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Things to try before replacing main seals Posted by Bill Homer [Email]  (#3427) [Profile/Gallery]
(more from Bill Homer) on Tue, 16 Sep 2008 21:48:12
In Reply to: Oil leaks and questions, T. Christopher, Tue, 16 Sep 2008 20:39:53 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
It seems that you are assuming the worst case scenario on the leaks without doing a thorough diagnosis on their origin, or taking other incremental steps that might solve the problem without replacing the front and rear main seals - a major job. You really need to see where the leaks are originating from, the fix may be quite simple. Ideas:
1. Look at the PCV check valve which is in a vacuum hose between the valve cover and the intake manifold. It should only allow air to pass one way, towards the intake manifold; you can test this by disconnecting the valve and blowing/sucking through it (be careful). If it is allowing turbo-pressured air from the intake into the crankcase, it will cause leaks. It's a $10 part, 30 seconds to install.
2. A leaky valve cover gasket will allow oil to drip all over the place. If you haven't replaced the 12-year old one in your car, it's due. This is a $15 part, takes about 30 minutes to install.
3. Your head bolts may have loosened, allowing oil to seep from the junction between the head and the engine block; the later years of 9000 had defective headbolts that stretched. You will need 10 new bolts at a few dollars each, will probably take an hour or two to replace all of them, may want to do it in conjunction with a new valve cover gasket.
4. You can take a chemical approach towards reducing the oil leakage. There are many new oils designed for older cars that have effective seal conditioners. A couple of these are Valvoline Maxlife and Mobil 1 High Mileage. My personal experience with these two oils is that they greatly reduced the amount of oil leaking from my '96 Audi, a car notorious for developing oil leaks with age.
posted by 75.31.2...
, Thu, 18 Sep 2008 07:20:59, Tue, 16 Sep 2008 21:48:12 <-- Viewing This Message
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