This has me baffled and i can't look at it now because its dark.

My car just started leaking oil.....a lot. It's like its bleeding. Throwing it all over the engine bay and accessories and dripping all over my driveway.

I didn't notice any change in the way it ran or drove, there was not a thing that seemed amiss except that there is now oil droplets all over my driveway.

I know this isn't very descriptive but its all i can give right now. Can anyone tell me what it might be? Or at least where to start looking. I"m still relatively new to rotaries and am fearing this means rebuild time but want to be sure. Seems like its coming from the front side of the motor and is dripping into the fan.

Thanks for help in advance
Zane

 

Common oil leak trouble spots are the OMP lines and the oil cooler lines. I can't see these or any leak anywhere else getting on the fan though. Those two are the closest oil lines to the fan, and they're in front of & below it.

 

Awesome, hopefully that is my problem and will be an easy enough fix. I'd be lying if i said i didn't literally FREAK out. Thanks

 

first of all i think you should buy some brake cleaner and clean the engine bay. let it dry and start the car and watch where the oil leaks out from. best spots to find it is the oil filter pedestal, OMP, oil lines, and oil pan. make sure to clean thoroughly so you'll know where to find in one try.

 

Brake cleaner?
Seems a bit harsh.

I'd think PurplePower and some soapy water would be gentler and just as effective.

 

which ever you find that you have and that will do the job. i'm not spray wires when i do it. i just spray around where i need to spray.

 

Thanks for all the help guys. I should be able to climb under it tomorrow. I'm really hoping that its an easy fix. I was reading something that explained a same kind of thing i had and said it was a 19mm bolt on the "front pulley." Any one experienced this? Is it common and as simple as retightening the bolt? Also which pulley would it be?

 

It's unlikely that the bolt on the main pulley would come loose, but if it did, it could leak oil. It threads into the eccentric shaft, which has oil flowing through.

 

They're referring to the main pulley (at the bottom of the engine) and you don't want to screw with that if you don't have to.
Without taking special precautions, pulling that front hub (which is what the 19mm bolt is holding) will disrupt the front eshaft bearing and require a lot more work to make right.

Eliminate other possibilities first.

 

good thing i asked before i got in there crankin on it.

 

You can remove the pulleys from the hub without doing any harm.
The pulleys are held with four 6mm bolts and the hub remains in place.
It'll be easier to see behind with the pulleys removed...

 

basically, i had this problem. but i had a leak from the front cover. had to take the clutch fan off and so on, but i had a mechanic guy do the job. cost me about 400, but it stopped leaking... just having issues with the timing i think.

 

can anyone give me some steps or point me to a write-up to replace front cover gasket? Would rather not take to mechanic and the FSM kind of makes it difficult as it does it with no accessories and out of the car. Thanks

 

i had the same problem last year with my oil cooler lines. got to school one day and my rear tires were covered in oil... looked under the car and it was an oil waterfall from all under neither. If thats your problem then its not that big of a deal. $130 from corksport and an afternoon of great oily fun. good luck on finding the leak, oil leaks have be the bane of my 7 since i bought it.

 

My only problem is i can't find it for sure. It doesn't appear to be coming from the oil cooler lines or the OMP which makes me think its the front cover but since its throwing it EVERYWHERE i can get it clean enough to figure out. Its throwing it in the fan and with the car on and hood up it throws it all over both quarter panels. I wouldn't think that an oil cooler line would get it close enough to the fan but i could be wrong

 

first step is to find where it is exactly... you can take pictures and videos too. it'll make it a lot easier... also, dont just take it to any shop. i talked to my mechanic about it before he did anything. he even let me com by to check out what he did. anywho... good luck

 

wow.. working with oil leaks just suck in general but when theres a possiblity of getting a shot in the face that just takes it to a hole new level. good luck man let us know what you find out.

 

mine is doing the same thing right now. if you take off your alternator it gives you a better view of whats going on. youll probably need a front cover gasket

 

i'll do a write up but i didnt do it, but i saw what they did so i'll write it up.

 

starting with what you got, i dont know so...

take out clutch fan
remove all belts
remove fan shroud
remove alternator
remove crank angle sensor if you can (be sure to mark the teeth with a soap bar)
drain coolant or remove top radiator hose from water pump but keep it clamped up from spilling
remove water pump
remove the main pulley bolt
remove main pulley
unbolt front cover
pry off from the top since its connect to the oil pan, make sure nothing falls in the oil pan
clean around the borders and place new gasket
install in reverse order