Transcam96

I had a pretty bad oil leak on my oil filter, changed the filter and it went away. But now I can see that it is leaking from the front seal that has been changed 3 months ago. Moreover, I looked on the top of my valves cover and I saw that oil is leaking from the oil filler cap, the PCV valve and some of the bolts. I fixed my intake leak a week ago and cleaned the valve covers so I know that they were clean a week ago.
Furthermore, most of my gaskets like oil pan, timing cover are not really leaking but I can see that they are wet.
What do you think is wrong with my car?
Can I have too much crankcase pressure?

Thanks in advance,

Jacques.

slopokrodrigez

The crankcase is never under pressure if the vent system (PCV) is working correctly. It is under vacuum (meaning less pressure than atmospheric). The oil is under pressure due to the pump but air in the crank case is not pressurized under normal conditions. If the crankcase were under pressure the oil would be pumped through the PCV hose into the intake.

You would be advised to check 2 things. First do a crankcase vacuum test with a manometer (digital if you can get one) and also do a leak down test.

Write back if you have trouble or don't understand how to do the tests. Also check your oil and coolant system for head gasket leaks.

Janny

I've been dealing with similar issues on my beater. In the past 2 weeks I've replaced every seal to stop oil leaking, and learned in the process that many of those leaks did have something to do with the fact that I had blow by. Ach, who cares its only the beater. Anyway, in the process I learned a bit about PCV systems. They do create a negative pressure in the crankcase. Typically the air feed line is smaller than the air drae line.

But.

What I learned is that PCV systems do there most effective work when the engine is idling or when suction is high. When you stomp the loud pedal, suction decreases, the ball in the PCV valve starts to drop and therefore restricts air flow. So, if you have blow by, it is quite possible, that you will have postive pressure in the crankcase under some circumstances, even with a properly functioning PCV system. And yes this can lead to all sorts of seals blowing out, as I learned first hand.

I vented the beater's crankcase to atmosphere. Fingers crossed. Here's hoping smog police don't get, and that I can keep my driveway clean.

rage366

yep...i'm suffering from the same problem...except mine's a brand new motor, so i dont know what's going on, but it looks like the oil's coming from around filter...my friend's trying to see what that's about...i should be able to have more concrete answers on tuesday...

keep us updated.