Leaking Oil!!

So i am in a fix. I am leaking oil, not too much, but enough to be visible. I am saying its the head gasket but some say its the rear main seal. Do they both have the ability to leak oil or is one of us wrong? This is getting really annoying and i just want to get in fixed...thanks

If it was the headgasket you would be losing compression and the motor would run shitty. Check the valve cover gasket, they are prone to leaking.

Important thing to remember with valve cover gaskets... they are rubber. This means you do not want to crank down the bolts like you would on a normal gasket. Doing this will cause the seal to break and therefore you will leak oil. If the leak is coming from your valve cover gasket be sure to crank it down to the suggested inch-pounds. I do not know it off-hand but, I can get it if thats your problem. I've seen sooooo many people crank down their valve cover wayyy to tight and then they leak oil.

Definitely not the headgasket, but the rear main could be slowly breaking down. I'd do the suggested above though first, it's a hell of alot easier to fix than a rear main.

Alright thanks guys. i will see what i can do.

iight im glad i found this thread...see im having the same problem this guys having but i already changed the valve cover gasket and im still leaking oil. I too have considered the head gasket or the rear main seal. I just want some clarification, is it possible to be leaking oil from the head gasket or should i just go ahead and pull the engine out and fix the rear main seal?

Your head gasket wont leak oil. Where is the oil coming from? Pulling the motor is a big pain just to fix and oil leak you have no clue where its coming from. Could be something simple.

I suggest that you clean the motor good and try to track down the leak better. There once you get a better idea of whats wrong then try and fix it.

Your head gasket wont leak oil. Where is the oil coming from? Pulling the motor is a big pain just to fix and oil leak you have no clue where its coming from. Could be something simple.

I suggest that you clean the motor good and try to track down the leak better. There once you get a better idea of whats wrong then try and fix it.

Thanks for the info, but i've already done that and it still seems like its coming from the head gasket. I've basically tried just about everything i could do to try to track down the leak. I cleaned the engine and waited about a week before checking out where there was oil. Anyways i cleaned it and its leaking from the backside of the engine and i just dont understand why! Before i cleaned it the the oil was above the rear main but below the valve gasket like around where the head and block meet. I have researched and read reviews on how the 420a engines have problems with oil leaks in the area where my oil leak seems to be coming from. I have also thought about the PCV valve, what do you think? Idk, I mightve waited too long or something before checking for oil but the oil is just sitting in the same spots of the engine as it was before i cleaned it. Im thinking about taking the head out too get a better look. I know its a pain but i need to get a better look to find that leak. Anyways im planning on rebuilding the head so im guessing this would be a perfect time to do it, get the head rebuilt and find my oil leak and fix it. Still i need help, any other suggestions please, becuase i could use them!

Hmm..you may have damage or contamination in the main cap surface. My motor is all original and has 79 K on it now and the only oil leaking i've ran into is with the VC gasket and no where else and I by no means baby the motor so those articles and postings you read can be misleading. If I were in your shoes I would pressure wash the motor with a 3000psi 25 degree tip spray and use a heavy duty industrial strength degreaser and make that bitch spotless on all sides of the motor then check it after everytime I drove it to pin point the exact location.

Good luck.

Hmm..you may have damage or contamination in the main cap surface. My motor is all original and has 79 K on it now and the only oil leaking i've ran into is with the VC gasket and no where else and I by no means baby the motor so those articles and postings you read can be misleading. If I were in your shoes I would pressure wash the motor with a 3000psi 25 degree tip spray and use a heavy duty industrial strength degreaser and make that bitch spotless on all sides of the motor then check it after everytime I drove it to pin point the exact location.

Good luck.

Ok well i guess im going to just clean it again but check sooner this time for oil. It has been getting really annoying! Anyways if anybody else thinks it might be something else please tell me. I have the feeling that i might be overlooking a spot where it could be coming from. Anyways thanks for the help guys!

Same problem here, oil leak thru backside of engine. Like in the area where the head and block meet. Anyone?

Hope this helps: on a 1500mi trip i took, all highway, i wasted a little over a quart of engine oil! Holy shit, what could that be? I doubt it my levitating dipstick.

420a's must have a problem leaking from the backside of the motor. Mine does this also and I have replaced many gaskets. I though I had it tracked down the oil pressure sensor port, where my oil feed line is tapped. Took that off and redid all the connections and still leak oil. I dont worry about it anymore, that motor is coming out in about 4 months anyways.

420a's must have a problem leaking from the backside of the motor. Mine does this also and I have replaced many gaskets. I though I had it tracked down the oil pressure sensor port, where my oil feed line is tapped. Took that off and redid all the connections and still leak oil. I dont worry about it anymore, that motor is coming out in about 4 months anyways.

Have you tried some pipe thread ?

Have you tried some pipe thread ?

Pipe thread?

Yeah like plumbers pipe tape / thread.

http://images.orgill.com/200x200/6455083.jpg

Gotcha, whre would you put it? Yours isn't leaking Mazda?

Gotcha, whre would you put it? Yours isn't leaking Mazda?

Silvr had his tracked down to the oil pressure sensor so I was just saying tape those threads and create a liquid tight seal and oil won't come out.

No , I have no leaks in my motor/car what so ever.

No , I have no leaks in my motor/car what so ever.

you must be the one they call NEO. :eek7:

Yea thats what I used on all of the connections. I haven't really messed with it much but it stopped for a few weeks but now the whole underside of the car is soaked with oil. I only have to add about 1 quart every 3k so its not a big deal.

you must be the one they call NEO. :eek7:

I highly doubt that lol..I just do a crap load of upkeep on my car =)

I highly doubt that lol..I just do a crap load of upkeep on my car =)

Me too, but it just keeps coming up. Man its aggrevating as hell.

420a's must have a problem leaking from the backside of the motor. Mine does this also and I have replaced many gaskets. I though I had it tracked down the oil pressure sensor port, where my oil feed line is tapped. Took that off and redid all the connections and still leak oil. I dont worry about it anymore, that motor is coming out in about 4 months anyways.

Mine also has a very small leak on the back. It drips off the oil filter. I'm talking like, a drop a week or so. No stains in my driveway from that. But it's still leaking and I don't know where neither. I thought it was from when I did the head swap, I had problems with the head sitting right when installing on that side, but completely dry. I don't worry about it. I check all the time and I've yet to add anymore since my last oil change.

Mine just gobbles it up. I'll try ad snap some pictures of it tonight. Its just so damn hard to get under the car. Hope ya'll can pin point it with the pic.

Yea thats what I used on all of the connections. I haven't really messed with it much but it stopped for a few weeks but now the whole underside of the car is soaked with oil. I only have to add about 1 quart every 3k so its not a big deal.

What kinda oil was it motor oil or tranny cuz when i looked at my engine after cleaning it i found out that i had red oil mixed in with the motor oil. So i changed a couple gasket and filters that took me about 3 hours and now all the red oil is gone but i still can seem to find the oil thats coming from the engine. I noticed that my sensor was also covered in oil. It had so much oil i just ended up replacing it becuase i was almost sure it was gone. Do you kno exactly where your oil is coming from? Let me know so that i can take a look at mine to see if its the same spot. Im planning on changing the motor to but that wont be till the summer so i would like to get this motor completely fixed so that i wont have problems with it.

Jesus..you guys must beat the hell out of your 420A's..mine only had the rear main leaking a little but had that replaced when I got tranny beefed up. haven't had a oil leak since..now with my radiator..thats another story , friggin hose has micro cracks in it.

Sorry, took these pics at night.

Is my tranny leaking too?:uhoh:
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q278/josealejo05/CIMG0250.jpg


This pic looks like ass.:screwy:
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q278/josealejo05/CIMG0257.jpg


Under the intake mani.:disappoin
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q278/josealejo05/CIMG0259.jpg


Is it the head gasket?:crying:
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q278/josealejo05/CIMG0261.jpg

http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q278/josealejo05/CIMG0264.jpg

It's possible your tranny can have a bad seal. I would inspect the rear and front mount..I've heard the extreme shock of the motor and tranny thrashing with bad mounts can cause seals to go bad from my tranny builder.

It's 'possible' as well it could be the head gasket but if you have a head gasket leaking oil but not compression/coolant , compression/coolant will soon follow and you'll be dead in the water.But what it also looks like to me is you are getting some gunk recirculated heavily into the intake manifold and it's leaking down just by the oil trail IMO from the mounting points and main pressure points on the intake manifold gasket and giving it that deceptive look of headgasket leak.

I see what you mean. Well should be an easy replacement for the intake gasket. But why am I getting so much oil though? Where could it be coming from?

Hmm..looking at the grease splatter on the motor area and engine it seems to me as though your socket seals are blown for your CV's...look how it's sprayed all over the place and the amount of it leads me to believe it has a slow but constant leak. I would check fluid levels in transmission soon as well.

K, I'll do that. What about my significant oil consumption?

Joe - Your motor is clean compared to mine. I garentee you that my motor looks worse back there. I have replaced, output seals on tranny, oil pan gasket, fixed my leaking oil lines, and check the valve cover for leaks. And I still have them so I just give up.

And yes I do beat the hell out of my motor.

Joe - Your motor is clean compared to mine. I garentee you that my motor looks worse back there. I have replaced, output seals on tranny, oil pan gasket, fixed my leaking oil lines, and check the valve cover for leaks. And I still have them so I just give up.

And yes I do beat the hell out of my motor.

Hehe for sure..I baby my current motor for the most part and barely get past 85 - 90 ish just because I dont want it to blow up just yet..not until I am done with my builder =) hey on the plus side at least we don't have to worry about crank walk.

Neither do us 1ga guys :).

6 bolt 4g63t >> 420a-t

:smooch:

Ok Dustin, them are fighting words, LOL. Well I'll look at all the things Jason just pointed out. I haven't pushed myself to go do things on my own.

deffinately try to track down the problem before you go replacing things. It will save you time and money.

So simple go to pepboys $40.00 will get u a uv leak test or u can by uveiw for like $20 and do it ure self.