| Author |
Message |
BretM (Bretm)
Intermediate Member
Username: Bretm
Post Number: 1834
Registered: 2-2001
| | Posted on Monday, March 04, 2002 - 8:23 pm: | |
It may be hard for me drive my car at this stage, but I take it that it is very worthwhile to replace all these seals and should do so. thanks. |
Verell Boaen (Verell)
New member
Username: Verell
Post Number: 44
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Monday, March 04, 2002 - 8:18 pm: | |
Hmm,
I haven't heard them mentioned as particularly troublesome, but you're looking at 15-20 more or less year old rubber.
I thought that was where I had a leak, but it turned out to be the o-rings on my front bank cam pulley bolts. Oil would get slung onto the inside of the cam cover & eventually drip out of the bottom cam cover opening where the belt comes out to go around the drive pulley.
Isolating the problem drove me nuts. Took me 3 tries to figure out what was going on. I'd do the following:
a) Removing the passenger side wheel & fender liner.
b)spraying the entire pulley drive area with a hot water/detergent degreaser solution.
c) Let it dry overnite.
d)Drive the car a few miles, then pull the wheel off & look for traces of oil.
Finally instead of step d) I just left the car up on my lift & let it idle for 10-15 minuites. Sure 'nuff my son's eagle eye finally spotted an oil drop come out of the cam cover bottom opening.
Oil was also dripping from the bottom edge of the head, but that's another leak...
We'd already bought a UV light with flourescent dye to add to the oil. That's how the shops spot a really slow leak. Clean all the oil off, add the dye & watch to see where the glow appears.
I'll bet you're dripping a lot more than you realize. Since it only leaks while under pressure, most of the drips will be on the road. What you see in the garage is what's left over...
What makes the source of the leak so hard to identify is that the oil is nearly transparent and likes to form a film until it finds a low spot to drip from... |
BretM (Bretm)
Intermediate Member
Username: Bretm
Post Number: 1806
Registered: 2-2001
| | Posted on Monday, March 04, 2002 - 12:37 pm: | |
I think my engine may have been leaking (among other spots) out of either the timing belt drive pulley seal or the harmonic balancer seal. Are either of these common problems? I didn't want to break this part of the block off (have to take off the pullies, balancer, etc, a pain) but I think I'm gonna have to now to be sure. |
Verell Boaen (Verell)
New member
Username: Verell
Post Number: 42
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, March 03, 2002 - 10:22 pm: | |
Some of the 308 oil leak areas are:
a) Cam cover
b) Cam seals
c) Nut for the dipstick guide tube
d) Oil pan
Can you tell which side of the engine the leak is on?
Is oil dripping down onto something?
ie: Does the alternator have oil dripping onto it?
Where does the oil appear on the frame?
|
Kelly J. Vince (Tifosi1)
Junior Member
Username: Tifosi1
Post Number: 132
Registered: 2-2002
| | Posted on Sunday, March 03, 2002 - 7:20 pm: | |
You sure don't want oil getting to the timing belts. When I did my 30 K I replaced one, I was able to remove the cam shaft and slide the seal on from the other end, so I did not have to pull the pulley's off. Make sure you put a drop of oil back on the CAM when you put the cam cap back on and keep the caps in order. |
Edward Gault (Irfgt)
Member
Username: Irfgt
Post Number: 865
Registered: 2-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, March 03, 2002 - 6:23 pm: | |
The degree of difficulty is hard to determine as it depends solely on a persons ability and equipment and knowledge. In your case it sounds like you are not properly diagnosing your leak area. You need to clean your entire engine and pinpoint the major and minor areas of leakage and then determine your course of action. |
Peter Delaney (Delaney)
New member
Username: Delaney
Post Number: 3
Registered: 2-2002
| | Posted on Sunday, March 03, 2002 - 6:03 pm: | |
Can anyone give me a clue about replacing cam seals on a 308. Difficult .. not so difficult? I have a persistent oil leak ... only a couple of drops after ~ 100 miles, but it's annoying! I changed the oil pan gasket on the gear box as I knew I had two stripped studs .. no improvement.
Could it be something else leaking?
Any and all info. greatly appreciated! |