Oil Leak Diagnosis help
 

Hey all - haven't been on the forum for years - good to be back. Our 92 has an oil leak at the front bottom of the engine. It leaks onto the tray just behind the front bumper then drips through the holes. I've attached a couple of pictures though they may be hard to understand. The one is taken to the left of the oil filter. The second is on the same axis but further left along the bottom front of the engine. We're not mechanical and I'm forever suspect of letting someone who doesn't know these cars start to play. Appreciate any help with what our problem might be - thanks.

Re: Oil Leak Diagnosis help
 

What do you mean by the "tray". Do you mean the black plastic cover that is over the timing belt? Oil leaks from that area are usually bad Cam seals.

Re: Oil Leak Diagnosis help
 

Looks like the timing covers in the pictures. Cam seals/plugs and crank seal are the only things under there that can leak. Or it could possibly be something leaking from the top through them and all the way down.

Re: Oil Leak Diagnosis help
 

By the 'tray' I mean the plastic shroud that you need to remove to access the oil filter. It's under the car immediately behind the front bumper and goes back about a foot the width of the car.

Thanks for your thoughts on this problem!

Are these diagnosis major repairs in terms of parts and cost?

Re: Oil Leak Diagnosis help
 

For those seals, parts are just few dollars but unfortunately there is a lot of labor because of where they are located. I am guessing 3-4 hours of shop time.

Re: Oil Leak Diagnosis help
 

looks like my engine, found one of my cam seals was about to walk while the other was only leaking a little.

Re: Oil Leak Diagnosis help
 

Appreciate the thoughts everyone.

Re: Oil Leak Diagnosis help
 

If this is the cam seals, what risk do we run if it is not repaired for some time. The car only sees about 3000 miles per year so is not a high use vehicle. We're of course monitoring oil levels but certainly don't want our putting this off to cause some even worse problem. Guess it's just difficult to invest much in a vehicle that is now of little value.

Re: Oil Leak Diagnosis help
 

Oil getting on the timing belt can't be a good thing. Other than that, I can't really think of any major issues that would come from it. How much oil is it leaking? Have you changed any of the seals/gaskets in the past, and how many miles on the car? Most of these cars are needing a few seals here and there at the age they're at now. I'd bite the bullet and have them done. It's one of the jobs that I'd trust to a normal mechanic.