping at the rear main seal at 10years and 170 000k

You can get rocker kits with plug and rocker seal. Plug seals can be expensive, not sure what aftermarket ones would be ok but I know with my 24V V6 galant aftermarket were nowhere near as good as the OEM ones I ended up putting in after doing the job twice but it was not a brand I'd heard of before AJUSA head set for a 6A12

And I'd be chucking new platinums in too because it's a bit of work getting into the rear, and may need a plenum gasket too.

If the rocker gaskets haven't been done yet, just do them. They're going to leak soon anyway if they aren't already.

Plenty of write ups here on how to do it. You can get kits online from Mal which include the spark plug seals.

My 2004 TL started leaking last year with only 80,000km on the clock. Do the back plugs at the same time, then degrease it and see how it goes. Even after degreasing it you might find there's a bit of residual oil for a while because it gets EVERYWHERE.

If that doesn't work, then look at the distributor o-ring.

Pretty much what TW2005 said, actually :)

Ok thanks TW2005 for that valuable information,yeah do those spark plug seals stop oil,ok i was thinking what you are suggesting,i am thinking what a nightmare its going to be removing that silver fuel injection manifold,replacing the rocker cover seals is the easy part,thanks

yeah thanks flyboy,I will do those things,thanks for the info and the car has got 247,000 ks on it,thanks flyboy and TW2005.

Here's some handy numbers for you. Other things i was thinking too, leads, cap and rotor? I know next time I go into mine they'll be on my list

MD321352 ROCKER COVER GASKET

MD198128 SPARK PLUG GUIDE SEAL

MD319873 PLENUM GASKET

MD311638 ENG OIL FILLER CAP GASKET( CHEAPER TO SPEND $2 THAN GET A NEW CAP)

MN176208 CYLINDER HEAD O-RING (there's a blanking plate in the rear with o-ring in the same location as the front which has the distributor in that spot), potential to leak also I would assume

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/s8moIgnDUwZcTm9-dIwMMkHVcIgAveMdEyZiUxQbZw0=w511-h644-no
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/xD-x5unqPgqCQXMTrmD58FJnJeUs7JcxnAiRcQFIptc=w511-h644-no
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/MQC7AGOXz_oc8r4BksMkksgJlLCnkG14xxFZMxvAfg8=w511-h644-no
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/fvzDjf8WsH5ECOJap0hd-3kClnMzLSEeDG4eCmBml2A=w511-h644-no

Thanks for that,apparently,the tappet cover gasket seals are hard to get now,but i saw these on ebay http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/2-X-Rocker-Cover-Gasket-Kit-fits-Mitsubishi-Magna-3-0-litre-3-5-litre-V6-6G74/201034714793?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%2 6asc%3D20140106155344%26meid%3D9756749cc1f64a328f1 5c5c0d5890146%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D6%26 sd%3D251456000392 do you think they are front and rear.

"hard to get"? Any auto part store should be able to get them via Precision or Federal Mogul.

I highly doubt it.

Thanks for that,apparently,the tappet cover gasket seals are hard to get now,but i saw these on ebay http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/2-X-Rocker-Cover-Gasket-Kit-fits-Mitsubishi-Magna-3-0-litre-3-5-litre-V6-6G74/201034714793?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%2 6asc%3D20140106155344%26meid%3D9756749cc1f64a328f1 5c5c0d5890146%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D6%26 sd%3D251456000392 do you think they are front and rear.

not sure what you mean, 2 x kits = 2 heads . same kit front and back.

Hard to get?
There is always Mal or Rockauto. Or the local Mitsu dealer.

yeah TheApothecary i looked on eBay,it appears thy are readily available,i must of read a post wrong,sorry about that.

oh ok its was a new rocker cover its self that was hard to get my mistake.

...i am thinking what a nightmare its going to be removing that silver fuel injection manifold...

Only the plenum chamber (box with the cast pipes running to the manifold) needs to come off, not the whole manifold, and the injector rails don't need to be touched at all. It seems like a PITA but really it's a 10 minute job once you've done it a couple of times. The throttle body can either be disconnected from everything and removed with the plenum, or it can be left attached to the rear bracket if you don't want to undo the coolant lines etc. Just take your time putting it back together, don't use any sealant on gaskets (not required if you've properly prepared the covers for the new seals... check out the many threads on this topic or give Mal at MitsFix a call). Be careful not to pinch the injector leads under the plenum when bolting it back down, and since many of the bolts are running into alloy you'll need a torque wrench (plenum-to-manifold 18Nm, throttle body-to-plenum 19Nm).

Here's a link to a thread from when I did mine. It also contains a link to Mal's advice on this, which is what I followed - this guy knows what he's talking about. Fairly easy DIY job if you use your brain and go carefully. Cover up heads when you have the covers off to prevent dropping anything in there. Buy yourself a 1/4" torque wrench which goes as low as 3.5nm or be very, very careful reinstalling the rocker cover nuts - if you over tighten so that there's no clearance between the cover and the mating face on the head, you'll warp the cover (they are very thin) and then it will permanently leak.

http://www.aussiemagna.com/forums/showthread.php?t=104452

Thanks Ensoniq5,

yes thank you flyboy for the links and thanks for the info on the torque wrench,hopefully the previous owner didn't over tighten the bolts on the rocker cover and i notice they have form as gasket on the rocker covers.

Hard to tell anything from the pics, but there are 3 default Fixes for the car all three can seem to put oil just about anywhere behind the engine:

Rocker cover - both the seals leak AND the covers get bent by over tightening them to stop the leak - just replacing the seal on bent covers wont fix the leaks
Distributor seal - this leaks oil around the back of the engine - surprising how much oil it can leak when it goes hard- cheap parts - to fix.
Cam and Crank Seal, mostly this leak will come out the bottom of the engine - as it has to run down the side of the engine

thanks bb61266,is the cam seal hard to replace,is that on the side of the front head with 2 bolts and the center looks like a welsh plug.

thanks bb61266,is the cam seal hard to replace,is that on the side of the front head with 2 bolts and the center looks like a welsh plug.

Seriously, do the rockers and dissy, clean it up and check. What i see is typical of those type of leaks.

The cam seal if leaking you could take one of the cambelt covers off and have a look but cam seals means removal of timing belt , sprockets, tensioner etc, setting it all backup and tensioned correctly, and it'd be lunacy not to do a timing belt job, oh and might as well throw in a water pump too if the history is unknown and the original is brand AISIN as far as i know so if an AISIN pump is in there it may be the very original.

Not really a beginners job with catastrophic results if you stuff up and the valves strike the pistons.

ok will do.thanks TW2005

Will be changing the Rocker cover gaskets and the distributor o ring on the weekend,probably not enough time during the week,the kids have school,So i want to take my time in doing this,also i had a problem with the brakes,sometimes i start the car and the brake pedal is rock hard an the brakes are locked on,then i restart the car,the brake pedal goes back down a bit then the brakes are fine.Also now i installed new rotors and RDA MAX pads and it has done it again,so i don't know,cheers.

Will be changing the Rocker cover gaskets and the distributor o ring on the weekend,probably not enough time during the week,the kids have school,So i want to take my time in doing this,also i had a problem with the brakes,sometimes i start the car and the brake pedal is rock hard an the brakes are locked on,then i restart the car,the brake pedal goes back down a bit then the brakes are fine.Also now i installed new rotors and RDA MAX pads and it has done it again,so i don't know,cheers.

I'm not going to try and diagnose this but this some of the things I know are , if you have your foot resting on the pedal and start it up, the pedal should sink as the engine fires and produces vacuum for the booster. I have had seized guide pins in my calipers and every pad change i check, remove , clean and relube these, check boots. that problem did reduce braking, maybe a hard pedal and weird noises .

never had what you describe.

I'd be a little concerned of maybe a master cylinder issue. Changing/flushing fresh brake fluid through the system say every 2 years is fairly important because of the fluid's affinity for moisture which it will absorb from the atmosphere over time. reduces the boiling point and promotes corrosion internally of the system.

Abnormality in the braking system , I'd make that a priority concern, would be really uncool for it to go the other way from a hard pedal to no pedal when you really need those brakes

Thanks TW2005,the guide pins were moving freely on changing the pads,i did re lube the pins with hi temp bearing grease,the boots looked old not cracked but worn as you would expect,i did notice though the left front caliper was missing the metal insert,that stops vibration and i think helps hold the pad in,so i don't know if that cold be a issue,i have been driving the car for 3 months and the brake problem has just been a issue now.

Thanks TW2005,the guide pins were moving freely on changing the pads,i did re lube the pins with hi temp bearing grease,the boots looked old not cracked but worn as you would expect,i did notice though the left front caliper was missing the metal insert,that stops vibration and i think helps hold the pad in,so i don't know if that cold be a issue,i have been driving the car for 3 months and the brake problem has just been a issue now.

Not sure which clips but they have shims to reduce squeal and a H shaped anti - rattle clip / shim. My mind suggests you have apply pressure but no relief of that pressure. Don't know enough about the finer details of the whole system whether boosters or ABS systems can do this, I 've had leaky , spongy, never rock hard jammed on brakes.

Traditionally you would not use petroleum based grease due to the rubber components, I know supercheap carry a Bendix satchet

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTYwMFg4ODQ=/z/S~gAAOSwstxVf8o9/$_35.JPG

Hi I noticed when i took the rocker cover of my tj magna,they were really tight,definitely alot tighter the finger tight and a bit more,i had to put a fair bit of pressure to crack them,and the gaskets had sealant on them,how would i check to see if the rocker covers aint warped/or can they be fixed.The distributor o ring was easy to do,the dizzy came out without to much trouble,cleaned it up and replaced with a new genuine o ring,$9.90 had to replace the cross over breather hose that connects the 2 rocker covers as it was cracked,also the same for the rear breather hose that connects to the large air filter hose $18 for connecting hose and $8 for the rear u shaped breather,which i thought was pretty good and only took 2 days.

rocker cover is on a level bench might be slightly warped about half mm rock when i push on a corner is this usable,don't surprise me since the bolts were done up way too tight.

rocker cover is on a level bench might be slightly warped about half mm rock when i push on a corner is this usable,don't surprise me since the bolts were done up way too tight.

Check the bolt hole area - when they are over tightened the cover is depressed - so when you put the new seal in this acts as a high point on the lower side - so the seal in between the holes isn't tight.

I had to put a small socket under the bolt holes and use a light hammer to tap the cover back into a straight line so the seal would now fit. No leaks now and no sealant is needed if everything is straight.

Ahh Exactly,thats how mine are bb61266 on rear and front rockers,thanks for the tip,will do that gently,Explains why when i put the new gaskets on they were leaking from the bolt holes,i got a tension wrench and talked to 3.5NM,so hopefully after i flatten the bolt holes out it shouldn't leak also been cleaned with degreaser,thanks for the tip,thanks.

Dam The rear rocker cover is still leaking,i cleaned both surfaces,new gaskets,no gasket sealant,torqued to 3.5NM,still leaks,what to do now,may be find some good used Rocker Covers or what,pretty disappointing.

Tighten the bolts by about half a turn.
Did you torque to 3.5nm, and then go around to all the bolts again to 3.5nm?
I kept going to all the bolts at 3.5nm until they all clicked at 3.5nm and no leaks after that for me

thanks Spetz ,well i thought they ere leaking again,but now i don't thing they are,i degreased the motor but on the rear rocker were the manifold is they is still oil on the flange and also behind where the bolts are,can the smoke be left over oil there,a bit worried to keep it running,but for now i cant see any oil dripping from the covers.and i did that what you said torqued to 3.5NM and went back over them.

I thought the same after doing mine, but they were fine.

It may have been partly residual oil because I only cleaned it up by hand. Removing the cover tends to drop a whole heap of oil down the back of head as you peel them off.

I recleaned mine, retorqued a few days later (didn't need to take the intake off using a series of small socket adapters and extensions) and they were fine ever since.

I think a few heat cycles on the engine helps the fresh rubber seal against the metal too.

well I don't know i dont think the rocker covers are leaking any more but i smell burning oil,i think there is oil on the front and rear exhaust flange bolts,there is oil on the front right side bank i think its a cam seal,no oil on the timing belt on the left side of the motor,so may bee wreckers time,would be nice if some one on here could have a look for me,i am in Deception bay area qld 4508,I have pulled and replaced the rockers 4 times since the oil leak.

Did you do your distributor?
Mine leaks and finds its way to the exhaust which then smells and smokes.

yes i did spetz,there is a small coolant leak on the bottom hose that connects to the TB,can the distributor still leak if i put a new o ring in it,which i already done.I cant work out the oil on the flange bolts

I did m distributor o-ring because there was a tiny leak.
I don't know what I did wrong, but after I installed a new OEM o-ring it leaked a lot more, to the extent that it leaked onto the exhaust and smelled/smoked.

There must be a special way of installing it. Plus I think you should use RTV sealant on the outside plate just in case

Hey spetz looks like to me the smoke is coming from the rear exhaust manifold where the EGR pipe bolts on the smoke is coming up from that and the bolts under that have oil on them,if the bolts come loose on the exhaust flange can oil leak there,oil may be burning there also its like that on the front flange.

Ok Spetz that's interesting,that's very possible,well i didn't think it can leak because i cant feel any oil,but it could be going where i cant feel or see,yeah and there is a face on the dizzy where you could put sealant.yeah i just oiled the new o ring on put it back in.got it for $9.90 at mitsi.

I usually use clean tissues to check for oil leaks.
You need to make sure everything is cleaned up prior though

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/540/OLeylx.jpg Well i am pretty confident this is where the smell and smoke is coming from,see the black tar on the rear flange,i have cleaned this off will see in the morning if it has made a difference.

Thanks for every ones help,the rocker covers are not leaking now,the smoke/oil smell was left over oil from previous leaks,no leaks from dizzy now either,I think there is a very small leak in the front cam seal o ring,near the thermostat housing,so i may do that soon and i heard that's a bit tricky,cheers.