big oil leak

mr_pool_pool2000 · Post by **mr_pool_pool2000** » Mon Jul 11, 2011 9:35 pm

ok was driving my car to a friends and noticed that i was leaving a trail of oil
the car is a 1998 nb 1800 6speed

on first glance it appears to be coming form the timing cover down the left side it is dripping about once a second.
am going to remove the covers and see further tomorrow

so am wondering what seals are under there and how to check my bearings e.g. big end?

what is common on mx5 to go?

are these easy to replace / fix?

brownie · Post by **brownie** » Mon Jul 11, 2011 10:30 pm

What work has been done ,Motor wise,That you know of ?
Sounds like a dicky oil pump,I wonder if it's had the timing belt done and bugged the crank seal ??,
So long as the oil light has not come on while driving ,you should not have hurt it too much

SLYDIT · Post by **SLYDIT** » Tue Jul 12, 2011 9:16 am

the oil pump lives down at the front of the engine on the passengers side.

the bolt that holds on the air conditioning pump also passes through the oil pump housing to clamp it on to the block.
if your getting oil dripping from inside your timing cover area then it could be the front cam seals or the previously mentioned oil pump housing gasket/seal

RMS · Post by **RMS** » Tue Jul 12, 2011 4:47 pm

I had a mean oil leak that turned out to be caused by the valve cover gasket. It was <1yr old (from repco) but it'd gone very hard and wasn't sealing.

Figured it was the front crank seal so replaced that but it wasn't

mr_pool_pool2000 · Post by **mr_pool_pool2000** » Tue Jul 12, 2011 5:24 pm

nothing except service about 2000k's ago and cambelt at 98,000 car has done just over 145,000 now.

the oil light did not come on at all and oil pressure was good.

oil is still about 3/4 of the dip stick.

what do u think of fitting this pack and new gasket for oil pump that covers it all ?
http://www.mx5mania.com.au/product1833.htm

brownie · Post by **brownie** » Tue Jul 12, 2011 11:47 pm

I wonder when they did the cambelt if they did the crank seal as well ?,You are going to have to take the timing cover off and have to have a look,Get a can of engine degreaser and clean it down to see if you you can spot the leak if you keen enough to do it yourself

mr_pool_pool2000 · Post by **mr_pool_pool2000** » Fri Jul 15, 2011 5:13 pm

looks as though the oil is coming from the rocker cover near the intake cam.
ordered the gasket what kind of gasket seal should i use in the tight corners?
can i reuse the new gasket if i tighten it up and it dosent work?

sprsta · Post by **sprsta** » Fri Jul 15, 2011 6:35 pm

just a dab of RTV silicone just make sure it says sensor safe
you will be fine to re tighten it etc

just check its not one of the cam seals

mr_pool_pool2000 · Post by **mr_pool_pool2000** » Mon Jul 18, 2011 5:21 pm

oil everywhere cant tell where the leak is exactly so going to do the rocker cover and leave the timing belt cover off so i can see when its running where the leak is.

dose that sound like the thing to do?
maby i should have done the front end seals at the same time

?

sprsta · Post by **sprsta** » Mon Jul 18, 2011 6:38 pm

you may not see the oil if you leave the front cover off as there is a backing plate that the front cover mounts too that the oil will drip down behind

try pulling the belt off then removing the backing plate but be sure to mark your belt as the backing plate has the timing marks on it

then hopefuly you will be able to tell if its the cam seals or higher

mr_pool_pool2000 · Post by **mr_pool_pool2000** » Tue Jul 19, 2011 7:33 pm

on closer examination of my engine when i was cleaning it to do the rocker cover gasket i noticed that one of the cam seals was slipped out the other side is lose too!!!

ordered the cam seal's kit from broomfish.

can i change the top two seals by loosening the tensioner and removing them and putting them back exactly the same as before can it be done?

obviously i need to mark them carefully and the belt before i remove are there any tricks to doing this have watched some video's of it so have seen how it works

sprsta · Post by **sprsta** » Wed Jul 20, 2011 7:06 am

mark your gears and belt, and the direction also

mr_pool_pool2000 · Post by **mr_pool_pool2000** » Sat Jul 23, 2011 3:30 pm

ok all sorted did manage to do the cam seals with just the rocker cover and first cam cover was a mission though to re tighten the cam belt but can be done!!!

thanks for all the help and broomfish motersports for the quick parts delivery

if anyone has the same problems the's sights and videos where great help

note 78 in/lbs not 78 foot/lbs for the head bolts almost made the mistake!!!

http://mx5unleashed.com/tech/timing-belt-mx5.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDSFztSNcdI

RMS · Post by **RMS** » Sat Jul 23, 2011 8:39 pm

mr_pool_pool2000 wrote: note 78 in/lbs not 78 foot/lbs for the head bolts almost made the mistake!!!

I did this and snapped one of the bolts right off, luckily there are plenty of chrome bolts at pick a part because the mazda replacement part is an ugly galvanised screw.

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