Coes this look like a hg begining to fail? (1 Viewer)

[cyclocrossen]

Does this look like a Hg begining to fail?

I have a 94 locked 80 with 165k on it. I bought it about 4 months ago. It was one owner, garage kept and never wheeled. The pwner kept it up well and had good records of sevices. I just did the knuckles but most all looks good. It runs well and has not burnt any oil in 3000 miles. Does not smoke or anything. But there is a film of motor oil on parts of the engine. I think one of the pans is leaking and the valve cover in a few spots but not bad. It has not dripped on the floor since I owned it. But there are a few spots that look like some oil may be comming from the head gasket. Should I be concerned or ready to replace it? Here are a few pics. I just do not want to ruin the motor if it were to fail. Thanks for your advice.

 

[duraman03]

Valve Cover Gasket? Had to replace mine, the side of the block looked just like that.

 

[lndcruz]

+1 Looks like valve cover gasket. It looks like its starting above the exhaust manifold.

 

[AJLFJ80]

Yeah, x2 on the valve cover gasket. My 3FE was a bit weepy when I took ownership of it, too. I took the advice of a couple 'mudders and re-torqued the bolts on the underside of the valve-cover gasket and switched to some nice thick 15W-40. Oil leakage is near nil, now. If only I had a fix as easy as that for my leaky pinion seal...

 

[cyclocrossen]

So what do you thnk? Get a new valve cover gasket then clean the engine an see if any oil apears anywhere else? What is the best degreaser for the engine? I just looked again and think one of the sensors going into the block is seeping around it. I will take a pic in a while and post that. Thanks all for the replies.

 

[Taildragon]

I would x4 the valve cover gasket.

I just did mine a week ago. The gasket was, as well as all the tubes coming out of it were as flexible as my wife at 9 and half months of pregnancy! I also did the o ring on the distributor as well. (i had pretty good oil seepage at the aft of the motor) My flexible socket extension came in very handy to access the back two bolts on the valve cover.

I would HIGHLY recommend doing these if they are original at this point in the game. My rig is a 95 with 147 on the clock.

 

[cyclocrossen]

Thanks and I agree with the o-ring on the distributor. I just looked at it and it does seem to have more oil around it. Here is the pick of the sensor into the block. Is this the oil pressure sensor? And does it have an oring as well?

 

[lndcruz]

^ IIRC thats the oil level sensor. I'm sure it has a seal of some kind.

 

[BrotherRob]

So what do you thnk? Get a new valve cover gasket then clean the engine an see if any oil apears anywhere else? What is the best degreaser for the engine? I just looked again and think one of the sensors going into the block is seeping around it. I will take a pic in a while and post that. Thanks all for the replies.

It doesn't look like a major concern. Clean it thoroughly, drive it and check for leaks again. It's hard to tell what it is with the build up of oil and dirt. Good luck.

 

[lacruiser]

why don't you just try tightening up the valve cover bolts first, clean things up and keep an eye on it? If it stops leaking, you're done. If not, then you can opt to do the VCG or not. Worked for me on my '93 Camry. Either way, it's very minor.

It's pretty normal for a 16 year old vehicle to have some minor leak and seeps here and there.

 

[Ebag333]

why don't you just try tightening up the valve cover bolts first, clean things up and keep an eye on it?

Be careful tightening them. I snapped one of my valve cover bolts tightening it up, didn't have it more than hand tight before it snapped right off.

 

[MARLIN375]

Be careful tightening them. I snapped one of my valve cover bolts tightening it up, didn't have it more than hand tight before it snapped right off.

X10 ...it is not a "keep tightening till it seals gasket". The valve cover has a node at each hole so you cannot over crush they gasket. The bolts are tightened to the point that it is metal on metal, squishing the gasget evenly everywhere.

I would bet yours is old, brittle and at the end of its life.

The oil level sensor on the side of the block has an O-ring that needs to be replaced, remove the 4 bolts and wiggle it gently till you can pull the whole thing out.

Old engines seep oil, if it is not dripping on your drive way I would not worry about it too much. In the future you may have an oppertunity to pull the motor and that would be the time to do all your seepy seals and orings, like the rear main, front crank seal, oil pump oring, reseal the pans ect.

 

[1996lx450]

i would use a can of brake cleaner to clean the oil of the block. My valve cover is leaking so when you do it make sure you get a throttle body gasket , 2 half moons and the 6 plug tube orings so you will have every thing at one time. also make sure you replace the distrubtor oring very simple to replace

 

[ShawnTRD]

 

[BOUNDER]

X10 ...it is not a "keep tightening till it seals gasket". The valve cover has a node at each hole so you cannot over crush they gasket. The bolts are tightened to the point that it is metal on metal, squishing the gasget evenly everywhere.

I would bet yours is old, brittle and at the end of its life.

The oil level sensor on the side of the block has an O-ring that needs to be replaced, remove the 4 bolts and wiggle it gently till you can pull the whole thing out.

Old engines seep oil, if it is not dripping on your drive way I would not worry about it too much. In the future you may have an oppertunity to pull the motor and that would be the time to do all your seepy seals and orings, like the rear main, front crank seal, oil pump oring, reseal the pans ect.

and if has started to drip on the driveway (just sayin')

 

[jlg32281]

Crap, mine drips on the floor every day. I know my valve cover gasket needs replacing along with the distributor o-ring, pan arches, and I'm a sure a few other leaks here and there. Some will say I'm neglectful, I'm just cheap and oil is cheap. An extra half quart of oil every oil change is cheap. Until the leaks start causing other problems, I'll just keep pouring oil in it, but I'm trashy like that.

 

[IdahoDoug]

Simple valve cover gasket leak to me. Very gently check each one. Great explanation by Marlin - once the valve cover is metal to metal even another turn is dangerous. With a new gasket you'll feel the valve cover sinking down on the rubber gasket, then suddenly just a faint increase in turning resistance and you know it's metal touching on metal and you're done. With used, I might try to get that "feel" on a couple of the front ones where you can literally watch the metal to metal happen so you get a feel on this old gasket. Unless you find one actually loose though, I'd bet money it's already properly tightened down to metal on metal and the seal's shrunk.

But no, I wouldn't worry about a HG from those photos.

DougM