What the faaaaaawk is with my car and leaks?!

[MADMarc]

Okay, is it common or even possible for there to be oil leaks at the head gaskets but no coolant leaks? I just swapped a whole bunch of gaskets because I was a douche and bought the Eristic gasket set, which hasn't done anything but cost me more time and money than anybody wants to commit after having thought they fixed it in the first place.

After the first hundred miles on the new gaskets I didn't notice any leaks besides one of the rear cam end caps that I hadn't received in the mail yet when I needed to put the car back together (that seal is another issue on its own). I replaced the valve cover gaskets and spark plug gaskets, which were all leaking like crazy. I also swapped the front head's end caps and haven't had any problems with the new gaskets as of now. I finally noticed some drips coming from the top end of the engine on both the front and rear. From what I can see, the valve cover gaskets are doing their jobs, the turbo oil drain line gaskets are still sealed, as are the cam seals. Pretty much everything I have tinkered with is sealing correctly for now *knocks on wood*. But when I looked from under the car it appears that the leaks are coming from where the heads bolt onto the block. I have head gaskets but god knows I don't want to replace those :(

To get back on track, can the head gaskets leak oil and not coolant? If it is leaking out is there a chance that I have excessive crankcase pressure that is not being ventilated out through the pcv valve? I wiggled the little guy and it clicks so I am assuming the valve is in working order. Are there other ways to check to ensure that the system is working correctly? I looked up Krank Vents and think I came up with more negative reviews than positive regarding their function. Were excessive pressure my problem, would a catch can help out in place of the valve?

Man...I'm a bit frustrated with this whole ordeal but dammit I need to figure it out to be happy with the car! Grrrr

Thanks in advance to any responses!

[DrGonzo]

In theory yes it could leak oil but not coolant but I have never personally seen it.

If a section of the HG is bad by an oil passage than that would cause you leak.

It may be as simple as just re-torquing your head bolts and see it that helps. but again it would only be a temp fix and would most likely come back in time. Only true fix I can think of would be replace the HG. Yeah I know you didn't want to hear that!

[93STLTH]

Might be worth trying...

http://www.barsproducts.com/products/E10L.gif

[green-lantern]

Might be worth trying...

http://www.barsproducts.com/products/E10L.gif

Hell no! :lo5l:

That can gum stuff up and clog turbo bearings ect.

[green-lantern]

You do know that you’re supposed to put a little dab of form-a-gasket in the corners of the cam caps don’t you? That is probably where you’re leaking if you didn’t.

[MADMarc]

Tom, I'm afraid to touch most of that stuff that promises results the easy way because of horror stories :/. Thanks though


In theory yes it could leak oil but not coolant but I have never personally seen it.

If a section of the HG is bad by an oil passage than that would cause you leak.

It may be as simple as just re-torquing your head bolts and see it that helps. but again it would only be a temp fix and would most likely come back in time. Only true fix I can think of would be replace the HG. Yeah I know you didn't want to hear that!

Retorquing sounds nice and simple. Even for a temporary fix that would be fine with me. If I cannot fix the leak without pulling the heads I am REALLY hoping I can hold off for 30k miles when I do my 60k. That way the timing crap will all only be apart once. Can I retorque them by just pulling the valve covers and leaving my cams in place? I need to pull the covers anyways to replace that last endcap and CAS oring, too. Thanks for the simple idea :)


You do know that you’re supposed to put a little dab of form-a-gasket in the corners of the cam caps don’t you? That is probably where you’re leaking if you didn’t.

I most definitely did remember :) From what I could see the leaks didn't appear to be coming from anywhere that I have already swapped gaskets. There is definitely oil buildup right where the heads mate to the block. I am pretty damn sure that's where my problem lies.

[DrGonzo]

Yeah pull the covers and you will have access to the head bolts.

[green-lantern]

Did you use metal head gaskets? Oil leaks can fool you. Also I put a wee little bit of form-a-gasket around the outside of the cam caps so you can barely see it squish out. I have seen oil leak out a little on my Land Rover heads but never seen it on a 3s.

[MADMarc]

I did use a metal head gasket. I know what ya mean about them being able to confuse like crazy. I don't see any trickling from the valve covers, and it all begins right underneath the heads. When I pull the valve cover to retorque the heads I will get a better look at things :) Thanks for the posts.

[UTRacerX9]

I've never seen an oil leak like that on a 3/S, but I have seen an oil leak and no coolant leak on the 4G63. Retorquing the heads helped, but didn't fully stop the leak. It worked well enough that I was only down about 1/3 a quart every 3000 miles, and I'm sure some of that was burned off, not leaked.

[MADMarc]

How bad was the leak prior and did you simply retorque to spec or go a little over?

[UTRacerX9]

How bad was the leak prior and did you simply retorque to spec or go a little over?

No way to tell unfortunately. The car had thrown a rod, and I bought it in that condition. After getting the lower end rebuilt, and putting it all back together with new gaskets, I noticed the leak shortly thereafter. My belief was that the engine overheated and then the rod went. Possibly the heat warped the head a bit in that spot, as it was the same cylinder that had thrown the rod.

I retorqued to 10lbs over, and it became manageable. Drove it that way for about 30k, then sold it.

[speedy25]

Leaks from between the head and block are NOT from a pressurized crankcase. That spot is feed from the oil pump for the cams.

-SP

[green-lantern]

No way to tell unfortunately. The car had thrown a rod, and I bought it in that condition. After getting the lower end rebuilt, and putting it all back together with new gaskets, I noticed the leak shortly thereafter. My belief was that the engine overheated and then the rod went. Possibly the heat warped the head a bit in that spot, as it was the same cylinder that had thrown the rod.

I retorqued to 10lbs over, and it became manageable. Drove it that way for about 30k, then sold it.

Did you get the heads decked? The only thing I can think of is your heads are warped.

[UTRacerX9]

Did you get the heads decked? The only thing I can think of is your heads are warped.

No, I didn't. This was my 97 Eclipse Spyder I used to have that became my daily driver. Since the leak was fairly small, I decided to just live with it, especially after seeing that I was only down a little bit of oil between oil changes. I didn't even park that car in a garage, so the few drips didn't bother me either LOL :)