Last week I had a day at the track . The car got a real good workout & would have been as hot as it will ever get .
It developed an oil leak at the front of the engine somewhere .
I thought - no problem , i'll clean it all up then drive it some more to see where it is coming from .
I have now done 450 km since I cleaned it all up & there is no sign of the leak .

Could it be a leak that only appears when i'm racing ? If so has anyone else had anything similar ?
Any advice appreciated .

 

Oil coming from "nowhere" after racing, says air cleaner oil.

Oil/vapors are forced out of the sump into the air intake, but just pool there, and dribble down into the airbox and out of the drain holes, into the fans, all over the engine, etc., etc..

You may want to check your airbox, then install a catch-can to prevent recurrence.

S

 

actually removed the intake so I could clean up the engine- no sign of any oil .

 

Had another track day & sure enough there it was again ...

I think it may be coming from the front eccentric shaft seal because it tends to spray up under the accordian tube amongst other places .
When I look at the boss behind the pullies there is no sign of oil on it however .
I'm thinking I will just replace this seal & see if it goes away .
Anyone else had that seal leak ?

 

Could be an oil cooler line
https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-trouble-shooting-95/leak-oil-cooler-line-58015/

 

Could it be oil that was sitting back by the oil filter and finally had enough G-force to move it out of the little dip under the oil filter?

I think this is what makes mine look like the oil pan has a very small leak but nothing has dripped.

 

Mine leaked from the OMP gasket, fixed that...it did it again the last track day....might be the front seal?? leaked about a quart all down the side of the car Cleaned it off...and added dye....can't see a leak

 

Front seal was what I have seen after track day on L8Apex's.

 

 

Why sporatic leak...is the E-shaft bearings getting looser...causing it to out of round...or is the seal just cooked?? I hope a new seal will fix it??

 

Dye sounds like the way to go. Easier than replacing a seal that may or may not be the source. Especially now Brettus, since you are able to recreate the problem.

 

OK -replaced the seal and still no good .
Am beginnig to wonder if it only happens when I hit my speed limiter (kicks in at 185km/hr) & keep my foot down . I had a day at a slower track a while back and no leak . Could the surgeing effect on and off the power at high speed be overpowering the shaft seal somehow

Clutching at straws now

 

Mystery solved - I think .
Pretty sure that when my speed limiter kicks in on the track that all the surging causes the oil to be blasted into the front seal somehow causing it to leak .
Today I disconnected my wheel sensors and ran up to 9000 rpm in 4th gear down the back straight 5x20min sessions and no leak .

 

Interesting.....I replaced the front seal as well....

 

very interesting indeed. what do you have to do to get rid of the speed limiter???

beers

 

actually I'm going to say that the problem is only improved by getting rid of the speed limiter - I still have a slight leak

Problem with the SLD that is available is that I can't run the powermod + SLD as they both connect to ECU .

 

To the people that had this issue, did your engine look something like this? Just came back from Watkins Glen and had a high rpm / hi speed oil issue. From my photo do you think its a front seal or OMP issue?

 

I ride the limiter alot, never seen a problem like that on mine, I do run 5W20 Castrol GTX though. Are you using a higher weight oil i.e. possibly seeing higher oil pressures as a result?

had a leaking oil pan plug once after I forgot to make sure the sealing washer was on the plug, found the washer after I had already poured in the fresh oil

 

I use 5w-30 RP and Pre-mix 4oz per tank. Oil pressure was in 70-80 range. I put some dye in the motor but didn't see anything yet plus I was doing normal driving on the way back from the Glen.I am starting to wonder about bringing a 8 with 100,000 mile to a tracks like Watkins Glen.

 

yes - exactly like that . Have a feel of the underside of your accordian tube - there is probably oil there too . Mine only leaks at high speed/rpm - and is much worse when I have my speed limiter connected .
I'm pretty sure it's seepage past the front seal even though mine has just been replaced . I'm using 5w30 Mazda rotary oil .

 

I'm talking about the speed limiter not the rev limiter .

 

How does a speed limter affect oil leak?

Teach me something!

Does not compute in my book.

but sometimes things don't compute but they work.

 

It does not compute in mine either , when the speed limiter kicks in and you leave your foot down the car surges on and off the power . I'm thinking that maybe the oil is being thrust towards the front seal with this surging action somehow
We are talking about 8000 prm in 4th gear at 115 mph approx.

 

Do you think a leak like the one I have can have something to do with a high RPM Misfire issue also? Drop speeds down to normal levels no flashing cel, no oil leak. Twentyfive minutes above 7,000 flashing CEL oil by the front crank. Could that mess effect the readings of the E-shaft sensor that is in that area?

 

well I've had the sensor drenched in oil and not had any of those issues .

Was going to say coils but I see you replaced them recently ...
what about your leads ?