Front Oil Cover Leak? Easy Fix? *PICTURES*

[dongoesby]

I have the SR motor pulled out and noticed some nasty grease around the front of the engline block. I checked around and like to know if you guys can confirm with me that these seem like the front oil cover has been leaking on this motor for a period of time.


http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m148/Dongoesby/IMG_2833.jpg
The grease seems thick and appears to have been there for a quite long period of time. The wet spots are just some Mean Green that I sprayed on it planning to clean the greases off.

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m148/Dongoesby/IMG_2837.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m148/Dongoesby/IMG_2839.jpg

At first, I thought the head gasket was leaking, but after close examination, the grease seems appear around the front oil cover. It seems that it needs new RTV. Is it easy to remove it? Do I have to take off the head to have it removed?

Thanks. Much appreciated!

[Mister.E]

if you read the FSM you will clearly see that it is no easy task. you have to damn near disassemble the whole engine to take the front cover and pump off.

[dongoesby]

i've seen people done it without head off. pretty much crank pulley off, lower oil pan off and higher oil pan off.

I want to confirm if this seems leaking. thanks!

[aNskY]

head doesnt have to come off, but upper pan does. it's pretty easy when the motor is on a stand...

[Mister.E]

my motor is doing the same thing and i have yet to figure out where its coming from.

[dongoesby]

my motor is doing the same thing and i have yet to figure out where its coming from.

how is your compression? mine is 145-140-145-150 :(

[aNskY]

how is your compression? mine is 145-140-145-150 :(


Thats not terrible..

[dori_sil8t]

mine is leaking at the same spot too but i dont lose any oil? or enough to make a difference on the dip stick

[driver11324]

I had the same problem, I took the cover off and resealed it along with a new front seal, o-ring on the CAS and gasket on the chain tension thing. Hopefully it doesn't leak, I will be pissed.

[dongoesby]

I had the same problem, I took the cover off and resealed it along with a new front seal, o-ring on the CAS and gasket on the chain tension thing. Hopefully it doesn't leak, I will be pissed.

This cover uses RTV to seal only right? Please keep us updated!

[landins13]

you can pull the case by dropping both oil pans and the crank pulley, honestly if you arent losing oil, clean it and check it later, its not worth the hassle to pull it if you arent losing oil through it

[Chrischeezer]

yeah, you basically have to take the whole head off to seal that sucker up properly
good chance to do head gasket and studs

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k141/ChrisCheezer/bottemend.jpg

[smelly240]

except the head doesnt have to come off... I've done a bunch of em without pulling the head. Kids dont have the $ to do headgasket and studs all the time - pull th elower pan - and u can do it - but try to prime the oil pump a little before u put it back on.

[Mister.E]

how is your compression? mine is 145-140-145-150 :(

my compression is like yours, its not totally bad. i cleaned the motor as best i could the other day and im just gonna wait and see what happens.

[dongoesby]

you can pull the case by dropping both oil pans and the crank pulley, honestly if you arent losing oil, clean it and check it later, its not worth the hassle to pull it if you arent losing oil through it

my engine is out on a stand. If I don't do it now, I couldn't figure out when would be a good time to hassle with it.

The problem right now is that I don't know it is leaking or not.

yeah, you basically have to take the whole head off to seal that sucker up properly
good chance to do head gasket and studs

I researched about how hard it is to take out the head, and I don't really mind doing that. However, sending out the head to shop for deck and machine is another category. $$$... :(

[JVD]

my engine is out on a stand. If I don't do it now, I couldn't figure out when would be a good time to hassle with it.

The problem right now is that I don't know it is leaking or not.



I researched about how hard it is to take out the head, and I don't really mind doing that. However, sending out the head to shop for deck and machine is another category. $$$... :(
It's only like $50 dude...

[dongoesby]

It's only like $50 dude...

taking out the head while no money to update cams and other internal parts? what is the point with all the hard work and risk of breaking the vulnerable parts and readjusting timing chain, cas, etc?

plus, a good headgasket costs 200 + head studs... are all money. It would be nice to do them all at once IMO.

[JVD]

taking out the head while no money to update cams and other internal parts? what is the point with all the hard work and risk of breaking the vulnerable parts and readjusting timing chain, cas, etc?

plus, a good headgasket costs 200 + head studs... are all money. It would be nice to do them all at once IMO.
Just drop the upper and lower oil pans then. Much easier, especially since your motor is already out.

[slider2828]

I dunno it could be also the power steering pump as well.... But the front cover has the oil pump in it, so you might as well replace the oil pump while your at it. Its about $250 for the oil pump with front cover, you might as well do it.

[dongoesby]

I dunno it could be also the power steering pump as well.... But the front cover has the oil pump in it, so you might as well replace the oil pump while your at it. Its about $250 for the oil pump with front cover, you might as well do it.

https://www.thenismoshop.com/popups/pu_49110-52F00.jpg

This one? If it is leaking, isn't it better to change the hose? It shouldn't be changed unless it stops from working I assume.

[Mister.E]

i think my PS pump may be leaking too. is it possible to crack it in half and replace that gasket that you can see in the picture? if mine is leaking then thats gonna be the only place that its leaking. the hoses look fine and i replaced all the shitty factory clamps with better hose clamps.

[Def]

The o-ring on the PS supply tends to compress over time and weep a bit. Mine was staying wet, all it took was replacing the o-ring and it stopped.

It doesn't really look like it's coming from the cover from those pics, but it's hard to tell with that much grime.

[Chrischeezer]

i got a use HKS headgasket for sale if you wana do it, 50 bucks...

[240sxaddict]

Why has no one suggested the front main seal being the problem?

[aNskY]

because the FMS is about 18" below where the leak appears to originate? i guess it's possible that the crank pulley is spraying it up there though...

[orion::S14]

Why has no one suggested the front main seal being the problem?

+1 for that.

That's EXACTLY what a bad front seal leak main looks like...the pulley throws a mist of oil all around, and grime sticks to it. A leaky timing cover will be wet and obviously oily...not caked up dirt like that.

You don't need a headgasket, you don't need a timing cover replacement, you don;t need any RTV to fix this...it's a $7 'donut' seal.

Remove the crank pulley, pry out the old seal...then tap the new one in. Done.

- Brian

[nrmskate]

There is no way that shit is from the PS pump/lines, it uses ATF and that's red, this gunk is black.

I would say since the motor is already out, take the 14 bolts or whatever it takes, take the pans out, pop ur valve cover off, and pop the front cover off, RTV it, and put it back together, it cost no money to do that, unless you don't already have RTV.

Only thing is, is time consuming, really not that hard man.

[dongoesby]

+1 for that.

That's EXACTLY what a bad front seal leak main looks like...the pulley throws a mist of oil all around, and grime sticks to it. A leaky timing cover will be wet and obviously oily...not caked up dirt like that.

You don't need a headgasket, you don't need a timing cover replacement, you don;t need any RTV to fix this...it's a $7 'donut' seal.

Remove the crank pulley, pry out the old seal...then tap the new one in. Done.

- Brian

thanks! did you ever have the similar bad front main seal leak that happens to be just like this before?


There is no way that shit is from the PS pump/lines, it uses ATF and that's red, this gunk is black.

I would say since the motor is already out, take the 14 bolts or whatever it takes, take the pans out, pop ur valve cover off, and pop the front cover off, RTV it, and put it back together, it cost no money to do that, unless you don't already have RTV.

This is what i'm thinking, better be safe than sorry later. I'd like to do all the seal all over again. Can you explain more about the red ATF that the PS pump is using?

[georgesal]

+1 for the front main seal i would preplace it clean up the motor, some lof like regular road grime and oil from the front main seal. what happens it flings off the pulley when the motor is running

[MrFairlady]

You have to remove the cam on Driverside as well, to access the 1 bolt through the top correct??
I started to remove my cover when I had it on a stand but saw all that was needed to get it off and decided I'll worry about the STUFF I know about 1st.
My Shit Is leaking the slightest bit now that I've finally installed it back in the car.

P/S pump is pouring and Freaking Oil Turbo line (on the block) is leaking also. DAMNIT!!Found a Toyota Double Banjo P/s hose washer that looks to be perfect for the turbo line.

I re-sealed the upper and lower pans after cleaning them and they seem wet after the motor ran for a few mins.I'm only using Regular Castrol oil too.I can only imagine w/ FUllSynth.

[Vatche]

when we put my motor back together we forgot to put the rtv on the front section where the oil pump assembly is, and its been leaking since.

if you cant afford to pull the head off and do it right, then just leave it alone. any way you look at it, it costs labor. if you can do it yourself and you think its worth the time then figure it out, but for me personally i can deal with the front cover being dirty rather than pulling the head off. ill just wait til the next time i remove the head for whatever reason it is. the engine runs fine. i add about half a quart of oil midway through oil changes.

[datboibrad]

wow you guys are making this hard. you dont have to pull the entire cam, thats just a waste of time. like everyone else said.

remove lower and upper oil pan sections
remove crank pulley
remove valve cover.
remove exhaust cam gear(ziptie gear to chain to not lose timing)
remove tensioner(helps to get the gear back on with the slack)
remove the stupid 10mm bolts that connect the head to the timing cover

DONE. shouldnt take more than 30 minutes IN THE CAR.

installation is reverse obviously


great time to change the FMS. ive found it pointless to put rtv on the top of the head gasket since the head covers everything at the top most point and have yet to have a single problem.

[toyo_]

I have the SR motor pulled out and noticed some nasty grease around the front of the engline block. I checked around and like to know if you guys can confirm with me that these seem like the front oil cover has been leaking on this motor for a period of time.


http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m148/Dongoesby/IMG_2833.jpg
The grease seems thick and appears to have been there for a quite long period of time. The wet spots are just some Mean Green that I sprayed on it planning to clean the greases off.

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m148/Dongoesby/IMG_2837.jpg

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m148/Dongoesby/IMG_2839.jpg

At first, I thought the head gasket was leaking, but after close examination, the grease seems appear around the front oil cover. It seems that it needs new RTV. Is it easy to remove it? Do I have to take off the head to have it removed?

Thanks. Much appreciated!



Good afternoon,

I have exactly the same problem, could you please tell me if you finally solved it by changing the o-ring?

I would really appreciate it if you could help me.

Thank you very much for the help.
A greeting from Spain.

[kyral]

Have you considered the front main seal to be the problem? id replace that first before anything, seems like every Nissan leaks there
and definitely clean that stuff off so you can get an idea where its coming from it doesn't look to be oozing out the timing cover.
it really doesnt even look like th oil is leaking from the cover, it looks like dirt and oil are being thrown there

[slider2828]

Its most likely front cover oil pump.... It just gets hot and leaks. Nothing you can do about it on an old motor.

Good luck