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Not a lot Posted by Ari [Email]  (#2847) [Profile/Gallery]
(more from Ari) on Thu, 2 Dec 2004 06:16:23
In Reply to: Re: replacements, Paul Broeckx, Thu, 2 Dec 2004 03:01:32 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
I'm sure there are some out there on the wealth of personal websites.
Quasi's page has a nice picture of the harmonic balancer, with the fender inner-liner removed:
http://www.quasimotors.com/mount_test.htm
If you look at that picture, the big pulley in the middle is the harmonic balancer/main pulley. In your '97, instead of being a solid pulley, it'll have spokes. You can see the crankshaft going into the crankcase, through the main seal with little difficulty. The piece directly behind the pulley is the oil pump. If you see oil on the FACE of the pump, chances are the oil is coming from the main seal. If you see oil on the lower edge of the pump but not on the face, then the oil is probably coming from the oil pump O-ring.
Also in that picture, if you squint like mad, you can see the oil level sensor. There is a white space, just forward of where the breaker bar is going in, and aft of the motor mount. That fuzzy bit is the outline of the oil level sensor sticking in the oil pan.
Again, the trouble with oil leaks is that oil moves from the leak source, usually down. And you can't assume you have only one leak - you might (probably) have a few places weeping oil - some weep very little, and are of no concern. But weeping over months and years will still leave a buildup of gunk to make it hard to see. Your first step always is to wipe everything as clean as you can, and then see where the oil comes from.
Of course, there is always the oil pan where it bolts to the engine, and the timing chain cover where it bolts to the engine. Both would tend to show up right around the oil pan seam, near the main pulley.
There are oil lines to the turbo, but those tend not to leak. Yes, they can, but if I'm playing the odds, I'm going to look for a leak where there is a seal, because seals die.
You want to try and isolate between the top of the engine and the bottom of the engine. All the oil will eventually end up on the bottom, but you want to know if it started there (like the main seal), or up much higher (valve cover). That's why about all you can do is clean the area and watch.
Two places hard to see are the dipstick tube and the oil pressure sensor. The dipstick fits into a tube, and that plastic tube sits in a hole at the top of the oil pan, on the backside of the engine where it's dark and Trolls live. The dipstick tube has an o-ring where it meets the oil pan. There is a metal bit holding the very top of the dipstick tube, where you can easily see it. If the tube isn't held in securely, it can leak at the bottom. This would tend to produce a puddle closer to the middle of the engine, and farther to the back. Also, if the tube got lifted up a little, it may have not reseated well. But that little O-ring is easily replaced.
The other place is the oil pressure sensor. That bolts into the back side (firewall side) of the engine, directly below the exhaust manifold. It's very easy to see, assuming the engine is out of the car and the exhaust manifold is removed. In the car, it's a bear. The sensor doesn't usually leak, but I've seen it happen on other cars. Your best bet would be to get a good flashlight and an inexpensive inspection mirror (like a dental mirror with a ball-joint head - available at most autoparts stores). Follow the dipstick down with the light and see if it's leaking there. For the oil pressure sensor, about all you can do is look with the inspection mirror. The sensor is just a little cylinder screwed into the block, with a wire coming off.
posted by 192.249....
, Wed, 1 Dec 2004 05:25:20, Wed, 1 Dec 2004 07:15:25, Wed, 1 Dec 2004 09:01:43, Thu, 2 Dec 2004 06:16:23 <-- Viewing This Message
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