Oil leak in timing belt area

[jepherz]

Alright 4g63 experts, I have a car that I recently pulled the balance shafts out of. After about 6k miles it started consuming oil to the point where it was going through about 1 qt every few hundred miles which equated to a steady drip at least once every few seconds when the car was stopped after a decent drive. I pulled the timing components back off and found the timing belt covered in oil. It appears that the oil is coming from somewhere around the auto tensioner.

Is there a bolt I needed to seal with rtv somewhere in that area or any idea where else it could be coming from?

 

[Andy_S]

Did you put a short bolt in where the balance shaft belt pulley was? Without that hole plugged, it would leak a ton.

 

[jepherz]

Yup, I did and RTV'd it too. Doesn't look like the oil is coming from there.

 

[Andy_S]

Could be the front main seal. I've had bad luck with those and they would leak at a similar rate to what you described. When mine leaked, my t-belt would be drenched in engine oil.

 

[jepherz]

Yeah, I replaced that with a new one though and there are traces of oil much higher up on the block.

 

[boostedinaz]

Oddly enough I have a buddy with the same problem. We took it down to just the front case with no timing components and spun the oil pump over with a drill. It came from right under the water pump. He plans on taking the front case off this weekend to see what the deal it. My guess it either a torn gasket or a cracked front case.

 

[jepherz]

I wish I had thought to do that before I pulled the pan and drained the oil. I noticed that the oil pan flange is a little bent over on the oil pump side, so I'm wondering if it just started to leak and somehow got sucked UP into the timing belt cover?

 

[H05TYL]

If oil gets onto the belt it will be carried (and flung) pretty much all over the show.

I had a leaking cam seal and it took ages to track down where the damn stuff was actually coming from

 

One of the motor mount bolts is a wet bolt.

The easiest way to find the leak is to pull the timing covers off, leave the accessory pulleys off, and start the engine. If you start with a cold engine you will have about 5 minutes before the temperature starts to creep up.

Good luck.