84 Wag - Timing Cover Oil Leak

[MilesTexas]

Right to the point. I am trying to slowly plug all of the holes on my Wag - it truly doesn't leak THAT bad. I do live in an apartment high rise. Trying to be respectful to the floors.

Right now I have a weeping leak from the top of the timing chain cover. I have ran the engine and wiped away all oil, watching it slowly fill from the top crease.

3 Questions

1. Should I even consider removing the Timing Chain Cover for this small leak and otherwise everything else is running well?

2. If not, is there anything I could try to caulk it with on the seam to hold it back?

3. I have also seen a few threads where people mention that the positive pressure is pushing the oil up and out. Is this something I should be targeting, not the result of it

Here is a pic of the area. I know there is coolant on it at the moment, the Water temp hose got a small tear while I was cleaning the oil up. Not normally the fluid in that area

[tgreese]

Green puddle is coolant, not oil. Looks like it's coming from the hose above with the green drip showing.

I don't see any oil leak.

[MilesTexas]

Hey tgreese.

Sorry I mentioned in the post towards the bottom. While I was trying to mop up the oil, I nicked the hose and some coolant pooled where the oil was.

But without a doubt, there was no coolant prior and only good ole dark oil

[will e]

Are you sure it is the timing cover? It could be from the intake or even the distributor.

I would not pull the timing cover for a small leak. It's a pretty big job. Not only pulling off all of the accessories but you got to take the crank pully/balancer off as well. And you replace the front of the oil pan seal too, which could start leaking...

[tgreese]

Supposedly you can use the fluorescent dye they use for AC leaks for engine oil leaks. The full kit for AC is expensive ca $150, but I think all you need is the UV flashlight, glasses, and small container of dye for engine oil. Like $30 for all of it on Amazon. Your shop vac will clean up the spilled coolant, and then clean the front of the engine and do the dye routine.

[MilesTexas]

I am fairly sure it is. I can see it slowly seep out from the seam where the timing chain cover meets the block. I am trying to really clean it up to see if it is also leaking from that right side of the intake (you can see a build up there)

But if we agree that isn't something I should remove (which I agree, it didn't seem worth the squeeze). AND we agree its that seam... (which I sounds like its 50/50)

What should my next steps be? Try to monitor/lower the positive pressure pushing out? Can I use RTV along the seam and give it a week to dry. See if that solves it before I buy the UV kit?

[tgreese]

Looking at the timing cover, the only pressurized passages for oil are down by the oil pump. On top there, it appears to all be splash oiling. could be the splash is driving the oil through these some of the gasket is missing. If you could clean it enough so it would stick, you might be able to paint the gap with something that hardens, like Glyptal or nail polish. I would try Aluthane, which I have on hand.

[devildog80]

Check the mounting bolts

Maybe just came a tad loose and need snugged up?

[letank]

valve cover gasket and or intake manifold gasket seeping down to the timing cover.

That area hidden by the AC compressor is always hard to clean and observe...

If your PCV baffle (inside the intake manifold) is full of carbon, it may be hard to be fully functional and the overpressure can force the intake manifold gasket to discharge some oil, for this one disconnect the oil filler cap, put a temporary filter





and observe if the oil seepage has reduced after 1/4 tank of gas.

As said cleaning and UV dye is a good bet, HF might have the kit at a good price!

[MilesTexas]

Just a quick update, I added a little nail polish. Really hard to get hands in the area but this is the result. This is after about 3 minutes idling - it really looks to be bubbling up from that crease (You can see the mud brown oil forming overly the newly painted area but above there isn't any streams). I am going to try and clean... add a little baby powder above it. See if its just forming there but came from above.

Also going to check on the UV kit at HF.

As always, appreciate the insights. Going to keep testing!!!