Hey guys,

I recently purchased a 1988 n/a rx7 vert with 130k , I am extremely new to the rotary motor, I have done a fair amount of research about them but I am stumped on this oil leak that has occurred. When I first bought the car it was leaking small amounts of fresh oil from the oil filter neck gasket (usually need to be replaced). I also noticed that there is alot of old oil buildup on the bottom of the motor, mostly on the oil pan and sub frame. When i got the car home I did a fresh oil change of non synthetic castrol and a Bosch filter, after i changed the oil i noticed it started to leak even more. and its all fresh oil. you can see a small build up if of oil resting by the 13b stamp on the front side So I want to try oil pan gasket and filter neck for starters. The overall performance of my car is not affected. It sounds fine and runs fine. Just leaks fresh oil. I will upload some pictures, I can also see some oil dripping down on the left of the spark plugs, maybe it's the front cover? But I'm really not sure .

 

welcome to the board.

be prepared to get dirty. you will need to first clean everything! you can go ahead and replace all the washers and seals that you can (filter pedestal and oil cooler lines). also make sure the vents on the filler neck are properly connected and routed. if these don't solve your problem(s), then you have big decisions to make.

unless, I've overlooked something, all that are left are NOT easy jobs.
- oil pan gasket
- front cover gasket (and if you go there, don't forget the oil passage seal)
- front main seal
- rear main seal

finally, there are the O-rings that seal the dowel areas of the housings. the only way that they get changed is engine disassembly.

 

That exact thing happened to me once and it was caused by running very lean (coupler popped off the turbo) but my leak was coming from the front rotor housing where it was cracked from the lean condition and slowly leaked oil then it opened up and then just started leaking like crazy.

Clean off the area above your spark plugs really good especially around the 13B stamp and check it while the car is running and warmed up and you would be able to tell if it is that or not.

 

Oil filler pipe (painted black with cap on top):


Oil filter body (aka oil filter pedestal or oil filter base):


If the oil filler pipe is leaking then you are probably over-filling the oil. When refilling, start with 5 gallons, wait a few minutes, and then check the dipstick to see how much more you need to add.

If the oil filter body is leaking then it is probably because the two O-rings underneath it are old and cracked. Also, check to make sure that the gasket from an old oil filter didn't get stuck to the body, causing a leak between it and the new oil filter gasket.

 

welcome to the board.

1. read the FAQs and download a copy of the FSM.

2. typically, (unless we're talking about some crazy and excessive custom dry sump setup) the Gen II sumps do not accommodate anywhere near the capacity of 5 gallons. 5 quarts is more reasonable. if you PM Evil Aviator maybe he would be kind enough to .... wait ... nevermind.

now how often do I get to josh you?

 

Oops, lol.

The oil is probably leaking out of his oil filler pipe because he read on the internet that he should fill the engine with 5 gallons of oil. What kind of idiots post mistakes like this? Er, wait a minute.

Quarts!

 

I had a fc come into my shop this week wanting his oil pan gasket replaced. When I lifted the vehicle it was his level sensor leaking. When dealing with oil leaks make sure to start at the top and work your way down. Like previously stated make sure to clean everything thoroughly to prevent unneeded replacement of parts.

 

Either that or look at this as a way to keep fresh oil in your car! If it leaks and you have to add more... It's basically like constantly changing your oil!

But yeah, like the others said, you should clean it really well and find out where it's coming from before you just start replacing stuff.

 

I can see 2 things wrong here..(bare with me!,do not take offense!,not directed at OP.)

One,..the person would be too lazy to get it fixed If they are just adding oil and not attending to the problem.Unless they maintain their cars that way,then it would be normal to them and fully expect a big puddle of oil to coat their driveway.

Two: if the oil is leaking out,..maybe the oil being put into the engine should just be THICKER..
SO THICK that it doesn't Run OUT of that Hole!...The bigger the hole the Thicker the Oil...!!!!
That'll fix it!!..yah!!!
...(sometimes you gotta think outside the Keg!..uh box!).....

But seriously,If The Guy posted,he is not starting an Oil Sands project in his Driveway, so #1 and 2 do not apply.

My "trick":
Clean the engine,go for a drive,park on Cardboard and look UP.That usually works.
My Oil pan leak was easy to spot.. not exactly easy to fix.But!, it wasn't impossible.

 

Thanks for feedback guys. Ill clean much of the oil up as I can.
I know for a fact the filter neck is leaking, but it doesn't explain the oil being everywhere that it is. It honestly looks like there is old oil buildup on all of the oil cooling lines, surrounding the oil pan and etc. I can watch i drip under the car when it's running, like I stated before it started leaking way more after the fresh oil change. Ill take pictures tomorrow and post them up. Appreciate all the help. I'm lost

 

I put 4 1/2 quarts in, don't think I overfilled it.