well just noticed this after a "well driven" w/e. I was reassured that during "regular" driving this should clear. Whatever that means! Nothing regular in my life
It's been over a week of "regular" driving now and damn if i dont still see oil residue inbetween the front pulley and the eccentric plate/gear thingy still. I have cleaned it off x 2. It slings up to other areas also
No oil drops during reg driving--1 or 2 noticed during spirited driving. Oil level ok--not using anymore than usual. I'm screwed. Looks like my 1st "real" problem . Better buy my guys a bunch of doughnuts--maybe my compression is low and i can get a new engine---maybe Miss America will stop in front of my house with an axial flow s.c in her handbag also..
How hard is it to change out the front seal on this beer barrel anyway?.
i got 45K still under warrenty--but I dont like for others to mess with my car.
olddragger

 

Mine is doing it too....I don't have a lot of warranty left...and the compression is borderline...and has been for quite a while. They won't do anything till it's worse......Guess I'll go back to cheap Mazda oil...and recommended oil change intervals....

 

I feel your pain bro
OD

 

maybe your omp is loose? that'll leak oil too.

 

Changing the front eccentric shaft seal shouldn't be that big a deal. Your talking about the one on the front cover, right? Just pull the pulley off and the seal is right there. It's installed from the outside.
Personally I would take it to the dealer seeing's how you have warranty.
Or maybe someone with a manual can send you the appropriate pages.

 

Mine is gone too . It only leaks badly when I take it to the track . Have the seal & planning to take it in tomorrow to get it done .
Was not keen on doing it myself as the front E/S nut needs to be undone & I don't have a torque wrench that goes up to 250-300 NM (thats the spec as per local dealer) .

 

OD - by "low" compression, what do you mean? What are your numbers?
Do you have an UD pulley?

Same questions to you dannobre.

 

it's not in the standard service manual, you need the separate engine overhaul manual

typically the front seal would out last the rear seal, makes me wonder if there is a cause such as over-tightened pulley drive belts etc.

 

The overhaul manual is on my site.

 

Im going to look at mine on my way to work in 30 mins. will reply later.

 

Mine are all 6.9-7.1 at 250RPM......just above min. They are all consistant between chambers which is good. just generally low

 

yep i have the agency underdrive on--it's been on for over a year. No problems with it that i am aware of.

Good point on the tension of the belts-- but mine is at factory specs.

I will have to check the mop---i guess that would be possible--thanks for the hint

Oh yea forgot to mention i use synthetic oil ---please dont even start!!!! lol.

I shined all the front of the engine up last night --set my trip meter to 0---will do normal driving and I will keep an eye on it for a little while---just to see.
Interesting that others are having this same problem?
OD

 

oh just noticed---need to respond---I havent had a compression check---i was just thinking ahead that if i have to go into the dealer then "maybe" . i will ask for a compression check AFTER i break out my old vacumn gauge and see if she is pulling enough vacumn or not. if she is not pulling enough then I will ask for a compression check. If it is low enough-----new engine.
OD

 

Other than the seal behind it leaking, of course.

 

Mr "anti UD pulley" stikes again
Sure - you can stress the water pump & the alternator bearings but who ever heard of a front seal leaking from overtightened belts ?
And even if the belts were overtightened - how is that the fault of the UD pulley ?

I posted in another thread a while back about the seal - it seems to be a common failure with people who track the car.

 

You are using a stock main pulley with under-driven accessory pullies?

I am "Mr. Anti-Snake Oil". You can do with that what you please.

 

No - AP UD crank pulley only .
Fair enough about the snake oil - its good to get the balance right .

 

ok --checked the mop and it did appear a little loose. The mounting bolts(top ones are a B--- to get too) not the little hoses. we shall see.
i checked my vacuum. warmed up at idle from the vacuum port on the intake manifold it was between 16-17. it was steady except for some little blips (from the plugs--im thinking) i have at idle. I would have been happier at a 19 but whatever---47K engine---no pre mix for this test. I think i will load her up with premix and then take another reading this w/e.
At 16-17 i think i would probably pass the compression test.
olddragger

 

My motor has 830+ kPa of compression across the board and my idle vacuum can be as low as 51 kPa and as high as 62 kPa.
Ambient pressure, humidity, pre-mix volume and engine temp all affect the vacuum.

 

there's no doubt that you're capable of some serious suckage ,,,

just j/king

 

No humidity in Ga---no rain for a month and the wildfires burn!
all things listed --agreed. --- ?--- did you unhook your throttle body when you checked yours?
Notice any difference with the pre mix vs no premix?

OD

 

Unhook my throttle body? Why would you do that? I just pull the ESS, stomp on the gas and crank until the compression checker says I'm finished. It'll tell me the value for each chamber and the cranking RPM (for the correction factor).

Yeah, adding pre-mix bumps up compression 20 or 30 kPa and idle vacuum a few as well, though high engine heat seems to eliminate the difference.

Even with no rain, you have 5 times as much humidity as we do here.
But, when it rains (which it almost never does) the humidity shoots up for a few minutes and compression/vacuum takes a serious dive.

I might suck, but you just blow!

 

understand now---im using simple vacuum gauge and a cracked throttle body during a cranking test ---you know..... wot blips looked good--course we dont have springs and such'''''
idle test was at 16-17 --coolant temp at 175 oil temp at 180, ambient temp was at 82
atmospheric pressure--- well my ankles aren't swollen today.
looks like my engine is basically doing ok
and yes heat is always a factor.
OD

 

Denny, call me and I'll walk you through it.

 

OD,

I've had a problem where my pulley was wobbling. It happened when I got my engine changed out. I was getting random miss fire CELS and other miss fire CELS. After about 3 trips back to the dealer, I noticed that there was a large amount of oil inside of the pulley. I asked the dealer about it and they said that it was from the engine change and cleaned it up. I kept getting the CELS so I tried to diagnose it myself. I noticed with the engine running that my pulley was wobbling more than it should. The idiot who put the pulley on didn't tighten the bolts that hold the pulley on. It was throwing the misfire codes becuase the e-shaft sensor would lose the plate on the back of the pulley. They fixed the pulley and changed out the front seal. That is where the oil was comming from. The wobbling pulley was just enough to cause the seal to leak. When I put my AP UD pulley on I was very careful to make sure I got it on straight, even to the point that I redid the install twice to get it just how I wanted it.

Just one more thing to look at. Hope it works out ok.

Cel