Hi, my '82 12-A engine has a pretty bad oil leak about 5 inches above the oil metering pump, coming from behind the front housing/cover. It leaks a lot--in 10 minutes, there is a 6 " to 8 " puddle of fresh crankcase oil. I am sure it is _not_ coming from the oil metering pump or hoses--it definitely is seeping out from between the front housing and the engine.

Some background: The '82 has 60K on it, and was sitting for 10 years before I got it. I have gotten rebuilt the carb, replaced all of the small vacuum hoses and such--so far, it looks quite salvagable, after I replace a lot more rubber things. So I am thinking some sort of main seal must be out in the front.

How hard is it to pull the housing and replace seals and gaskets in there? What is allowing the leak, and what should I do about it? Is it an oil-splashing chamber for the sake of the water pump chain? Are the gaskets and seals available in the chain stores?

Thanks for your help.

 

Here is a pic I just took. Engine is at bottom. To orient yourself, tilt head to left. Air pump is off. Leak is along the orange line behind the oil metering lines about where the bolt is at the center of the pic.

http://img346.imageshack.us/img346/9508/10018684fa.jpg

 

Degrease and clean the engine first. Then run it a while and zero in on the leak. Pulling the front cover has some pitfalls you need to be aware of before you take anything apart.

Find the FSM online and study it before any removal. The gaskets are availible from the the usual suppliers. Mazdatrix, Racing Beat, Atkins, etc.

Btw, the chain is for the oil pump, the water pump is belt driven.

It almost looks like the OMP is leaking and the oil has spread.

 

Thanks. Good advice. Will start reading as well.