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She's at that age, a few months before her 13th birthday, she got her first oil leak. Front left cam seal. Big deal? I only realized that it was there because a couple times after pushing her particularly hard, and sitting at a stop light, i'd see a faint whisp of smoke come out of her chimney. Just wanna make sure it's not something I should fix right away, I've had no problems with it yet, but it'd cost me a good $4-500 at work to get fixed from what I've heard

What else can be "fixed" along with it while all that shit is taken apart?

I mean, parts are cheap. . . the time and labor to get to the seal might as well benefit her in other ways if/when you have that work done.

So does that mean your car is out of the shop, and back in your hands?

I wish. She'll be back soon if all goes well... There's really nothing that would need doing down there, with the exception of mounting the radiator for the awic, but that could be achieved just as easily without doing the cam seal

I've found that some minor oil leaks aren't worth the time or effort to repair unless there are other things that need to be repaired. Unless they are a major gusher, then I won't touch them, unless they are leaking on hoses or other components that will fail from getting oil on them. I've repaired some leaks on cars that were a real pain to get to, and I didn't gain much, other than getting coated in black diesel oil, and breaking a few bolts...

why would you pay someone to do that?

If you can put AGX's in, then a timing belt will be a walk in the park for you.

On a sunny day with and ice cream cone in your hand.

i'm afraid of engine work

Pshhh. . . cake.

have fun.

Non-believer.

I did both my front cam seals, the crank seal and timing belt. It's not that hard. The worst part is getting the new timing belt on. That is kinda a pain.

You might want to also do the oil pump gasket and check the rear oil pump bolts. A new water pump is a good idea too while you're already in there.

Yeah Laurel, its not that bad. My brother and I did it over a weekend, mostly from working slowly, and a bunch of trips for parts and tools. It also included figuring out how to jerry rig my timing belt covers, after a couple of bolts decided to not co-operate.

But the actual engine work wasn't that bad. It actually inspired him to want to do his timing belt change on his 2000 RS when the time comes.

But definitely do as much as you can when you're in there. I wouldn't want to do all that disassembly and reassembly just for a cam seal.

both front cam seals
rear pass cam o-ring
front crank seal
oil pump o-ring
re-seal oil pump
check screws on back of oil pump
water pump
timing belt
possibly timing belt tensioner & idler pullies if needed.

The hardest part is figuring out how to get the cam seals out without buggering up the camshafts. Also, I'd suggest a strap wrench to hold the cam pullies while you loosen the bolt.

One other thing people seem to get messed up on is the timing mark on the crank. They think it's the arrow on the front of the gear, it's not.

Here's pics of my timing belt job

http://www.main.experiencetherave.com:8 ... timingbelt

*Sorry, Laurel, quick hijack* Hey Josh, on pic #2714, what's that tool above the breaker bar with socket? It has a brass or gold like hue to it, flat handle, with head of tool that splits into a "U"? Also, (just wondering) why do you like using the OEM hose clamps? *End hijack--Thanks Laurel*

Oh..oil leak. Thank god.

93Leg-c wrote:*Sorry, Laurel, quick hijack* Hey Josh, on pic #2714, what's that tool above the breaker bar with socket? It has a brass or gold like hue to it, flat handle, with head of tool that splits into a "U"? Also, (just wondering) why do you like using the OEM hose clamps? *End hijack--Thanks Laurel*

That is the tool to hold the cam sprockets so they don't move while you loosen the bolt holding them onto the cam.

As for the OEM hose clamps.....they work, and I haven't had any problems with them, so why change them.

Wow, Josh. . . those are awesome pictures of the job! Definitely going to refer to those when we work on Laurel's car.

Why are you afraid of engine work? Genuinely curious, not trying to be an ass.

This is one of the best cars to start working on engines on. Seriously, the whole thing might take a day having never done it.

Steve

I did mine in a day.

I can look at suspension and brakes and realize what's wrong with it and what I need to do to make it better. Engines are a whole nother story, and I dont know enough about them to be able to diagnose problems. I dont mind taking it somewhere to have engine work done, it's in a cramped spot, whereas with suspension there's significantly more room to move around

It's a visual illusion, you have more than enough room to do most anything on that engine. If you get stuck start removing stuff, radiator, hoses, piping, whatever. What you could do is just replace all the seals and gaskets and be done with it in one shot. I think you can get all the seals you need for like 50-60 bucks. It's more a thing you have to do to understand what's going on. Don't be afraid of it, and engine is really quite simple. I didn't think I would even be able to replace my headgaskets. It seemed like too hard of a task just by hearing what you had to do. Once you get in there though it's incredibly simple. I never thought I'd replace a tranny, but it's also an incredibly easy thing to do once you get in there. Really you should do this, especially something so simple.

It's not a Honda, but it's a pretty easy vehicle to work on. It can get cramped when you start stuffing things in the engine bay, but stock, you could swim in the engine bay if you removed enough hoses.