i have a 1986 rx-7 gxl and oil is leaking from the Main pulley the one at the bottom and I have changed the front main oil seal and it still leaks you have any idea what it could be

 

you need clean the area thoroughly, then go drive it around and find out exactly where the oil is coming from. If its a leaking a little from the front cover, just let it leak. I would cost you alot of money to have it fixed.

 

There are two places on the front pulley where oil can leak. The most obvious place is the neoprene seal. This is subject to aging and wear, plus the pulley mounting shaft can get a groove worn in it with the accumulation of high mileage.

The second less obvious place is the hub bolt itself. This is a wide flanged bolt torqued to 90 foot pounds. It has a copper sealing washer that goes between the bolt and the hub.

Either one will require removing the bolt to repair the problem, and the seal in the front engine cover will require the hub be removed from the engine to get to it. You can run into serious problems here if the thrust bearings fall out of place while the hub is removed. Take a look at this potential problem on Mazdatrix's web site. The bearings slip off the spacer and are pinched when the bolt is retorqued. If this happens the bearings are runied plus you will have to remove the front cover to get to the bearings to correct it.

 

it leaks where the bolt is and I did not see any copper washer when I took it off and i did know about the thrust bearings and you can see oil in the pulley

 

a

 

There should be a copper washer between the flange of the bolt and the hub sealing surface. It sometimes stays on the hub so you will need a flashlight and mirror to see it. The tiniest defect will be enough to cause a leak. On the side facing the hub there will always be a raised portion on the washer where the keyway on the hub was. This will cause a large leak when re-installed if it is in a different location. for this reason it is preferred to use a new washer.

The factory manual provides a measurement specification that will determine if the bearings are still in place. The measurement is the depth of the eccentric shaft from the sealing surface of the hub. If this measurement is greater than the manual allows then you can be fairly certain the bearings are not where they are supposed to be.

Be sure to replace the o ring on the bolt and coat the threads with a sealing/locking agent like blue Loctite before re-installing the bolt.

 

bump!

 

i put the copper washer in and it is still leaking

 

When you replaced the washer, did you apply some grease or other sticky substance to hold it in place? The washer can drop off of the bolt's shoulder, and it will get ruined when the bolt is tightened. I bought a new bolt from Mazdatrix, and it came with a washer permanently attached, curing this problem.

Irv, Keith's dad

 

the washer did not drop off the bolt

 

remove the bolt and cover it with RTV and put it back in. If that doesnt fit, just let it seep. Removing the front cover is a big job.

 

how hard is it to take the front cover off and if i did what would i look for to be the problem

 

bump