I took my 1998 4th gen to my mechanic and he cleaned the whole thing out and has advised me the oil is leaking from the bottom of the timing chain cover????? Apparently just above the sump.

I thought I would seek another opinion because he's going to charge me about $1,500 to fix it all up again as he wants to take the cover off and reinject a new liquid gasket into it.

Well here we go.. I went down and took some pics of my beloved oil leak. I can see there is oil gathering around the sump gasket. However oil also seems to be forming in front of the sump.. which doesnt make much sense. If it were leaking then you'd expect the oil to gather behind the sump from the wind. What do you guys reckon?

Oil drop stuck to I think, AC compressor


Oil coming from sump gasket?? looks like it but could be just a collection point


Doesnt seem to be any oil coming out around the pulleys


Oil pressure switch I presume... no oil coming from there, there there is oil buildup on the wire..


Finally.. this metallic thing on the side of the sump, is just above it. On top of it, it seems to be collecting oil as well, which probably points out that its coming from above the sump.


The mechanic was right I think. Still cant hurt to get a second opinion.

 

Assuming the mechanic is right, the obvious question is: What is the dwonside if you do nothing about it?

 

I know oil is expensive down under, but $1500 to stop it from leaking? not worth it.

get yourself a $6 tube of permatex "ultra black" and shmear it wherever you see oil leaking. that stuff really works, you'll seal it up.

 

Hmm yeah, if I wasnt about to bolt a Stillen supercharger onto it any time soon I probably wouldnt worry about it. With an 11psi pulley on it, i'm sure the oil will be spraying everywhere.

My question is, is it worth fixing before the kit gets bolted on?

 

just seal it up for now.. and then fix when you bolt on the SC

 

yeah, i have a TC cover leak as well. I'm trying Auto-RX out, maybe it'll even seal that up (i can only hope)

 

So should I be worried about 11 - 14 psi of positive boost pressure pushing oil out? It leaks a litre every 3 weeks naturally aspirated :P

 

I sense your pain, my rear valve cover leaks like a ****, I'm wondering if there's a quick fix for these type of leaks?

 

a quick fix would be great... better than a kick in the teeth ($1500)

 

i had my timing chain leaking and the rear valve cover the same time...so ihad them both replaced with new water pump for 1200....ihate that oil leak too..but now i have this random coolant leak that mechanics could not find with the pressure test..ughh so annoying

 

It HAS to be fixed, but not before the SC .. you'll be working in the same area anyway - save $$'s