RotorMonkey

I'm stuck on a dilema. What's your opinion?

My FD was leaking a drop here and a drop there. We determined that it was in the oil pan. We took it off, put a new paper gasket, drove it home. Guess what, more oil leaks. I took it back to the shop and have it looked at again. They told me that the side seals were leaking and that I'd need a rebuild to get that fixed.
Days went by and the leaks turned into 3 inch puddles. It ended up pretty bad so I ended up storing it.

Here's the thing. If it was leaking so bad why is my oil level on my dipstick always indicate full. I'm getting full boost. It idles great. No smoke coming out anywhere. The only thing that worries me is the little seeping oil that I see coming from the side of the block and that black gunky stuff that gets on the coolant reservoir. I also think that my oil sender has gone bad. I get 0 pressure at idle and it jumps to 60 as soon as I start driving.


Would you....

...still drive it. Don't worry about it because FDs leaks oil and mysteriously stop Sad part is that it doesn't leak in one specific area, so I doubt that it might even be the side seal. What other symptoms should I look for if it is a side seal leak.

....store it and forget driving it for the next 2 years. Save up for a good rebuilt /ported swap($3500?!?)

...sell it. Yeah right.

There's so much that I want to do, I know it takes time but I'm not having any fun seeing my FD in the garage collecting dust (instead of leaving other folks dusted).

Laters,
Jason

kyle@insight

I'd reccomend fixing it, but I assume you're implying that's not an option right now? Well in that case I guess I'd store it.

dgeesaman

iTrader: (7)

First, you could try searching this forum for 'side seal leak'. It's free You'll get good information.

Seriously though, the answer to rebuild questions starts with a compression test. Did your mechanic perform one? I always though side seal leaks usually ended up getting coolant in the chambers, not oil on the floor. Either way get one done if it hasn't been done recently for peace of mind about the rebuild. Second opinions and tests are the order of the day.

Dave

jpandes

I had a front cover leak that was leaving a huge oil slick under the car for 6 months. I used about a quart a week. I was quoted $1200 to fix it. Apparently, they have to remove a ton of **** just to get to the block in order to remove and reseal it. The front cover is probably just as inaccessible as the side seals are.

Labor for a R & R of a rebuilt motor is only a few hundred bucks more. I was also starting to see coolant spill out the overflow tank on to the ground leading me to believe that my coolant seals were going. So I decided to order a reman motor from malloy and get it ported and upgraded

I drove my car for around six months before I had a new rebuilt, ported motor installed. The car still pulled really strong, I just had to drive around with a couple quarts of oil and coolant in my car. The car finally started to smoke really bad from underneath because the large amounts of oil was leaking all over the underside of my car an cooking off. And then it started to overheat...Three weeks ago I had towed to a shop to do the motor swap. I'm still waiting for them to finish...

GoodfellaFD3S

iTrader: (213)

Is this a rotary specific shop that you're going to? They told you your *side seals* were leaking? As in, the side seals that are on the rotor faces, *inside* the engine? I'll bet it's your oil pan---the buggers are notorious for leaking if they're not sealed right.......

adam c

iTrader: (2)

Putting a "paper seal" on the oil pan is a mistake. It will not last as well as making a gasket with a quality sealant.

I would drive the car, and check the oil regularly.

spurvo

adam's right. Pull that oil pan again, clean the area THOUROUGHLY with acetone until dry, put hondabond greay silicone sealant all over the mating surfaces and bolts, and sew it back up. A BITCH to do, but it will stop the oil pan leak, if that is indeed your problem.

If it's coming from the "topside" of the engine, how good is the O-ring on your filler pipe? Also, how good are the two rubber O-rings that seal the oil filter mount? I'd check these as possible sources before tearing the entire engine out...

Trout2

iTrader: (5)

Find a new mechanic, sounds like he doesn't want to stand behind his botched oil pan seal job. Side seals don't leak oil off the bottom of the car. I'd love to hear how he determined that the side seals were leaking.

The paper gasket for the oil pan is useless, seal it with a high quality silicone gasket maker and let it cure for 48 hrs. before starting the car.

Post in the Southeast Forum and see if you can find a reputable FD mechanic in Atlanta.

Jack