So I am fully aware of the oil leak between dowels at the top of engine and why that occur with the water/oil cooler.

I have even went ahead and tightend the 2 tension bolts that are nearest to the dowels with a noticable drop in oil leakage.

My question is - really - has anyone devised a catcher near the bottom of the 12a engine of some kind to keep oil from dripping onto the ground and if so - do you have any pictures so I can make something like it or get ideas from it? I prefer to keep running the engine as is as its smooth as hell and powerful yet. The oil leaking out is low enough that I deemed it acceptable as long as I can find a way to keep the floor from getting full of oil drops so I don't need to keep a peice of cardboard down there...

I am running boost - which I am definitely sure is stressing the hell out of the dowels and the o-rings around them, but I can't justify a new gasket set for just a "pain in ***" minor oil leak.

 

HPR30 or HPR40 oil :P

My 12a was leaking from its everywhere.

Eventually it spat 2 apex seals and cracked the 3rd.

Its only $200 to reseal so why not.

 

Since you are running boost, I would have retorqued all of the tension bolts evenly. I've wondered it it wouldn't be possible to drill and tap the joint for a 1/8" tube and run it over to a catch can. Might be easier to drill a 1/8" hole and drive a piece of copper tube in there. Problem is, if you hit the o-ring, it's rebuild time.

 

My old 84 12A leaked for quite a while,but ran great.Then one day it blew an apex at around 4000rpm at only moderate throttle......still the only engine Ive ever blown up.Although I doubt it was directly caused by the leak,you never know.Constantly being low on oil will raise the oil operating temps and there is an actual (small) amount of oil pressure drop due to the leak.
An easy way to look at it is.....why take a good running engine that can be repaired, and wait for it to become a 1/2 (or worse) useless core?If your turbocharged,then its only a matter of time.....might as well have the engine built up while its still usable.
My philosophy is, if your gonna spend the $$ to run forced induction,you should be prepared and willing to spend more $$......when,(or before) things go terribely wrong. If not,stay N/A and watch that rotary last 200K plus miles!

 

I really don't need a lesson in why an engine should be rebuilt with a gasket set due to oil leakage. I know about that factor should I decide to do that. I know why it has this leak - the water to oil cooler mazda choosed to use which resulted in higher then prefered oil temps on the long term. I don't use that, I just got this engine and put on my setup - oil to air cooler with a turbo- intercooled. I have used a fresh rebuilt with no oil leaks and that is fine when your engine is freshly rebuilt.

The bee hive makes them (rubber parts that contact oil) age quicker and ruin the rubbers soft sealing qualities obviously. This leak is too minor to effect oil pressure - it reads 60psi above 2000rpm. I'm sure someone running a bee-hive cooler in the winter temps is probably acceptable and warming the oil in the cool part of the year is probably a good thing. But the leak is not going to cause the apex seals to suddenly fail - detonation WILL obviously on boost set too high with bad fuel mixture and timing - AND worn down apex seals also.

So I guess no one has setup some kind of oil catch at the base of the engine to reduce oil drips on the floor - I will be on my own. LOL

 

Have you tried those motor oils marketed as "High mileage" oil? They have additives in them to help soften hardened oil seals, thereby reducing leakage. Worth a shot, I would think.
I can't help on a catch can mounted to the car, but a shallow metal pan slid under the car after parking works ok....... Ghetto yes, but keeps the floor/driveway looking better.

 

Better yet, I've had real good luck with "Stop Leak" engine oil additives from companies like Bardahl and Golden Eagle, adding a 16 oz bottle with each oil change and switching to 20-50W oil virtually stopped dowel o ring leaks on two of my GSLs.

Ray

 

You know i tried this but it didn't work for me. HOWEVER...I did try LUCAS OIL STABILIZER and that stopped my dowel pin leak almost completely!!!! I lovethis stuff!!!

 

The stop leak "solution" slowed it down for me, but didn't cure it enough to stop the car from being nicknamed 'old smokey'...build the "catch can" and see if you can sell it...

 

Well, my 7's aren't for sale and the stop leak worked for me, bought me about 50,000 miles of smoke and oil drip-free daily commuting in my light beige 84 GSL, so I'm happy. I even put a bottle in my currrent ride, a white 84 GSL with only 110,000 miles on it that's running like a champ, just to keep it happy. About $3.50 a bottle, or you could try the LUCAS OIL DESTABILIZER, sounds like this stuff works too. Lot's cheaper than an engine rebuild, in any event.

Ray

 

de-stabilizer.....i dunno 'bout alladat...