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EbenDahl Samba Member
Joined: October 26, 2020 Posts: 44 Location: Washington
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Posted: Thu May 20, 2021 9:54 pm Post subject: Oil Leak- EJ25 Motor |
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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... |
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EbenDahl Samba Member
Joined: October 26, 2020 Posts: 44 Location: Washington
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Posted: Thu May 20, 2021 10:02 pm Post subject: Re: Oil Leak- EJ25 Motor |
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skills@eurocarsplus Samba Peckerhead
Joined: January 01, 2007 Posts: 16803 Location: sticksville, ct.
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Posted: Thu May 20, 2021 10:31 pm Post subject: Re: Oil Leak- EJ25 Motor |
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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 _________________
gprudenciop wrote: |
my reason for switching to subaru is my german car was turning chinese so i said fuck it and went japanese....... |
Jake Raby wrote: |
Thanks for the correction. I used to be a nice guy, then I ruined it by exposing myself to the public. |
Brian wrote: |
Also the fact that people are agreeing with Skills, it's a turn of events for samba history |
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syncrodoka Samba Member
Joined: December 27, 2005 Posts: 11998 Location: Santa Cruz, CA
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Posted: Thu May 20, 2021 11:18 pm Post subject: Re: Oil Leak- EJ25 Motor |
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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. |
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Kombi///M3 Samba Member
Joined: March 16, 2011 Posts: 427 Location: Vancouver, BC
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Posted: Thu May 20, 2021 11:38 pm Post subject: Re: Oil Leak- EJ25 Motor |
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How's your crank seal and oil pump seal?
When you take the plastic cover off.. where
Was the oil drip? |
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4Gears4Tires Samba Member
Joined: October 08, 2018 Posts: 2982 Location: MD
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Posted: Fri May 21, 2021 7:04 am Post subject: Re: Oil Leak- EJ25 Motor |
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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. _________________ '87 Syncro
Ferric Oxyhydroxide Superleggera Edition |
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xclemjustinx Samba Member
Joined: August 06, 2016 Posts: 197
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Posted: Fri May 21, 2021 9:58 am Post subject: Re: Oil Leak- EJ25 Motor |
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That is either the oil pump or the cam seal. |
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11BC2 Samba Member
Joined: August 27, 2017 Posts: 494 Location: Cool, California
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Posted: Fri May 21, 2021 4:28 pm Post subject: Re: Oil Leak- EJ25 Motor |
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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 |
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skills@eurocarsplus Samba Peckerhead
Joined: January 01, 2007 Posts: 16803 Location: sticksville, ct.
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Posted: Fri May 21, 2021 7:39 pm Post subject: Re: Oil Leak- EJ25 Motor |
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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. _________________
gprudenciop wrote: |
my reason for switching to subaru is my german car was turning chinese so i said fuck it and went japanese....... |
Jake Raby wrote: |
Thanks for the correction. I used to be a nice guy, then I ruined it by exposing myself to the public. |
Brian wrote: |
Also the fact that people are agreeing with Skills, it's a turn of events for samba history |
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11BC2 Samba Member
Joined: August 27, 2017 Posts: 494 Location: Cool, California
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Posted: Sat May 22, 2021 9:24 am Post subject: Re: Oil Leak- EJ25 Motor |
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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. |
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EbenDahl Samba Member
Joined: October 26, 2020 Posts: 44 Location: Washington
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Posted: Sat May 22, 2021 3:05 pm Post subject: Re: Oil Leak- EJ25 Motor |
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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. |
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EbenDahl Samba Member
Joined: October 26, 2020 Posts: 44 Location: Washington
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Posted: Sat May 22, 2021 9:09 pm Post subject: Re: Oil Leak- EJ25 Motor |
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[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 |
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skills@eurocarsplus Samba Peckerhead
Joined: January 01, 2007 Posts: 16803 Location: sticksville, ct.
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Posted: Sat May 22, 2021 10:14 pm Post subject: Re: Oil Leak- EJ25 Motor |
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EbenDahl wrote: |
This was a rebuilt engine done by ATK |
woof
my condolences
https://www.trustlink.org/Reviews/A-T-K-North-America-205702895 _________________
gprudenciop wrote: |
my reason for switching to subaru is my german car was turning chinese so i said fuck it and went japanese....... |
Jake Raby wrote: |
Thanks for the correction. I used to be a nice guy, then I ruined it by exposing myself to the public. |
Brian wrote: |
Also the fact that people are agreeing with Skills, it's a turn of events for samba history |
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mackaymanx Samba Member
Joined: October 12, 2006 Posts: 479 Location: Australia
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EbenDahl Samba Member
Joined: October 26, 2020 Posts: 44 Location: Washington
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Posted: Wed May 26, 2021 5:46 pm Post subject: Re: Oil Leak- EJ25 Motor |
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Just heard back from the shop. One source was the oil pressure switch. I'll be picking it up tomorrow and look further. |
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