After replacing a leaking valve cover we ran the car on the lift for 20 minutes. Everything looked dry. when we looked underneath I found oil drippings between the oil pan and transaxle. I though this was originally the rear seal leaking but the area inside the inspection plate is dry. I understand that the oil pan leaking is a know problem and would like any advice on removing the oil pan or should I be looking elsewhere? After reading the manual there is no gasket just some sealant which is really strange. Also there is an O ring between the transaxle and the engine should this be replaced? Anyone have any idea of the part number ? Below is a picture with arrows showing where the oil leak is located. Notice its in front of the inspection cover. Image Unavailable, Please Login
The area the arrows points to have no oil seal at all. It is just the gearbox against the engine block. There are three possibilities in that area. (1), Rear main seal, (2), the housing for the rear main seal, & (3), the oil pan. The housing does have an o-ring for sealing. The o-ring really doesn't fail. The main seal does fail over time and is the most likely cause. The pan is a long shot, while I haven't had to reseal a pan yet. I am sure it has happened in the past and will again as these cars get older. If it is not pooling or getting to the ground, I would keep it clean and drive it until it is at the point of needing repair. You will be pulling the gearbox, at that point rebuilding the throw out bearing is a must as it will ingest debris as you remove the trans and the bearing slides out to its limit. No way around this as it is just the way it works. You will then have the clutch all apart to access the flywheel and seal behind the flywheel. So put a new clutch in while you are there. Put in a new sensor for good measure and reseal everything.
Neil, you heard from two of the best Techs on the board. If it is not causing a pool of oil on the ground, let it be until you need a new clutch. That little oil leak is going to cause a 16 hour job, and $2500 in clutch, RMS, housing seal, and a new slave bearing.
I would like to thank all the Techs for their help and advice. The car is a 03 spider with 37,000 miles it is almost a 20 year old used car. At first I thought it was the rear seal and was prepared to remove the transaxle or wait until the car needs a clutch or the leak became so bad that I was forced to put oil in constantly. The car does not seem to loose any oil, constantly checked the oil level over the summer not a lot of miles under 1000. It did leave a good size oil stain on the garage floor mid summer after coming back from a shop, very disappointed. Durning my last inspection I found the cam covers were leaking so I started there. After reinstalling the covers I ran until it warmed up and inspected the bottom a saw the dripping from location of the arrows. I have the inspection cover open and there is no oil behind the flywheel - I had cleaned this over the summer when I started looking for why the car dropped a bunch of oil on the ground. This area has remained dry and I would. think oil would be there as well if it were coming from the rear seal. See picture attached. Quick not the car was not driven after the cam cover just run and the oil drips were right where the arrows are. I did clean it and start the car again but did not show any signs of drips, only ran it for a few minutes. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Oil pan leaks from that area are very common. Most of the cars were built using silicone and it leaked out terribly from the very narrow sealing area under the rear main seal. The cars built with anerobic sealant never leaked. There is an O ring between the rear face of the oil pan and the front face of the transmission housing. No sealant should ever be used on that O ring. To do so risks destroying the motor. We were doing those in near production line fashion while the cars were under warranty. I still see them pretty often that either were not done under warranty or some fool used silicone again.
I have ThreeBond 1211 I used this on the Cam cover will that work to reseal the pan? I just noticed this is a silicone liquid and may not be the right product. If not can you make a recommendation for a product you use? I was planning to order a new O ring as well
Permatex/Locktite 518 https://www.amazon.com/Permatex-51813-Anaerobic-Gasket-Maker/dp/B0002UEONM/ref=asc_df_B0002UEONM/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312181776237&hvpos=1o2&hvnetw=g&hvrand=3559125546066635201&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9028304&hvtargid=pla-490849814286&psc=1
Thank you - do you just apply a small bead - how do you handle any of the product that squeeze out between the surfaces.
w With 518, I run a small bead and use my finger to dab it and cover the surface evenly but lightly. You will get a little squeeze out but it should be very little. Also, 518 squeeze out will not harden, so if it gets in the system it will be mixed and go away with the next oil service.
No ..i Here is the description anaerobic sealant which cures when confined in the absence of air between close fitting metal surfaces. Typical applications include sealing close fitting joints between rigid metal faces and flanges. ... Recommended for use on rigid iron, steel and aluminum flanges. Sent from my moto g(7) using Tapatalk
Not necessary, but you should get the surfaces as squeaky clean as you can with carb cleaner on a towel.
