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oil leak on passenger side, 98 gt.

so..it's either balancer, balancer seal, or oil pan gasket? they all sound scary.

I will try cleaning again tomorrow. after it's clean, when it leaks, what do I do to pinpoint it when I can't see much inside?
 
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oil pans a nightmare i've read, (the balancer leak, is the crank seal) the crank seal is behind the balancer. saw a thread where some one was asking about a sleeve that gets put in the timing cover and then a new seal or something like that.

if thats leaking you need to take the balancer off, pop the old seal out and pound a new one in. its really kinda easy.

with any luck bill will pop in here tomorrow and have a better answer in regards to that sleeve.


this thread will help get the balancer off, has pics too. http://www.grandprixforums.net/how-replace-crank-sensor-60906.html

cant find the link for the oil pan, search for it or look through the how to section for that one. its out there.
 
i heard for the oil pans you gotta raise the engine up a bit, and remove the bottom mount brackets. sounds like a pain...
 
I have a nightmare and/or somebody's hell, and a balancer. nice. I think I want to know more about the balancer.
assuming it is where the oil is leaking, should I be experiencing any symptoms? It rides just fine.
 
If the balancer was bad, I'd definitely have some symptoms. But I think he's more talking about the seal behind it. It might be an idea to consider replacing the ckp as preventive maintenance while u have the balancer off as well.
 


well...I'll let the picture speak.




hell, eh?
 

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in pic 2 see how the block is shiny? that looks like oil. with some brake cleaner spray and clean it with a rag as far up as you can front and back and clean around the pan gasket as well.

the brake cleaner will take that fresh oil wet look away. then you can see if its coming form the valve covers or not.

when i did all this, i rtv'ed the seam around the pan gasket to the block, (to try and rule the pan gasket out) i took off the inspection plate and cleaned it real good, then with my finger, put a small blob or rtv on your finger and smear it around the pan gasket. the belt side is all most impossible to seal with the motor mount bracket there. but the back side and sides are easy to get to. i used a fat screw driver to seal the side closest to the flywheel, i got big fat fingers, they no fit there.

mine looked worse then yours. after i did all this i could see fresh oil running down the block again, and knew i f'ed up my rear valve cover install. i thought it was my pan, but its tight on my car.
 
sorry to ask again -- what's rtv?

I did do both valve cover gaskets............maybe redo it? how can I tell I did or did not mess up from the top when I open the rear cover?
 


you want red rvt gasket maker. it comes in a tube, and seals stuff real good. if you put your finger on the edge of the pan, you will feel a small gap. you want to seal that area. as far as you can all the way around the pan.

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like i said, i did mine and f 'ed up, made the bolts to tight and one corner leaks. it leaks less now vs before i did them, so im letting it go go for now. if you clean that all up again, and if the block gets all shiny again, you know its the valve cover.

i'd clean it again, and see what you find before rtv ing the pan. do take the inspection cover off that covers the fly wheel, they get nasty with oil on the inside. its 2 10 mm bolts and it pops off.
 
from what i understand if you make the bolts to tight it crushes the gasket, and it fails to sit right on the head, and leaks.

i haven't done a thing for mine yet, it drips a quarter size puddle over night, and thats better than 3, 4 inch puddles. and the whole oil pan full of oil, and the trans was covered as well, and had motor oil dripping from both sides of my trans pan. i had a bad leak for sure.

im going to buy just one gasket at some point and re do it.
 
I'm looking for crushed gasket, then? I'll update back! mine is a quarter size overnight as well.
at this point I'm hoping it is the gasket.
 
clean it up first, then make that decision.


after i did the valve covers i thought for sure my pan was leaking, then re cleaned and the block got wet up to the valve cover, the oil pan bolts were all covered, with a drip off each one.

once the oil hits the pan it seems to follow the pan lip and go all over.
 


shop called me.. I am told that it is the oil pan gasket. He also told me that it could also be the rear main seal..which, due to the tight clearance, can't be checked?
Anyway, he suggested trying White Shepard stop leak..anyone heard of this product?
 
if its leaking by the trans, that is the driver side, clean it up and rtv the pan up, that way you will know if its the rear seal.

i also had a guy tell me my rear seal was leaking, and my power steering pump as well. it was the valve cover, so take what they say with a grain of salt. i had just seen my seal with my own 2 eyes 3,000 miles before when i had the trans out, and it was dry. ( i had the leak then too)

if you take off the inspection cover from the trans, by the starter there, 2 bolts, you can see if its leaking, you need a good flash light and eyes. the flex plate would most likely will have oil on it, and the the back of the engine as well. yes it is tight, but you will see something for sure. thats the area i used a fat screw driver to smear the rtv over the pan gasket area.

white Shepard, i never heard of. i'd weary about adding anything to your oil.
 
Scotty, you should write a book on the Grand Prix; preferably the 98 GTP. Do you have a compilation word file on all of your knowledge?
 
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