| [GMCnet] Common front of engine oil leaks [message #345827] |
Mon, 29 July 2019 13:02  |
Ek_Lektro
Messages: 167
Registered: March 2011
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Senior Member |
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Last year i had an opportunity to work underneath the coach, parked over a work pit at a Tijuana garage,
where they had one of those air compressor blowers that could mix in liquids… degreasers!
So after they finished doing the valve cover gaskets, and while waiting for the silicone to dry,
i started with the standard engine cleaner foam from autozone, working my way down;
then got underneath the coach to start scraping off the first layers of heavy build up…
what Will was calling the “undercoating”!
Then put on goggles, gloves, hat and work clothes ready to be tossed,
and began the job with this little toy https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07F9YFFCG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 with a bottle filled with Purple degreaser, taking on probably 15 years of oil leaks here and there.
The build up was so extensive that this day-long Tijuana work pit adventure barely scratched the surface,
but after the drive home, i could confirm that the leaking was not just the valve cover gaskets,
but also various areas on the intake manifold seal. So last week, when i was removing the distributor for refurbishing,
i finally got an opportunity to finish the de-greasing job here at home.
And as an experiment (‘cause i don’t have time to replace the manifold gasket right now)
I slightly loosened a few bolts of the rear of the intake manifold, then spread a few layers of ultra black silicone at the seals,
and tightened them back up. After 100 miles of driving this weekend, it looks like this method fixed one of the 2 leaks in that area…
and that the other leak is now extremely minor. I can also see that the leak at the front of the intake manifold needs attention
and might benefit from the external silicone / tightening method (but it sure is harder to get to!).
If i didn’t have to remove the distributor otherwise, i probably would not have gotten around to these experiments.
Addendum, Other Leaks:
Next will be the Eleganza transmission leak mystery that i’ve been dealing with for 7 years!.. trying to find the source
(I’ve read many of the postings here about tranny leaks, so i’ll start with a fresh cleaning and 50 mile test drive)
Purple degreaser came highly recommended, but it might not be the best thing to put in the spray gun bottle.
Any other recommendations for that? or are the degreasers probably best to just spray on with a windex type bottle,...
let it sink in, and then use the spray gun with straight water for rinsing? or of course just get a bunch of cans of aerosol engine cleaner,
brake cleaner… but at some point i’m thinking of environmental impact, as well as economic.. when cleaning a long-neglected undercarriage.
Lastly, it looks like the Birchhaven's water pump stopped leaking.
For a few months last year, it’d spit out a bit after turning off the engine after a long drive;
and i’ve been keeping my eyes open, plus bought the Cardone pump to have on hand if needed.
But for the past 3 months and 400 miles, i haven’t seen any coolant on the driveway or the pulley.
So how many votes for “you better change the pump ASAP anyway”, vs. “keep your eye on it, and change if it starts leaking again”?
What could cause a leaking seal to stop leaking? I didn’t add any stop-leak or anything.
Cheers,
Greg / SolarSonic / LosAngeles
> I've had a similar issue on my 455. Turned out to be the front intake manifold seal..
> Scott.
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