[Harvey]

On about the middle of the passenger's side of the engine, nestled closely between the oil pan lip and the top part of the engine mount, and very near the exhaust manifold, is a rectangular-like part held to the engine block with various bolts. Either it or the oil pan gasket is leaking oil. Any idea what this part does? I can't find it in PET5 but maybe it's eluding me. The leak here is pretty bad....and I just fixed the crank seal which used to leak. Car runs great but I want to fix this leak before I pull the car off the jacks. Any ideas appreciated. If you've ever pulled this part, it is pretty straight forward? Or do pieces fly all over the garage?



It's behind the housing to which the oil filter screws on.



Harvey

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[flash]

sounds like the oil pump housing - i'd swear it looks fairly straightforward, but ron's mechanic (who has made enough mistakes to make me doubt it) swore you have to take the whole damned bottom half nearly apart - we haven't looked into it further to find out though

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[Eric_K]

No, the oil pump is on the front of the engine, behind the crank pullley.



Maybe you are talking about the cover for the lower balance shaft. What are the dimensions of this "rectangle-like" part? Harvey, a picture is worth a thousand words.



Eric

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[Harvey]

    Here's the picture of the leak area. From what I'm gathering, this may be the lower rear part that contains the balance shaft? Would that be right? It's sure leaking more now that I put Redline synthetic oil in the engine. How difficult is it to plug a leak here? It appears that it's seeping from where the box bolts to the block...or maybe the top of the oil pan gasket. I need to clean it off and spray some flour on it and see if I can pinpoint the leak. I REALLY do not want to pull this part if it's going to be a bear. Has anyone stopped leaks from this area before?



Harvey

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[Eric_K]

The piece litup in the middle of the picture is the balance shaft cover. It is a big project to take it off. You need to remove a bunch of accesories on the front of the engine including the power steering pump as its bracket is integral to the front of the lower balance shaft mounting. Someone may have a trick to fixing a leak there, I've never done it.



Eric

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[Harvey]

Thanks, Eric,



That's bad news. It looked to be somewhat easy. I'll pinpoint the pricise area of the leak, tweak the bolts, etc and see if I can slow it down. If it's leaking from a bolt (probably not) then I might have a chance. Othewise, it's a project for next summer. I think I might have the seals for that job on hand but looking at the PET, it looks to be one where I might create two problems for every one I fix. Thanks, buddy.



It's a shame that someone hasn't invented some stort of "outside temporary leak patch" for these kinds of leaks. Probably isn't possibe to move the housing out a little bit and squirt in some 574 locktite or something.



Harvey

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[sasilverbullet]

That's definitely the balance shaft housing...



Sometimes I've repaired small leaks by cleaning the area REAL good and then applying a 'seal' of that blue ATV silicone sealer. This has helped me slow or stop leaks until I can get around to replacing the gasket.



Keep in mind this doesn't work for coolant under high-pressure...

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[flash]

my bad - i was thinking it was actually the housing the filter screws into - on second look, there are 2



thanks

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[mitch968]

I'd recommend trying the silicone sealer first and hopefully save some money. Mine was leaking when I first purchased my car and my mechanic was a perfectionist. Translation: He fixed it the "correct" way and charged me a bundle....a couple dollar seal and a lot of labor. It really is frustrating how leaky these cars can be.

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[Bob Kovacs]

This may be out of left field but I had a pesky oil leak on the passenger side of my engine that drove me batty. The leaking oil eventually rotted out the suspension bushing at the rear of the front A-arm. I assumed it was an engine oil leak, but I was wrong...



It turned out to be power steering fluid leaking from the hoses on the underside of the power steering fluid reservoir. Since I replaced these hoses, there has been no more oil on that side of the engine. If the underside of your power steering fluid reservoir is thick with greasy sludge, you probably have a power steering fluid leak.



I can't say for sure that this is the source of your leak but it's worth checking. You probably should also check the bushing at the rear of the A-arm on the passenger side... if it is coated with oil, you might want to think about replacing it before it fails.



I wrote up replacing the power steering hoses for an Excellence article and maybe it will be in the Sept 2005 issue.



--Bob

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[NeedPorscheSpeed]

[quote name='Bob Kovacs' date='Jun 28 2005, 09:43 PM']It turned out to be power steering fluid leaking from the hoses on the underside of the power steering fluid reservoir.[right][post="6505"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post][/right][/quote]



Excellent point, Bob! A couple of my other 944 series cars have had the same trouble. I'll be on the look out for your article in Excellence, and it is nice to have you here at 968forums.com. Welcome aboard! <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/smile.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[Harvey]

Great information! Good ideas! Also, I had just changed to Redline synthetic oil and the leak seemed to pick up intensity. Don't know that I want to go back to a "thicker" oil for this.



Harvey

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[NeedPorscheSpeed]

[quote name='Harvey' date='Jun 29 2005, 08:54 AM']Great information!  Good ideas!  Also, I had just changed to Redline synthetic oil and the leak seemed to pick up intensity.  Don't know that I want to go back to a "thicker" oil for this.Harvey

[right][post="6513"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post][/right][/quote]



Harvey, if you were using conventional oil before your switch to the Redline, yes, you may want to switch back to conventional. Oftentimes, when one changes over to synthetic oil, new leaks develop. Generally, when one switches back, the leaks disappear. Good luck! <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/smile.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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