More trouble in paradise...

Spoke to a neighbor this past weekend who is a junior mechanic and asked him about my oil leak. He pointed out to me that it appears the engine seals are leaking (believe he worked for a Nissan dealership), and that the engine gaskets will need to be replaced in order for the leak to cease. He told me that it's a relatively expensive job, and that I'd do just as well to get the engine overhauled.

Can anyone tell me what is involved in an engine overhaul, the price range I might be looking at, as well as any alternatives you might suggest to fix this problem. He showed me where the oil was leaking around the seals where the spark plugs in the rear of the engine sit (just in front of the oil cap). I'm about to get my suspension redone, and know I'm going to have to look into getting this problem resolved. I'm also wondering whether or not I'd do just as well to just replace the engine, since I was considering moving on to a VG30ET and just going on with my life...

As always, any advice would be appreciated.

peace2u

 

It sounds to me you need to just put in a pair of
rockarm cover gaskets. What the heck is that guy
thinking you need an engine overhaul?
If you have leaks from timing belt cover area, you may need another T-belt + front engine seals job.
About 3 hours labor.

 

@wawa92gxe...

You have any idea how much your suggestion something would cost? It may be time to replace the timing belt too. I had it replaced since I bought the car, so it may very well be time for it.

Thanks bro! Anyone second the motion??

peace2u

 

"junior mechanic" and "worked for Nissan" doesn't hold much water in my book.

Where is the leak coming from??? "Replace engine gaskets"??? Sounds like some rookie comment. As there is probably 50+ gaskets on your engine.

 

It sounds to me like you need to replace ur valve cover gaskets and valve cover o-rings around the valve cover screws, if this is the case you will have to replace some other gaskets too, like intake and a couple others.

In any case if your oil leak is above the top of the block you dont need an engine over haul, but a timing chain could be a good idea.

 

jack up your car and put it on jackstands. then take a sneak peak at behind the crankshaft pulley to see if there were any leaks there. if yes, then your front crankshaft oil seal is leaking. try some of the basic to identify where the problem occurred first before assuming the most complicated things....who knows what lucks will bring you.

 

Unless it's your head gasket, the repair should be pretty much a DIY.
BTW they're called Valve cover gaskets in the aftermarket, not "rockarm cover gaskets" , maybe nissan calls em that.

 

Thanks for all the advice. Here's the scenario...

He pointed out that there's oil leaking from the area around the spark plugs in the rear (sorry for the laymen's terms). There's oil & dirt all over the underside of the engine, which is making the process of finding out exactly where this leak is coming from very hard. There's oil all over the alternator, and it's finding it's way onto my y-pipe. The oil my neighbor pointed out to me on top of the engine was the only place that I saw an obvious oil discrepancy. Also, it's not leaking a whole lot at all, and as a matter of fact, I didn't see any oil drops on the driveway this morning when I left for work. The leak has only become evident within the past two weeks now.

I hope it's something I can fix myself because now it's getting annoying.

Thanks again for all of your advice & help!!!

peace2u

 

Get the engine cleaned and then observe where the leak is coming from. I bet valve covers

 

You may also wanna check/replace your PCV valve.
It could be stuck.

 

@Jeff92se...

What's the most common way of cleaning the underside of the engine bay? I'm trying to find someplace in L.A. that does it for a reasonable price. The best quote I've received was $45, which to me seems a bit high to basically degrease an engine...

Either way, I want to get the problem solved and I appreciate everyone's input. I will let you guys know what the issue was and what I had to do.

peace2u

 

find a self carwash with a degrease bay, most have 1 bay at one of the ends.

 

either do what automar said, or just buy a couple cans of gunk engine degreaser and go to town. (make sure engine is cold!!!!!)

I'd bet your main couple things are going to be a leaking power steering pump, valve cover gaskets, and crank/cam seals.
the power steering pump is about $100 for parts to replace, seals are about $26 and valve cover gaskets are about $40.

the problem is the labor to get to them. in order to change the crank and cam seals, you have to pull the timing belt off.. might as well change it.. put a new water pump in it while you're there. that's 4-5 hours of work, easy.

to replace the valve cover gaskets, you have to pull the intake manifold, and there's 2-3-4 hours of work there as well.

none of it is hard, just time consuming. I'd be a little wary of the timing belt if you've never done it before, but otherwise it's all pretty straightforward.

 

Thanks Matt

BTW -- Love the ground wires, bro. Glad I got them from you!

peace2u