Monsterbox

Hi, I have owned my FD for about 6 months. Everything has been running great. 30k Miles reman in the car w/ two oil coolers. I recentently began noticing oil dripping onto the driveway. A few weeks later the car began smoking under boost and constant running. I took the car in to a rotary shop recentely and they diagnosed it as FRONT COVER GASKET LEAK. They explained the smoke as the oil dripping onto the manifold from a small trail.



$1,200 labor charge to fix it.



I really would like to keep that money towards a new engine, for all i know is i drop the 1.2k and fix the leak and then blow a seal so it all has to be replaced anyways!



- I am definately new to actually working on the car ( i know tons about the car and how it works but i havent done much more than radiator install, coolant hoses, and gauges)



- I have read the 94fsm inside out..theres really no direct way of performing this repair.



Can you guys tell me im getting into more than I can handle if I''m a new rotary owner (this is my DD)



Basically i know that all the pumps must come out and pulleys...but how hard is this really..i thought the only hard part was removing e-shaft pulley bolt? How the hell is this is a 16 hr job what does it consist of? I will be performing this with a friend who has pulled a 3sgte before that about all the backup i have on this!



Thanks!!!!!!!

rmriggin

I think that quote could be about right, steep but probably close based on what is involved and how they choose to do it. I did not have an FD mind you but I was able to replace my front cover gasker easily on my FB. Took a little time but wasn't too bad. To do it right you do have to remove the oil pan or at least the bolts from the front cover that go into it. I removed my pan and resealed it to make sure I had no leaks from the pan after fixing the leak from the front cover.

herblenny

rminggin is right.. if you want to do it right, you would have to remove the oil pan and all the pullies. Which means, you would need to pull the engine... or close to it.



I think you could do it yourself as pulling an engine should only take 2-3 hours... Otherwise, you could try to patch it from outside and see if it will hold until you need a new engine. But that would be temporary fix and might not even work. I've bought an engine that had layers and layers of silicone to stop the front cover leak. Not sure if it worked as I bought it as a blown engine.



Good luck!



PHIL

mr.zoom

https://www.nopistons.com/forums/index.php?...c=16199&hl=



I got your PM from the other forum. just read through this thread and again take your time.

teamrj83

dude for the same price I will send you a rebuild cryofroze 13b motor for your FD, low mileage too..

herblenny

Cryofroze?? whats the purpose?

GreyGT-C

you can do the front cover yourself in about 4 hrs. It is a PITA, but not $1200 worth of pain.



1. remove 2 nuts on the engine mounts that hold it to the subframe.

2. lift up engine until it contacts the tranny tunnel

3.remove oil pan bolts and drop oil pan about an inch.

4. remove big bolt from pulley assembly and remove bolt.

5. remove front cover.

6. replace gasket and o-ring

7. use an assload of vasoline (no offense Steve) to hold the thrust washer and bearing in place.

8. reassemble in reverse order.

9 drink beer and be glad you didn't pay someone to do it for you.







mind you, there are a few things that might have to be removed before this point depending on what setup you have, intake box, I/c, etc.

herblenny

That would work also...

Monsterbox

well, i'm going to at least attempt this myself with a friend, worse case i could just have it towed 12 miles to the shop...it would already be mostly apart so it can't cost any more money as some of the disassembly would be done...thanks for the info so far but i have a few more q's



- how should i start? will i need to remove airpump, waterpump assembly and thermostat all that stuff, ac compressor etc...none of that was mentioned in Grey's post.



- as far as raising the engine, it there anything that could possibly go wrong in the alignment of the mounts to the engine & subframe if it gets shifted forward left or right? I dont wanna be stuck w/ the engine hovering or resting on the subframe?



- use a jack to raise the tranny after unbolting the nuts or raise the engine to the top of the tunnel w/ a craine from the top?



- drop the subframe or twist and pull the oil pan through (is this possible)?



- to remove the main pulley on the front cover does it require heating w/ a tourch i read that somewhere?



Doesnt sound like a 4 hr job to me grey?



Much appreciation guys!

Monsterbox

Ok, I have been doubting for some reason that it is the front cover gasket that has been leaking



- i bought some UV DYE and ran it through the oil...got under the car with a uv light after cleaning off eveything for about an hour



I couldnt get a picture becuz its too dark and a flash would block the uv emitting dye so here is a Photoshoped picture...



-the oil is leaking exactly where the yellow is shown...when i get under the car a yellow trails is visible from as high as u can possibly see on the metal next to the pulley down to the pan



-from above the car there is not noticable oil around the pulley or front cover





If it was the front cover gasket wouldnt it be leaking around the entire front of the engine on the outer edges?



Could it possibly be the oil o ring seal right behind the pulley?



[b]What are all the possible things that could cause this trail of oil in this general area?