HUGE oil leak

[Godofwarmike]

Yesterday i was driving my 96 SOHC neon and when i came to a stop the oil light came on i drove home and it went out but everytime i stopped it came on and sometimes flickered. i checked the oil when i got home and the dip stick was bone dry i added almost 3 quarts of oil and it filled it but when i backed out noticed a puddle of oil on the snow. got out and looked while it was running and it was a very slow drip so i didnt think anything about it drove to my local walmart and shut it off looked under and the oil was pouring out from what looked like the oil filter got it back home and the oil light kept coming on again. first put it up on ramps and it appeared to be coming from the timing belt so i began to remove the timing belt when i noticed oil was running down the side of the engine. havent gotten the timing belt cover off yet but it looks like its leakin from above the alternator and it only really leaks a lot when i add oil or shut off the engine. any ideas?

[das2123]

Typical oil leaks are the camshaft position sensor, oil sending unit, rear main seal, valve cover gasket, oil filter and cam seal.

[Godofwarmike]

ok so the cam seal popped out but before i put it back in could this have been what been knocking/ticking (earlier post) and should i replace it or see if it will pop back in?

[das2123]

Replace the seal....it's cheap enough.

[Godofwarmike]

ok so im going to need a new timing belt too its really slack im wondering if it skipped a tooth and if thats whats making the knock sound. how do i go about getting the timing right? its a 96 SOHC.

[das2123]

You will need a new timing belt, water pump and idler pulley. Get a manual to help you set the timing or use the link for a timing belt how-to...
http://jball.neons.org/howto/timing_belt/howto.html

[Godofwarmike]

Thanks for the link it helped quite a bit. as for the cam seal replacement it worked and doesnt leak. as for the knocking/ticking it is gone must have been the valves hittin the pistons : \ but it runs great only problem is im waiting on a new Harmonic Balancer cause i messed the old one up when i removed it cause it was really stuck on the shaft well. i ended up having to buy a crystler puller and making my own extention bar to get it off completely the 2 ton puller i had couldnt handle it.

[das2123]

Thats a common problem with the harmonic balancer.