I am looking at an 83 with 125 K on the odo. There is a thin line of tar/oil on the top of the front rotor to front housing seal. No drip, just tarlike. I have seen runny leaks of death but does this sound like impending doom? Any help appreciated

 

i heard that the leaks coming from the top of the front rotor are relatively cheap and easy to fix ? not exaclty sure but

 

tar like stuff? are you sure it isnt gasket sealent?

 

or RTV silicone?

 

Sounds like the dowel seal might have gone bad (is going bad) at one time and someone sealed over it with the tar like stuff you mention. Maybe it is a piece of oil soaked bubble gum j/k. I may be wrong but to replace the dowel seals don't you have to take the engine apart?

 

Looks like hylomar. I think the engine is good. I am passing on the car though. I think its the wrong project for me at the time. Thanks for the help guys.

 

Ive got the same prob.....Ive had my car over a year no big deal....Use marine-tex, its kinda like jb-weld for boats...Itll stop the leak for good

 

Does that silicon junk stop a leak if you get the goofy pool of oil next to the "12a" lettering on the block?

I have that goofy leak....which doesnt seem to consume much oil. Only enough to pool in there. Where is that even leaking from? I can't trace it to any specific point.

 

its leaking from the dowel right there.....its really no big deal just nasty looking

 

Commonly a high mile 12a from a 83, 84, or 85 car unknown to the owner with the water/oil cooler which keeps the oil too hot with anything more then grandma type driving. Is very apparrent in high mile engines. I have a FC with 114,000+miles with no hint of oil clouds or leaks under the hood, however my first FB had the common oil cooler leaking on the heater hose and rotor control o-rings that were worn down badly causing oil clouds when letting off the gas at upper rpm. So in effect driving like we all do, will be cooking all the 0-rings/rubber that comes in contact with the oil. Rotor housing dowel pins o-rings, and the rotors oil o-rings will fail by becoming leaky and getting your engine bay dirty fast.

The only REAL-effective fix is to rebuild the engine with all new ones, and get a oil cooler from a 79-82 or GSL-SE or from a 86+ engine and driving it hard is not a problem anymore.

I personally hate when oil gets all over my engine bay attracting dirt&grime. Not to mention, a added fire hazard over time.

Also, if a previous overheated event occured from a previous owner, probably from the heater hose going to the water/oil cooler bursting from oil dripping on from that **** oil cooler's o-rings! I had this happen to me when I first got my car and leaked a lot of coolant out in no time! I luckily didn't get any apparrent warping the plates or rotor housings, but overheating for too long will easily make a mess of a rotary engine.

 

yeah oil leaks are annoying, i got that one that leaks from the bottom front rotor housing

 

Oops! The red 83 I got free has exactly that problem. I'm gonna try JB weld.

B