bad oil leak need help. .. ...

[Miatafreek]

I Have a really bad oil leak, I replaced the valve cover gasket and it did'nt even dent it, and this morning my oil pressure sensor went to 0 and so, I am looking at pulling the motor and replacing the oil pan gasket and have a few problems such as the fact that I don't have an engine lift, I have every other tool on the planet though , So i'm asking does anybody have an engine lift that I can borrow, I of course can supply the beer or food PM me let me know


Thanks
Rich

[POS Racing]

How do you know if it's the oil pan gasket, have you pinpointed the leak??

Have you replaced the CAS O-ring yet?

[black roadster]

Autozone will loan you a lift but we need more details to help you.

First, where is it leaking from?

You mentioned you replaced the valve cover gasket but now you want to replace the oil pan gasket? One is on top the other on bottom. If you can't tell, you'll need to clean up all the sludge with a degreaser like Simple Green and get it all cleaned up to diagnose the location of the leak(s).

I'm even more concerned about your lack of oil pressure. A leak wouldn't cause a drop in oil pressure like that but a bad oil pump would.

As for leaks, there are many places a Miata can bleed oil and can usually be narrowed down based on where the leak is.

Places a Miata can bleed oil:

Front, top
Valve cover
Cam seals

Side, top
Valve Cover

Rear, top
Valve Cover
Cam Angle Sensor O-Ring (common problem)

Front, Bottom
Oil Pan
Crank Oil Seal
Oil Pump

Side, Bottom
Oil Pan

Rear bottom
Valve Cover
Rear Main Seal

[channelmaniac]

Don't forget!

Rear driver's side of oil pan... can be a pretty bad leak too... Dipstick O-Ring...

You really need to figure out what happened to the oil pump ASAP!

Take the sensor out & put a real pressure gauge on it to see if the sensor is bad... If it isn't then you need to check the oil pickup assembly and the oil pump. The pump may have a stuck relief valve.

DO NOT drive the car until you get the oil pressure problem fixed!

RJ

[sammm]

I replaced the valve cover gasket

Did it start leaking right after you replaced the gasket? There is a specific order and torque when tightening down the bolts that hold it in place. Plus you have to use RTV (or similiar) on 6 spots before you put the gasket in.

See THIS

[Miatafreek]

the oil leak was all on the passanger side of the motor i did a half a** job of tring to figure out the leak I am going to pull the motor and pelace all fo the gaskets except the head that was done a year ago i was going to replace the oil pan gaket, cam gaskets, cas gaket, oil pan and half moon gaskets.( oil pum and rear main seals as well) i figures that way i go the leak.

thanks for all the help

rich

[POS Racing]

I am going to pull the motor and pelace all fo the gaskets

rory

Horry crat bre creful!

[Miatafreek]

Sorry I mispselled I was in a hurry, Please forgive my sins

rich

[black roadster]

You're going way beyond what I'd do but hey, more power to ya. Kind of excessive. Hope it all works out for you.

[Miatafreek]

I just don't like having to pull a motor a whole lot so I figure while I have it out, go ahead and get all that out of the way is all, so does anyone have one that I can use, an engine lift.

Rich

[POS Racing]

Sorry I mispselled I was in a hurry, Please forgive my sins

rich

You didn't even get you name correct on the misspelled post, or are you letting Rory use your login??

Did notice you cleaned up the Rory / Rich signature mistake on you post, Last edited by Miatafreek : Today at 07:54 PM.

You can rent a lift if you really need it, but I'd get to a spray wash and clean that engine off before you got to expense of pulling the motor, at least I'd take the time to better pinpoint the leak.

Is this a new leak or a long running issue??

[Miatafreek]

And replace the oil pump while I'm at it too.so that way I can

Rich

[channelmaniac]

Why would you do all of that?

If you have a bad oil leak on the passenger side and you have no oil pressure, I'd check to make sure the oil sending unit hasn't failed or come out of the block... and I'd check the oil filter to make sure it hasn't fallen off!

You sound like a dentist that wants to crown a tooth that has a small chip rather than smooth it out...

[Miatafreek]

You didn't even get you name correct on the misspelled post, or are you letting Rory use your login??

Did notice you cleaned up the Rory / Rich signature mistake on you post, Last edited by Miatafreek : Today at 07:54 PM.

You can rent a lift if you really need it, but I'd get to a spray wash and clean that engine off before you got to expense of pulling the motor, at least I'd take the time to better pinpoint the leak.

Is this a new leak or a long running issue??

Rory was over last night checking something out on his car and spending the holidays, so he was typing what I was telling him to type and he wrote his name down, I caught it and changed it ( a thousand apologies ) he left this morning and is back on the road to Amarrillo ( he said something about not being wanted in the dfw area by a lot of people and moved about 3-4 months ago and came back to visit me ) who knows with that jacka** ( he's my best friend but dammit, I don't get him sometimes )

As for doing all the gaskets I don't like to do things twice so I'd rather do a little too much now rather than a whole lot of little stuff later and its cheaper if I buy all the gaskets at one time.

So anyone have an engine lift?

Rich

[MadMerv]

You don't need to pull the engine to remove the pan. Disconnect the radiator hoses, downpipe, and motor mounts. Put a floor jack under the car and jack up the engine using the oil pan, as high as it will go. Put a jack stand under the harmonic balancer and remove the jack. Now you can drop the pan.

This said, what you're wanting to do makes no sense. First thing is to find out if there really is no oil pressure. The simplest way is to remove the oil filter, disconnect the plug wires so it won't try and start, and crank it over for about 15-20 seconds. If you blow oil all over the place, you have oil pressure. If not , 1) the oil pump bypass is stuck, 2) there is no oil in the pan (but I assume you checked that!), or 3) the oil pickup has come loose. I had this happen after an engine rebuild. A small sliver of metal got stuck in the bypass spring passage and bypassed all the oil. We used the above method to isolate and fix the problem in about two hours, at the track.

Once you have oil pressure, wash the engine to remove as much of the oil as possible, then wipe it dry. Put the car on jack stands and fire it up. Now get down there and find the leak. They are not hard to find. Pulling the engine is a crazy idea........

[Miatafreek]

I will try that and see if I can do it.
Rich

[Miatafreek]

found out about the 0 oil pressure deal the wire that goes to the sensor broke off at the connector, I believe its a female connector.so beside the oil leak ( which upon some investigation I believe is the cas O ring) and the connector, still have to do the oil pan though ( for god's sakes don't ask me why!!)


Hey gang had a firend of mine ( shane ) come over last night, he's ASE certified he works for chevy though but he's helped on a few of my projects and he just got a powder coating machine he was saying if we can take the motor out we can powder coat a whole bunch of stuff , intake valve covers, he even has some special stuff that you put on headers ( mine look like crap even if they are aftermarket) so I'm considering that I have all of next week off.

Rich

hopefully soon i will be

[Darron65]

Sounds like you reeeeeely want to pull that engine. Good luck, have fun!

[tailchaser]

found out about the 0 oil pressure deal the wire that goes to the sensor broke off at the connector, I believe its a female connector.so beside the oil leak ( which upon some investigation I believe is the cas O ring) and the connector, still have to do the oil pan though ( for god's sakes don't ask me why!!)

Warning! If the wire breaks, you'd see HIGH oil pressure, not zero. Keep looking.

[Miatafreek]

Warning! If the wire breaks, you'd see HIGH oil pressure, not zero. Keep looking.

that's why I just got a brand new connector fitting and a new oil pump w/ gasket and I'm going to pull the motor and replace all the gaskets, seals and

so far i have gotten

valve cover 22.95
oil pump 235.75
oil pressure sensor 175.82
oil pan gasket ( 1 tube of 270) 3.99
cas o gasket 8.99
cam seals 18.00
rear main seal 18.95

oil 4 quarts of mobil 1 10w30 ( from a friend who works at a shop) 9.54
mobil 1 oil fliter 5.99
new air racthet 34.99

all I need now is an engine lift
Thought about doing it the other way. It's just way too tight and too many things can go wrong and I don't have but a week off of work so it has to be done right.

Thanks for any and all help, if you have one ( an engine lift), I will make it right to anyone who has one.

Gotta get back to
Rich