blueraven

I know this has to have been asked a thousand times but I'd like to start a recent thread because I see questions about this all the time. Zbo486 and I (father/son) bought an 84 7 a couple of weeks ago and it's in good shape but has what I'd a call a big oil leak pretty much center rear of the engine. I'm looking for common info about places of leakage. Zbo and I are climbing under there today to look for the leak, it would be nice to have some ideas before we do.

Blueraven

inittab

Check out this URL: http://www.nellump.net/peri/epi/gen7...nOilLeaks.html

LongDuck

Some quick and easy places to look for oil leaks;

1) under the oil filter tower - requires 4x O-rings to reseal, and usually causes deterioration of the heater hose return line, which can rupture and lose your coolant, causing an overheat.

2) Oil Cooler (front mount) - you didn't state whether yours is a GSL or SE, but the front mount coolers often have problems with broken line bungs, resulting in oil leaks under the left side of the oil cooler.

3) Oil Cooler Lines - again for front-mount oil cooler cars, the lines can get old and crack internally, causing the cloth fabric covering to get oil soaked and leak - fix soon, or you're risking decreased oil pressure and overheating.

4) Oil Pan gasket - along the bottom of the engine, the oil pan is sealed using a 3mm bead of gasketseal, and then bolts are torqued down to 14 ft/lbs - very light torque. This can lead to oil pan leaks and will be evident through gritty oil residue on the pan and transmission bell housing.

5) if you have a lot of oil leaking from the transmission bell housing (front edge or starter mount), you may have the dreaded 'tension bolt leak' which is caused by the O-ring at the head of each of 18-20 tension bolts that sandwich the engine sections. These leak into the space occupied by the clutch and transmission front cover, resulting in a slipping clutch and oil leak from what appears to be the transmission.

Have a look and good luck,

inittab

Another common oil leak spot is the oil metering pump. It's located on the right side of the engine down low in front of the exhaust manifold. The lines get brittle and sometimes break and the seals inside the pump dry and leak as well. A rebuild is cheap and easy.

OMP rebuild kits can be purchased from http://www.loweperformance.com/ It's best just to call Mike Lowe at (941)-924-8597, and his email addy is loweperf@gte.net

1stGenJake

as a note, the majority of these leaks are fixable with a walkthrough, a second pair of hands, and a lift or pit. (first hand exp. with all of those leaks, and they are fixed now)

djessence

Dowel pin leak leaks oil to where the 12A stamp is on the housings.

clbsinvaders

If it was the FMOC (-SE) it'd be right near the nose.

It's possible the pan drain bolt could be loose, as well. I've had a few people saying they're having an oil leak after changing their oil and the bolt was loose enough for me to spin it out with one finger.

Oh, and if you torque the cooler lines (-SE, again) I believe they're in inch-pounds.

dean7

Dangi it you guys.. 4 year old thread ...... lol

1stGenJake

No way?! really... hmm that could by my mystery leak....

1stGenJake

yeahh.. that was my bad haha

djessence

I sense thats why it was brought up.

At least he searched!

joshesh

^I think this is exactly where the leak on the 12A I'm working on is located. Any more info on how to fix this leak or what I can do to slow this leak?

Thanks in advance

joshesh

bump for some help with my leak question

my84gslrx

i have oil all over the bottom of my oil pan is this normal?

boyee

iTrader: (3)

no. check for places where youre leakin oil like if you have a front mount oil cooler check the bungs and lines. also oil pan gasket may have a crack. if it leaks around your exhaust manifold you'll most likely have a smoke screen when accelerating from a stop. good luck. tell us what you find and we can go from there to tell you how to go about repairing your leak if needed

JoeyMazda

Oil leak through the valve pins.

boyee

iTrader: (3)

thats a dowel pin leak. only way to fix it is by tearing the engine apart and use new gasket and o ring sets. might as well inspect and replace necessary components while the engine is apart as well

JoeyMazda

It's also called tubular dowel pins and this an old pic. I already replaced the engine. This is the engine I am rebuilding now.

my84gslrx

is the front mount oil cooler infront of the radiator? and whats the thing that houses the oil filter called cuz thats kinda greasy

boyee

iTrader: (3)

front mount oil coolers were offered on all rotaries except the 83-85 12A RX-7. so if you have one of those (series 3) you may have the water-cooled "beehive" oil cooler mounted right under the oil filter. these are prone to failure because well.. they pretty much had close to no efficiency. there are 4 o-rings illustrated here on the bottom left. it shows two required but i believe beehive oil coolers need 4 http://www.blackdragonauto.com/ICATA...l.aspx?Page=54

Mr.Snakey

I have the same problem. It pretty much spits out oil from the bottum of the beehive. And also the 3rd bolt is missing! and before I replace the bolt i'm going to make sure the 0-rings are still in good shape. Hopefully solves 1 of my 2 oil leak problems. The other is a leaky oil pan, its the doings of the previous owner, he made a mess with orange silicon ahaha, i'll be fixing that aswell

rx7weasel

[QUOTE=LongDuck;2835946]
4) Oil Pan gasket - QUOTE]

This might be where mine is.. but could it not be from the main seal (i dont know if thats what it is, my brother knows.. its my first car and im still learning about it) i have a really slow leak in the front of the engine near the bottom.. i cleaned it up a bit and let it run to see if i could find the source... but the oil is coming from somewhere that i couldnt see at that time... i plan on looking at it again.. but before i do-- any tips?

7aull

iTrader: (2)

Your on the right path - you first have to clean up the gunge to see where fresh leak is coming from.
If its really near the front then also be sure to clean the OMP (oil metering pump) that is bolted to the front cover, center/pass-side below water pump - you'll see 2 plasic lines running up from it to the carb. Easiest way to clean it is old tooth brush, Simple Green and water hose. make sure lines are properly attached (just squeeze clips)...
If you RX has the front mounted oil cooler, under the rad, you'll see the two lines running to it from the drivers side of the engine - but since these go to the LEFT side of the cooler, not likely to spew much oil to the center of the engine area.
Also - 2 to 4 10mm bolts will let you drop the engine undertray pan - give you MUCH better access to block from below to inspect/clean/repair. These ARE supposed to help engine cooling tho so I wouldn't drive around too much w/o this in place.

Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska

Tom Deutsch

Oil leak? What oil leak? The guy who sold it to me said this was the "automatic oil change and chassis corrosion protection" option.

rx7weasel

thanks for the tips and help. i dont know much about my car.. but thats why im here... even if it is something as simple as a small oil leak. thanks.