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Swedecar...thanks for your response.
Maybe some background would help. I bought this car 3 months ago and am attempting a rescue. The PO was borderline negligent in the upkeep of this car. It was not running when I got it. Got it going again with a freshly charged battery and a new clutch kit. While I had the transmission off and the subframe out, I went ahead to check out the sump/oil pan. Everything looked good, so it was cleaned up and put back on with anaerobic sealant. That's when this mystery leak appeared.
At first, I thought I had missed a spot of sealant on the sump, but after wiping it away several times with the sump pulled out again, it's obvious that oil is coming from another source, hence the title "mystery leak." See the picture here.
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa141/flyhop/OilLeak2.jpg
Several lines of thought here. The endplate gasket has sprung a leak, hence my initial post. As part of the diagnosis, I looked above the end plate and found this.
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa141/flyhop/HeadGasket1.jpg
But after more thought and discussion on another Saab forum, it doesn't make sense that a fresh & weeping oil leak at the sump would show up if the head gasket junction was old and crusty oil. It would appear that the oil leak I had at the blind plug (which is now fixed along with a new valve cover gasket) drained down and collected at the corner of the block/head junction. I think the picture above would make for a strong argument there.
I have not replaced the head gasket, and I am really hoping to avoid it. For that matter, I have neither re-torqued nor replaced the head bolts. I am the 3rd owner, and will not re-torque these bolts as they may have already been done. I would be afraid bolts have been stretched to their maximum and would snap off if another re-torque was applied.
At this point, I believe the prudent thing to do is this:
1. clean up the oil gunk at the head/block junction. A head gasket leak would show up shortly after the car got started again.
2. remove and reseal the end-plate gasket.
3. reinstall the sump with anaerobic sealant.
4. pray hard
Any other suggestions? I'm really just trying to figure out how to get the endplate off, or if it can be done with engine still in the car.
posted by 71.59.5...
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