93 Altima KA24de Oil Leak

[Wisconsin 240SX]

I have an oil leak that I cant figure out. I have cleaned the steel oil pan and the upper Al oil pan extension and know that the oil leak is higher than that. It seems to be coming from under or next to the power steering pump and is dripping/running from this area.I see from my Haynes book that there is an oil O ring in the same area.....I hope it's not that nor the upper timing cover. It looks like a big job getting the timing cover off. Does the O ring fail? Timing cover seal? Car has 130K miles.Any ideas? thanks for the helpps- leaks about a 4 inch spot ever night........

[NISTECH]

front cover is leaking.very very common on the altima. and no its not a fun job to do. it is the oring behind the front cover that failed.

[Wisconsin 240SX]

That's what I was afraid of. The Haynes book speaks of raising the engine or lowering the body with the eng/xaxle on blocks to access the front cover. Is this required?Also do you have to remove the oil pan and AL oil pan extension to remove the upper cover with the oil seal?Any idea how many hours are in the repair book for this job?I'm thinking of just taking it to Nissan and pay the price.I will review my 92 240sx factory repair book for more detail on procedures....should be about the same.Thanks for your help.ps- the 240 with hight Nx is parked until spring, egr solenoid did not fix, failed emmissions again, tags ran out...so another project for spring

[Wisconsin 240SX]

Another question- would adding stop leak do me any good? I dont like to use the stuff but if it avoids a $800 repair I might give it a shot..................

[NISTECH]

That's what I was afraid of. The Haynes book speaks of raising the engine or lowering the body with the eng/xaxle on blocks to access the front cover. Is this required? yes

Also do you have to remove the oil pan and AL oil pan extension to remove the upper cover with the oil seal?

yes

Any idea how many hours are in the repair book for this job?

10 to 12 hrs (book time)

I'm thinking of just taking it to Nissan and pay the price.I will review my 92 240sx factory repair book for more detail on procedures....should be about the same.

not even close

Thanks for your help.ps- the 240 with hight Nx is parked until spring, egr solenoid did not fix, failed emmissions again, tags ran out...so another project for spring

Another question- would adding stop leak do me any good? I dont like to use the stuff but if it avoids a $800 repair I might give it a shot..................

I doubt it because of how close it is to the pump. but you can try it. I never have.

That job is very labor intensive. I have done several of them working for the dealer and though they pay several hours to do. I always dread doing them because it is very easy to make a mistake and not know it till you have it all back together and running. the altima is the worst front cover job to do because of the lack of space between the body and the engine block.

as far as your 240 I have to search for that thread I cant remember which one it was.

[Wisconsin 240SX]

Thanks, Yes after reading the shop book, the 92 240 is very different from the 93 Altima.....seems like two different engines from the infamous KA24DE. My 240 had new timing chain and gears, etc put on at the dealer (prev. owne in 2002) and they only charged $400 for labor and $300 for parts......I know it's up front and probably less labor to get too.

I called my repair shop I send stuff I dont want to do and they said they would put a die in it and pinpoint the exact location of the leak........he probably does not know that you cant see very well in the area of the O ring.

I could do the job but I just dont have the time and my furnace in the garage is not working....cold here. I'm not going to try the stop leak, if it is the O ring I see it's right off the pump. My old Triumphs ( TR250, TR6) are alot easier to work on and so is my lawnmower!Thanks

[Wisconsin 240SX]

Well it went in the shop and they called to say it's just a valve cover gasket- they could see it running out, so I told them to go ahead and fix it, $90. Got it home and it still leaks from somewhere other than the valve cover ! I guess it's still the front cover. Only leaks a diime size spot rather than a 5 inch spot ever night.

[Wisconsin 240SX]

Another question for you NISTECH. It still leaks more when sitting still under idle inthe driveway, probably blowing by on the highway. I changed the oil so it's thinner now and leaking pretty good, can smell it burning however oil level does not seem to go down. I was reading the Haynes book again, thinking of doing it myself soon and it refers to taking the head off since the head gasket has a loop in it for the gasket between the upper and lower timing cover...Is this required or can you RTV the gasket ?What did you do when you did this repair in the shop?I assume a new front seal replacement would also be in order.thanks

[NISTECH]

total parts to do the repair if you dont do the tensioners will be less then 20 bucks. No you do not need to pull the head just be sure you dont damage the portion of head gasket sticking out. I start from the top near the right fender remove the brakets for the motor mount and alt upper mount,belts ,motor mount, pulleys, PCV baffle box, unbolt the upper p/s mount bolt,(you can reposition the p/s resivor without disconnecting it for access with a long extension and 12mm universal socket on the upper p/s braket bolt) then i set up the engine crossbar to support the engine when I pull of the 2 mounts on either side of the engine. I then lift it on a hoist and work from underneath ,removing the engine mounts and crossmember, exhuast header pipe, a/c compressor and then a/c braket, lower p/s bracket bolts, lower oil pan, oil pan main body, at this point you are ready to start pulling cover bolts. locate all the 10mm bolts going into the cover below the head, there wil be one on either side of the head going down into the front cover from the top .dont forget these bolts or you'll break the cover when prying it off. with all the bolts removed you then start to pry it off. there may be a couple steps I missed but they will be obvious. the fun part is once you get it pryed from the engine, it will drop out from the bottom. if you use the engine support method once your ready to remove the cover loosen the support hook to drop the engine to a lower point you may need to go back and forth with loosening and trying to remove the cover till it slides right out but once you find that point where it comes right out do not move the engine again till you have the front cover back in place. once you have the cover off inspect your chain guides closely for any broken peices. Good luck if you attempt to do this.

[Wisconsin 240SX]

I know I can do it but do I have the time ? Pretty rough around here in Milwaukee the past few week below 0 and I think today it's 33 degrees, first day over 32 in a month. I was trying to make it to spring but I dont think I can.I called the Nissan dealer where I bought the wifes 03 Altima and they said 5 hours @ $82/ hr...bring it over for a free inspection and I should replace the water pump since it's off and inspect the chain guides, etc. etc....I'm sure the bill would be $500 +. Only paid $900 for the car !I travel 75 miles a day RT for my job and the 93 Altima was supposed to be a econo car for me otherwise I drive my Z71 Silverado and wear it out with 18 mpg or my 71 Triumph TR6 in the summer or my 92 240sx that failed smog.....anyway Thanks for the help and I'll let you know what Nissan says and if I take it on....

[Wisconsin 240SX]

Local Nissan dealer wants $840 for r&r timing cover with o-ring, crank seal, sending unit and tube of RTV. Said 9 hours at $82/hr.Oh well, crunch time....

[3Q Jay]

intersting post. My daughter just came home for xmas with the 95. noticed oil almost 1 qt down [unusual!] haven't even gone under yet, but looks like the backside down low is damp. more to follow, but here's my request as of now: assuming I need to do this (front seal), and I go to the dealer, what would make sense to do at the same time? chain tensioners? other?car has 125k, owned since new. premium maintenance at regular intervals.

oh yeah. Wis 240...how did you make out?

[s13sr20chris]

i would reccomend the chain, guides, tensioners, and of course o-rings and seals. that would just continue your philosophy of premium maintenance. heck, why not slap on a new water pump and drivebelts too. wont be any extra labor.

[3Q Jay]

thanks Chris for the advice.

here's the latest: i can say with 99+% that it is NOT the crank seal.found the breather/sep seeping. the one on there is the two piece [epoxied cover], and i think there is an later one piece one from a tsb [11830-1e401]. can anyone confirm this? i called the local dealer on Thurs, and he said the earliest he could have one would be Tues. Anyone know for sure if this 'countermeasure' one is a one piece?anyway, for now, I cleaned it up good, did not try to reseal the epoxied part, and reinstalled using sparing amount of permatex gray. let it setup overnight before firing. so far, no leaks there. side notes: replaced pcv at same time with oem. old one had 94k on it [factory one replaced under warranty at 30k] and ball still shook freely, even though it was starting to feel 'heavy'. anyone who has done this job on the altima knows it is no fun, althoug thanks to a post by NISTECH, I found that by repositioning the ps pump toward the firewall, you can access quite directly.

found leak #2 while moving the ps pump: the main intake hose from the res is leaking. good thing i just bought every underhood hose that Dan over at infiniti of scottsdale could find.....

this is my 10 year maintenance plan. geez, i've got an ambitious plan to do this all in 1 day..

[s13sr20chris]

i cant say i have ever replaced the breather but i can imagine its a pain in the but at that location. glad to find out your leak is not the o-ring.