[Shotimes] oil leak

[Steve Weinrich]

I posted this a month or so ago on the forum.

Step one: Clean the engine, including the bottom! You wouldn't believe how
much easier this makes the diagnosis. Be advised, there are risks if you use
anything under pressure.

Step two: Drive the car up on ramps and crawl under it to see where the leak
is coming from.

Everything can be inspected and fixed with the engine in the car and with
the car on jackstands.

Oil leak possibilites:

Front of engine: Camshaft seals, front main crank seal, front oil pan
gasket. Inspect the rear camshaft seal initially by running your fingers
under the camshaft sensor and see if they come out oily. Confirm diagnosis
by removing sensor and inspecting for oil inside the sensor housing. The two
inner cam seals will require removal of the front camshaft pulleys for
positive inspection. If they are leaking, the oil will run down the front of
the block and mingle with the oil from the front main seal or the front oil
pan gasket. With the lower timing cover in place, it cannot be determined
exactly which is leaking.

Upper engine: Valve cover gaskets. Use a mirror and a flash light to
thoroughly inspect the entire perimeter of each valve cover. Remove each
plug wire and inspect for oil in the well. Inspect each valve cover bolt
head for leaking.

Rear of engine: Rear main seal, rear oil pan gasket, oil pressure switch.
Inspect the switch by looking up (from under the car) at the sensor. The
sensor is mounted on the firewall side of the engine block, just below the
head, at the rear of the engine (#3 cylinder). Inspect for leakage of the
rear main and rear pan gasket by looking for leakage at the engine/tranny
joint.

Bottom of engine: Oil level sensor, drain plug, side oil pan gaskets.
Perform visual examination of each.

Oil filter mounting area is also a possibility.

There you have it. A fairly complete list of all the posibilities for
external engine oil leaks.

Clean it up and happy hunting!

Steve
----- Original Message -----
From: <SHOgofaster@aol.com>
To: <shotimes@autox.team.net>
Sent: Thursday, January 23, 2003 12:40 PM
Subject: [Shotimes] oil leak


> i hope someone can help me here because identifying problems is not what
i'm
> best at,, today i noticed a bad smell coming from the SHO when i sat
still,,
> i knew i had a small oil leak, but i had never isolated it, so i decided
it
> might be time,, tonight i got it up on jackstands and got a bad picture,,
the
> bottom of the oil pan was covered with oil, but it had probly just been
blown
> on there,, i found a drip spot ( or what looks like the spot) right below
the
> power steering where the oil pan meets the motor,, it looks like it's
coming
> from a seal or something there,, from there it's dripping down onto my cat
> which is that nasty smell i'm getting,, can anyone tell me if i just need
a
> new seal for my oil pan or what all i'm going to need to fix this?
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