TheSamba.com :: View topic - Oil Leak- EJ25 Motor

Thu May 20, 2021 9:54 pm

I recently completed my EJ25 swap into my 82' vanagon. I have a recurring oil leak on my thermopipe. You can see in the photos where the oil leaks are. I tracked it down to a leaking cam and crank seal. I have replaced them twice, and the leak gets worse.... Its legit dripping oil after I start it up.
Saw a mechanic today and he noticed that on my left side cam the factory did not out gasket material on the mating surfaces. You'll see how my gasket is pressed in square and flush, but there is a noticeable line above and below the seal. Mechanic tells me to put RTV on the edge of the seal and over these cracks above and below. Low and behold its raining and I go to pull this vanagon inside the shop and it's leaking oil still. What do I do? Replace the seals for a third time, or contact the dealer I bought this rebuilt this engine from? The engine has a 3 year warranty, To reach this one part of the head to seal it would require dismantling the head entirely...

Thu May 20, 2021 10:02 pm

Thu May 20, 2021 10:31 pm

there should be subabond or similar sealant between the head and cam carriers. if not, it's just gonna piss out.

scrap the junk seals too. get NOK or genuine subaru seals. those aftermarket ones get rock hard in short order

Thu May 20, 2021 11:18 pm

skills@eurocarsplus wrote: scrap the junk seals too. get NOK or genuine subaru seals
For the op's reference, Good Vinton seals are brown, cheap seals that will will leak are black.
I don't see a obvious leak point, maybe with the plastics removed it would be more apparent. I would talk to the builder about it leaking.

Thu May 20, 2021 11:38 pm

How's your crank seal and oil pump seal?
When you take the plastic cover off.. where
Was the oil drip?

Fri May 21, 2021 7:04 am

If the motor has a warranty, it's a no brainer. Contact the dealership. You may be SOL if you already took the motor apart to replace the seals once before. But maybe they will work with you? I would have contacted them the first go around.

If they tell you to pound sand, I would follow skills' advice.

Fri May 21, 2021 9:58 am

That is either the oil pump or the cam seal.

Fri May 21, 2021 4:28 pm

If they shop used those black cam seals, they probably don't know Subaru engines.
I'd wager they either didn't use any FIPG or the wrong type during assembly.
ThreeBond, Wurth, or Seal Maxx from Kimball Midwest will all work very well.

Judging by the pictures, my guesses are the following:
-Mating surface between block & oil pump/crank seal
-Piston wrist pin access plugs
-Cam cap to head mating surface
-Case halves

Fri May 21, 2021 7:39 pm

11BC2 wrote: If they shop used those black cam seals, they probably don't know Subaru engines.
I'd wager they either didn't use any FIPG or the wrong type during assembly.
ThreeBond, Wurth, or Seal Maxx from Kimball Midwest will all work very well.

Judging by the pictures, my guesses are the following:
-Mating surface between block & oil pump/crank seal
-Piston wrist pin access plugs
-Cam cap to head mating surface
-Case halves

agreed. it would seem he has a pressurized leak from his description....and i didn't really want to say anything till the o/p replied but...

i have seen people fuck up the head gasket. the red circle is the oil feed to the head. usually the oil leak will run down the seam between the block/head and could also pool up in the valley on the top of the block.

Sat May 22, 2021 9:24 am

skills@eurocarsplus wrote:

agreed. it would seem he has a pressurized leak from his description....and i didn't really want to say anything till the o/p replied but...

i have seen people fuck up the head gasket. the red circle is the oil feed to the head. usually the oil leak will run down the seam between the block/head and could also pool up in the valley on the top of the block.

Forgot about that possibility.
I'd like to see more pictures and have more information on parts used, machining done/not done, etc.

Sat May 22, 2021 3:05 pm

Thank you for your insights guys. I think you're spot on about this being a pressurized leak. I've contacted the shop. It is quite possible i'll be removing the head to fix this leak. It just seems very unlikely that 3 sets of oil seals would be leaking this severely. I will tell you guys what happens in the next few weeks.

Sat May 22, 2021 9:09 pm

[quote="11BC2"] skills@eurocarsplus wrote:

agreed. it would seem he has a pressurized leak from his description....and i didn't really want to say anything till the o/p replied but...

Forgot about that possibility.
I'd like to see more pictures and have more information on parts used, machining done/not done, etc.

This was a rebuilt engine done by ATK. I live in Washington. It seems like they do all their rebuilds in Texas and then ship them up north to be sold for a higher profit than down south. I think it's quite possible the rebuilder just forgot to RTV that one spot. Must've been rebuilt on a monday or Friday :?

Sat May 22, 2021 10:14 pm

EbenDahl wrote:
This was a rebuilt engine done by ATK

:shock: woof

my condolences

https://www.trustlink.org/Reviews/A-T-K-North-America-205702895

Sun May 23, 2021 1:37 am

Have a look at at the gudgeon access plug, had a leak like this on an EJ22 and that was the cause.

Wed May 26, 2021 5:46 pm

Just heard back from the shop. One source was the oil pressure switch. I'll be picking it up tomorrow and look further.