S4 O-ring Problem On Front Cover...
#1
http://www.mazdatrix.com/faq/oring.htm
Has anyone else pulled their front cover to correct this o-ring problem? I bought a new front seal and thermo pellet since I have a small leak coming from behind the OMP. What I'm not sure of is if its my front oil seal, thermo pellet, or the o-ring. If my engine is leaking some after a hard drive from any of these 3 things, does the oil just fill up in the front cover?? I'm unclear on this FAQ because it seems its for just when pulling the front cover and putting it back on. I don't want to pull it if I don't have to.
Has anyone else pulled their front cover to correct this o-ring problem? I bought a new front seal and thermo pellet since I have a small leak coming from behind the OMP. What I'm not sure of is if its my front oil seal, thermo pellet, or the o-ring. If my engine is leaking some after a hard drive from any of these 3 things, does the oil just fill up in the front cover?? I'm unclear on this FAQ because it seems its for just when pulling the front cover and putting it back on. I don't want to pull it if I don't have to.
#3
That is what I was thinking.... and my oil pressure is fine but this only leaks after hard drives at higher rpm. So let's just say the o-ring or front seal are leaking, you say it will leak inside.... would it just fill up in the front cover until it works its way through the gasket? What I'm getting at is this leak is caused by high pressure... the oil is squeezing out there. I thought the OMP was driven slow for lower pressure.
#5
oil will not build up in the front cover, the bottom is open to the oil pan, it will just dump into the pan.
if you have a leak behind the OMP and around it, it's the rubber seal on the OMP most likely, or the OMP itself.
FYI, the OMP is provided pressurized oil from a passage in the front cover, which gets it's oil from the front housing.
You can see the hole in the front covers' mating surface and the passage 'bulge' to where the OMP drive shaft/gear would be in this pic:
the hole on the front housing which provides the oil can be seen here:
you can also see the passage which goes from where the hole is in the mating surface to the stationary gear area, it has a similar bulge as the front cover.. you can also see the bulge in the other direction where it goes to the rest of the oil system... note the hole is plugged in this picture for OMP elimination... this should help in understanding how the OMP gets it's oil supply, the front cover is not full of pressurized oil, nor is the oil pan.
if you have a leak behind the OMP and around it, it's the rubber seal on the OMP most likely, or the OMP itself.
FYI, the OMP is provided pressurized oil from a passage in the front cover, which gets it's oil from the front housing.
You can see the hole in the front covers' mating surface and the passage 'bulge' to where the OMP drive shaft/gear would be in this pic:
the hole on the front housing which provides the oil can be seen here:
you can also see the passage which goes from where the hole is in the mating surface to the stationary gear area, it has a similar bulge as the front cover.. you can also see the bulge in the other direction where it goes to the rest of the oil system... note the hole is plugged in this picture for OMP elimination... this should help in understanding how the OMP gets it's oil supply, the front cover is not full of pressurized oil, nor is the oil pan.
#8
I believe a common sign that the o-ring is failing would be a drop in oil pressure above 3000 rpms. I would replace the seal around the omp first and then see what happens. No reason to take the front cover unless you have to. Did you get an after marker thermal like Atkins that eliminates the oil cut off on warm-up? If not you might want to think about modifying it to work like the Atkins one. Just a thought anyways.