Engine/Transmission (1994 - 1998) chasing engine oil leak

[Hootguy]

Well,,now that i have my death wobble situation figured out,,,i am now chasing engine oil leaks...

2 weeks ago I replaced the front main seal,,,that helped some,,,and a new gasket too...

I checked the oil lines and fittings,,they seem ok. .

It seems to be concentrated on the lower front of the enfgine cover or front oil pan area...

Anyone have any ideas???

And if i have a leak from the actuall gear case to engine gasket,,how big of a job is it to fix????

And do i need to change the oil seal and gasket again???

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Dfuruness]

Good to see a fellow Canadian on here. Did you know if the Killer Dowel Pin was killed? I would hope that there was no damage that could cause the leak...



When I killed my KDP I replaced the cover and seal and of course it leaked afterwards. There was no leak prior. Even if there was the smallest amount of oil on the gasket during installation, it will eventually leak. Apparantly the gasket must be installed bone dry and free of any oil.



My guess there was some oil on the gasket seal when you reassembled.



My two cents.



Don

 

[DSiemens]

Gear housing to engine gasket is a big job. The camshaft has to come out to change that gasket. Try tightening the housing bolts first. That might stop the leak. If the KDP did damage the gear housing you should have seen it when the cover was removed for crank seal replacement. The crank seal lips are teflon coated. Ensure crankshaft snout is free of oil. This seal might be the problem.



Dan

 

[Hootguy]

Hi

The seal job was done by a very qualified diesel mechanic friend of mine,,that i work on his sportbike in exchange... . he's the one that sais about the seal going on dry... i trust him 100%. .

I did tab up the KDP,,,it had back out half way,,i was glad i chose to do the seal when i did,before the pin let go. .

Does any one know if the bolts to the gear case to engine are accesible for tightening if i just remove the cover again????

I am going to keep the same seal and gasket,,,it's only 2 weeks old. . so i'll chance it,,,my mechanic changes them out with the cover off in about 1 hour,,so i'll see if its ok. .

Thanks

 

[JGK]

Hooter69,



If your leak is on the driver's side down low, just above the oil pan, then you're likely in for a gasket replacement. That's where mine was. The bolts that hold the cover on that side also hold the gear case to the block down low. I tried tightening mine but it did no good.



I took the opportunity to put in a PDR cam.



JK

 

[Dr.Bob]

If it's on the driver side check the PS/Vacume pump.

 

[Hootguy]

I checked around pretty good,,and it seems to be comming from the gear case to engine area,,,right below the injection pump. .

I might try to clean the joint really good with contact cleaner and run a bead of silicone sealer of some kind,,,thats what i have heard from different people on here...

Any ideas as to a good sealant to use???

But the cam idea sound good,,how good is the PDR cam,,,,compared to say,,the DD one,,,i know Lawrence pretty good ,,and he has never steered me wrong yet,,,either with my truck or my racebikes...

Thanks for all the help. .

 

[JGK]

I can't offer any comparison between the PDR and DD cam since I haven't tried both. I believe the PDR cam is significantly less $ (or was). You won't see a real noticable increase in power or egt reduction. Piers said it'll drop egt's a little and improve low-end spool-up of the turbo. I did it since... well... if I gotta pull the old one out to fix the leak I might as well put a better one in! And I had the money at the time.



Piers has re-ground cores as well as re-ground new ones. I went with a re-ground core. He said that's what he uses in his trucks and they are a little cheaper. I really know nothing of the DD cam. Go with what you know!



Good luck on the silcone job. It might slow it down for a while. I did like you're thinking. Got under there with the engine degreaser and hosed everything down, then rinsed it all off. Let it sit for an hour or two until the water dries off. Then fired it up and ran it at 2000 revs for about 30 seconds and shut it down. Got under there with a flashlight and a mirror. Within a minute or two the source revealed itself.

 

[GAmes]

Thanks???

Thanks guys, I have finally found the leak that has been elluding me for the last 30K miles. It is the gear housing to block gasket and it never ocurred to me to check a gasket that has been in place for over 200K. I'm happy I have found the leak, but not happy about the repair. I'm going to try removing the front cover, retorquing the housing bolts and putting a bead of black RTV along the inside of the case. Since I have put about 140k on the engine since the KDP tab it will give me a chance to check how well that worked. This might be a good time to have the radiator removed and checked out too.

 

[DSiemens]

Haven not used a DD cam, but I installed a PDR camshaft. First impressions, increased mpg, less smoke and smoke less acrid or strong smell and a bit faster spool up. Also EGT dropped. I'd do it again but it is alot of work.



Dan

 

[JGK]

GAmes,



"... and putting a bead of black RTV along the inside of the case. "



If I understand what you meant by that, and your leak is indeed between the gear case and the block (back side of the case), this isn't going to help, nor is it likely to be possible. The timing and vacuum/PS pump gear is too close to the back and side of the case to do this. Primarily, the case has a "back" to it that hides access to the leaking gasket between the case and the block. So your only view of the gasket area is from outside the case.



If the leak is below the vacuum/PS pump and above the oil pan, about the only thing you can do is torque down the case cover bolts, some of which go all the way into the block. If that doesn't stop it, plan on a weekend of tearing it all apart and replacing the gasket.



JK

 

[GAmes]

JK,



I was thinking there are other mounting bolts under the cover and forgot about the vacuum pump gear. I was also thinking all the outside cover bolts are short. Guess I'll let the engine cool awhile and see what I can accomplish from the outside.

 

[DODGEDADDIE]

Mine seems to be leaking around the Timing Cover Housing Plate!!

Not 100% sure yet ,,but under side is covered,,blowing back from some where??

Is this gasket hard to replace??

Mine is leaking on the drivers side.



98 12 valve



THANKS

Mike In Maine

 

[GAmes]

Mine seems to be leaking around the Timing Cover Housing Plate!!

Is this gasket hard to replace??

Which is it, the cover or the case? The cover bolts to the case, the case bolts to the block. Replacing the cover gasket is relatively easy, and if you haven't killed the KDP, it is part of the job. The case gasket replacement requires removing the cam, at least a two day jub.