oil leak

im leaking oil. not a big deal but use ur resources though right? so anyone know of any common places that the 5sfe tends to leak oil? was gonna give the engine a once over this weekend and figured i could save myself a lot of time if someone could point me in the right direction

Most common leak sites are:

1) Valve cover gasket
2) Camshaft oil seal (behind timing belt cover)
3) Oil pump shaft seal (also behind timing belt cover)
4) Front Crankshaft oil seal (ditto)
5) Head gasket
6) Rear crankshaft oil seal

#1 is an easy fix...purchase a valve cover gasket set. It'll come with seals for the spark plug tubes. You'll need some oil resistant silicone sealant to dab into a few corners as well. Torque the tube nuts to 17 ft-lbs.

#2 through 4 are usually done along with a change in the timing belt. Good idea to plan all this work at once because it involves some teardown of the front of the engine. Some change the water pump, idler pulley, and tensioner too for the same reason.

#5 not so easy...that's why down on the list. The camshafts have to be removed to get to the head bolts. Let's not go further into it unless necessary.

#6 also not easy...engine removal required. Enough said.

Hope this helps

k. thanks. at least now i got some pinpoint sites to look at. hopefully its one of the easier ones

k. so i ripped it apart and found nothing. i took of the original intake and put in my own with a breather cap. could the smell just be from the cap being open now and not being fed directly back into the engine? its a very faint smell so im thinking that could be it