Is this typical on a HM vehicle?

[lugNutz]

Hey all! Today I spent some time in the garage swapping my CAI for my factory airbox on my Altima 2.5, and needed to remove the engine cover. Once removed I noticed some grime and what appeared to be fluid leakage on the pulley side of the motor. (See pics below)

top of motor, pulley side.
[img:left][/img]

Lower rear of the cylinder head.
[img:left][/img]

It seems as though there may be some sort of leak around the timing chain cover, but i'm not 100% sure. The thing is, I don't ever need to add oil with 3,500 or 5k OCI's. I should also note that the engine has never been detailed (i'm a fool, I know), but it's my DD and doesn't need to be spectacular. So could this just be 150k+ of buildup, or do you think this may be a sign of trouble brewing?

 

[The_Eric]

Likely a minor leak. A little bit of hot oil can go a REALLY long ways. You could fix it, but what's it worth to you? For a DD, I'd continue to monitor.

 

[4D-56]

+1

 

[lugNutz]

Originally Posted By: The_Eric
Likely a minor leak. A little bit of hot oil can go a REALLY long ways. You could fix it, but what's it worth to you? For a DD, I'd continue to monitor.


I'm not too worried about it since I never get below the low line on the dipstick, but does that seem to be from the chain cover? If it were the head gasket, wouldn't it be at the top of the head, not the bottom? Typically?

 

[cjcride]

Use a HM oil.

 

[actionstan]

I second the use of a HM oil. Seems to be just a little oil seepage around the timing cover gasket. Not the end of the world, my saturn seeps a little oil too mainly around the oil pan gasket. This just happens as cars age no worries. The only other thing I would do is replace the pcv valve if it hasn't been recently and continue to monitor.

 

[Quest]

HM oil cannot reverse otherwise hardened nitrile gaskets/seals. The only way to remedy it is to replace with fresh new gasket.

Q.

 

[actionstan]

Originally Posted By: Quest

HM oil cannot reverse otherwise hardened nitrile gaskets/seals. The only way to remedy it is to replace with fresh new gasket.

Q.


Is this not the sole purpose for HM oil? If not it seems pretty pointless IMO.

 

[Barkleymut]

That engine looks great. Most of you would freak if you saw my wifes 3.3l engine. It has leaked for a while, but it runs smooth and is happy if you add a half quart every 1,000 miles.

 

[gregk24]

Probably a minor leak. I saw this sort of build up on my Accord a while ago but didnt think anything of it. Ill investigate it tomorrow to see what it is. I would continue without a HM oil. Just keep changing at regular intervals it should be fine.

 

[The motor guy]

Looks like it's cracked close to the bottom.

 

[ram_man]

an oil like maxlife might really help. my friend has a pos escort and it would leak a puddle the size of your palm every time he parked. after 1,000 miles of maxlife it sometimes leaves a drip but that's it. its been better for 12,000 miles hasn't gotten worse again. the stuff does a decent job.

 

[Johnny248]

It is also very easy to spill the oil when filling the 2.5l engines, and it runs under the engine cover, and down that area of the engine. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of that is spillage

 

[Quest]

Originally Posted By: actionstan


Is this not the sole purpose for HM oil? If not it seems pretty pointless IMO.


One has to realise that hardened nitrile based gaskets can never be properly restored to it's former supple state to re-seal...In other words: it may slow down the leak but never restore the gasket enough to seal it properly.

Granted, given the mileage of this vehicle: one has to either accept this minor weeping as a fact (and live with it) or fix the problem.

In my case: I typically choose the latter.... HM oil doesn't serve any purpose to most of the high-mileage automobiles I serviced so far, other than slowing down some car's oil burning rate.

Q.

 

[bdcardinal]

If that were my car, I would clean the leaks with brake cleaner as best as I could, then add dye to the oil and check it in a week or so.

 

[crazyoildude]

i disagree

 

[diver1972]

Originally Posted By: lugNutz
So could this just be 150k+ of buildup, or do you think this may be a sign of trouble brewing?
My money's on the latter because it looks relatively fresh.

Originally Posted By: gregk24
Probably a minor leak.
Agreed. It's likely via the crank seal.

 

[CBR.worm]

Front crank main seal issues were common on the v6 nissans through the late 90's at least, could be the same deal but on a 4 cyl.

 

[default]

For a driver, if ain't dripping on the ground, I usually don't do anything.

 

[Merkava_4]

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