I have a pretty major oil leak - over 2 quarts in a night.

I cleaned everything and can see oil dripping off near the front of the engine on the drivers side. I have searched thru the threads on oil pan leaks. Most have said they found oil on the motors mounts. Mine are dirty but no signs of oil collecting.

The motor is a reman with 12K on it. What are the chances its a just an oil pan leak vs. front engine gasket? Is there a way to tell before I pull the pan?

Thanks,

 

are you sure it's not coming from somewhere else and just pooling in that location before it drips on the pavement?

 

oil lines, oil inlet tube, turbos, oil filter pedestal all look good / dry. I am pretty sure that's the source. You can watch oil form up and drip off.

 

Over 2 quarts overnight???. thats almost half the oil capacity of the car
Thats pretty substantial to be the typical oil pan leak.

 

I put a down pipe, new rotors, and pads. Before I dropped the car I did an oil change. Came home the next day huge oil puddle. I drained the remaining oil and measured it - 3 qts left.

 

get access to a lift and get lots of brake clean and hose the engine down..Get compressed air and clean it up and check for leaks...

 

I have spent many hours cleaning under the car, the engine looks "clean" only having a 12K miles on them and driven only in good weather.. I am 99% sure the leak is at the location shown in the picture. Everything else is dry.

I will probably go ahead a pull the pan. I was just hoping some one would say "yes that is where front cover failures generally are" or some test procedure that I missed while searching.

If if ends up being the front cover then I will pull the engine and redo the pan again - and redo any other hoses, o-rings I can get too.

I don't mind wrenching on the car--I just want to drive it again, miss the fun.

Thanks,

 

My reman leaked somewhere in the front cover with a bit more mileage than yours. there is a dye you can add to the oil to help you. after cleaning the engine, I just increased the rpm and could see leak along the front cover gasket.


Good luck.

 

2 quarts overnight?

You don't have a leak....something is broken.

 

well again - the location in the picture is the oil place I have found new oil. Checked oil filter, transmission, hoses, oil tube. I will try the black / UV light this weekend. If you have other ideas I am all ears.

 

Spray everything down with brake parts cleaner and put it up on a lift while running. If you can't pinpoint the leak you need to take it to someone who can. I'm not being a jerk, I just think you should find the actual problem besides doing trial and error...

 

Do you have a second oil cooler? Where does the hose for that run? Could it be spraying oil on the pan?

The amount of oil says to me that it's not a leak from the pan or other unpressurized location. It has to be coming from a pressurized hose, fitting, cooler, etc.

 

check the hose that runs to the oil filter pedestal...

 

used the uv / black light dye today. The oil is leaking on both sides of the engine at the front. I am pretty sure this means front cover gasket. Good times.

Thanks for the advice about the dye.

 

My advice - Get a metal front cover gasket ( mazda usa do not have them ) and some "Right stuff". Lift the car and drop the subframe. Also pull the front cover off. Do them both at the same time and do them right. Take your time and you will have no leaks when you are done.

Get the garfinkle oil pan brace too with moroso studs


later

 

yeah, I plan on doing both. Mulling over doing it in the car or just pulling the engine.

Any ideas where to source the metal gasket? I think I read that the Rx-8 front cover gasket can be used (metal gasket) with few minor modifications. Any one have any info to back this up?

 

here ya go no need for the rx8 gasket. http://azrotaryrockets.com/store/pro...products_id=74

 

thanks,

 

I ended up taking the car to Rotary Performance in Garland, TX. I didn't really feel like pulling the engine and I didn't want to do the job with the engine in the car.

Chris at RP said "you had a might impressive oil leak". I am glad a I took the car down there. Those guys are awesome. There is a reason they are still in business since 1985. They even washed the car.

FYI - RP does not use a front cover gasket or oil pan gasket. Nor do the advice using an oil pan brace.


Thanks for all the help.

 

That oil could also be coming from the Oil Metering Pump. On my car, the OMP would leak from the O-Ring, and it would look like a front main seal leak. The OMP O-Ring is a PITA to replace. If you do it yourself it wil cost you about $2-3 for the OEM O-Ring but will take you about 8-10 hours to complete if it is your first time.

 

all fixed.

 

was it a front main seal that was leaking?

 

yeah it was. They did the oil pan at the same time.