Gasket Problem?

elemgee · #1 02-27-2009, 07:11 PM

When changing the oil in my 96 SVX, I noticed something leaking at the bottom of the ....thats my question, I don't know what part this is. As you face the front of the engine, its that black plastic cover thats on the left, immediately in back (towards the firewall, about 2 inches behind the radiator) of the radiator. It extends from the top of the engine, to the bottom. A similar type of cover is on the right hand side which i think is the cover for the timing belt.

Anyway, at the bottom of this plastic thing (you only see the bottom of it with the plastic shroud removed from under the car to get to the oil filter) part of a rubber gasket is visible, and its leaking something.

Sorry for the very unclear description. Hopefully someone will read this and think "hey, I had that exact same problem and its the ________ (fill in part here)". Thanks.

Larry

redlightningsvx · #2 02-27-2009, 08:02 PM

Sounds like either your cam seal or cam plug is leaking.

huck369 · #3 02-28-2009, 04:13 AM

Agreed....
You should re-place both cam seals and the front crank seal...theey are only about $7 each...but you have to pull the timing belt to do them, so it'd be a good time to replace it too.

SoCal LS-L · #4 02-28-2009, 07:04 AM

I think what youre seeing is the timing cover seal, when oil seeps from your cam seals it pools at the bottom of your timing cover and leaks out from there. Timing belt replacement is a cakewalk.... but to remove your camshaft pulleys you have to use a special tool, or your old timing belt wrapped around them and secured on part of the engine, to keep them from turning when you remove the bolt. You can do the whole job with a basic socket set pretty much.

taylorbr · #5 02-28-2009, 08:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SoCal LS-L

.... but to remove your camshaft pulleys you have to use a special tool, or your old timing belt wrapped around them and secured on part of the engine, to keep them from turning when you remove the bolt.

A chain wrench works well for that - I picked up a beefy one from Harbor Freight for around $15.

elemgee · #6 02-28-2009, 01:07 PM

OK, so the suggestion is that I replace the timing belt at the same time I replace these seals. How hard is to replace the timing belt? I had the dealer do it at 60K miles, and always thought that it was fairly difficult. Are there any clear instructions anywhere? Thanks.

Hey, RedLighteningSVX, mine looks just like yours.

Larry