I've got an oil leak in the '97 SR that seems to be increasing. It's really tough to track down the source.
Originally I thought it was from the bottom center of the right valve cover. But, now it looks like it is in the area of where the block meets the head about the 2nd cylinder back from the front. Does the 3.5 V6 have oil passages through the head gasket? No other signs of head gasket leakage-- no coolant loss, no sign of water in the oil or oil in the coolant, etc.

<img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

not p/s fluid ????

monitor your engine oil level to verify that it is in fact an engine oil leak. If it is, 9 times out of 10 it is the rear cam plugs. I have a 97 SR and 97 LS and my dad and brother both have 99 monteros (same engine) and all 4 of them had bad engine oil leaks right around 70-100k miles. in all 4 monteros, replacing the rear cam plugs stopped the leak. the plugs are cheap, but labor is pain in the <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/butwiggle.gif" alt="" />

Huh, my '97 has an engine oil leak. I wonder if that's it. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />

Its going to be the rear cam seal. I used to replace these all the time when I was a tech for a Mitsubishi dealer ship.

Thanks for the suggestions.

It's not the rear cam seals, I replaced both 3 months ago and they are not leaking. I've learned how to look them over with a mirror and can wiggle my fingers over the one on the right- no leak.

Had the Monty in a shop to have the spark plugs replaced (I wimped out on pulling the intake manifold to do it...) and they think its the front main seal. Their contention is that the oil is blown by the fan to the right side and collects on the side of the engine near the exhaust manifold and the alternator, then drips down. It could be-- the previous owner had the timing belt replaced at 67k but didn't have the mail seal replaced as part of the job. SHAME! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/shame.gif" alt="" />

I'm not sure this is the explanation. I'm running it with the skid pan off and just don't see any sign of oil dripping around the crankshaft bearing. However, they are correct in that oil drips off the alternator and the center exhaust manifold bolts.

Could it be the front cam seals? How can I tell?

So, its still a puzzle.... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

I have the same leak. No shop has been able (without major $) to figure it out yet. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> Still needing my $4000 valve seal replacement too! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> Before anyboody starts telling me that $4000 is crazy for valve seals, that is the AVERAGE estimate from 3 diferent shops here in the Dayton area. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/barf.gif" alt="" />

-aaron

95 sr 155,000 mi. smokes tike a DDT truck!

I had a leaky front cam seal and the oil would travel down where the valve cover meets the heads. When it was leaking from the interior of the cam seal (where it meets the cam) it would travel up the cam and get all over the sprocket. And when leaking from the outside, as well as when it leaked from the inside ring; it would travel down the front and drip on top of the alternator and actually make it out to the front wheel well!


$4000 screw that! When i took my heads off and brought them to a machine shop i had them install new valve seals and work on the heads and it only cost me $120; but i did the rest of the work myself. The whole head job only cost me a few hundred dollars or less!

Hey bOURGE, you have just described my symptoms to a "T". Sounds like it the right front cam seal. I'm going to have a local shop pull the front timing belt cover and check every thing over.

The '97 has about 90k on it. The timing belt was replaced at 67k by the previous owner but they did not replace the main seal or water pump.

If I'm paying for the labor to pull the timing belt cover and check the main seal, should I bite the bullet and have both cam seals, the main seal, and water pump replaced?

I hope to keet this beast for at least another 100k <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Well, with the heavy shop loads due to this summer's prolonged heat wave in the West, the earliest I could get the Monty torn down to find and fix the front oil leak was Aug. 6. Meanwhile, we had a scheduled trip up to Seattle that included some camping so I figured with losing 'only' about a quart every 1,500 miles we could take the '97 to tow our camper.

WRONG! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/barf.gif" alt="" />

Everything was fine until near the end of the trip coming down highway 299 through the canyons of the Trinity Mountains west of Redding when the dash idiot lights started to glow and the voltmeter started to drop past 12V. In about 20 minutes the alternator quit altogether and 15 minutes later the engine died with a dead battery. Of course no cell phone service in the canyon. A nice semi driver stopped after about 20 minutes and agreed to phone in our AAA info once he got cell service at the top of the pass. Two hours later we were about to set up the camper for the night when a tow truck showed up from Redding. The tow driver said the high heat had all the shops in Redding backed up with 2-3 days work (ours was tow call #95 for the day), so he suggested towing us all the way to Susanville. We agreed and landed outside of the Susanville Towing garage at midnight, 120 miles and 4 deer-in-the-headlights later.

The next day the garage ordered an alternator to be expressed up from Sacramento overnight and the following day we were on our way again.

Alternator failure-- the oil leak had caught dust and dirt inside the alternator and ground down the brushes and salt and moisture in blowing dirt along the ocean may have corroded the coils and/or shorted the voltage regulator. The inside of the alternator was a mess. Clearly, delaying dealing with the relatively 'minor' oil leak was not the right choice.

Oil leak-- This week the local shop found the left (passenger side) cam seal "gushing oil" and the right cam seal and main seal weeping. The timing belt (had been replaced at 67,800 miles by the previous owner) was showing some signs of wear so it will be replaced.

The tensioners and water pump all appear to be in excellent condition. And, the engine temp on the 2,100 mile trip was rock steady in high heat. So, I decided to not replace the water pump or tensioner. With 92,000 miles on the car, am I likely to regret this???

Kudos-- I can't speak highly enough of Duane, the driver at Keith's towing in Redding and Glen, the mechanic at Susanville towing! Both were extremely courteous and professional. Great folks!



Cheers! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />