for those who know of my situation: advice

[tramp_drift240]

alright. previously, my motor was leaking oil from the oil pan, and coolant from the freeze plugs.

totalled my car, pulled the motor to reuse. fresh rebuild with 300ish miles on it.

while the motor was out, i replaced the brass plugs with steel plugs, VERY good seal. also, new pan gasket, VERY good seal. then swapped the motor in.

its running in the new motor, will run like ol' times once i swap out the fouled spark plugs tomorrow. BUT, i've run into a problem im not sure how to handle...

apparently, the lower timing cover, or something in that area, is leaking coolant. after a little driving, looking under the car, theres probably...a drip of coolant every 3 or 4 seconds.

AND, i believe theres very very fresh looking oil coming from directly under my header. fairly sure between the block and head.

now, i got fired from my job, and im trying to move back to VA as soon as possible so i can get another job, start making money, etc. ORIGINALLY, going to drive back next week after my five lug install, new brakes and rotors, Work CR's and new tires.

im in a predicament with what i found today though. should i drive it with some leaking, and handle the situation later? or should i dive right back into the FRESH swap, pull off the manifolds, valve cover, timing covers and the head. and replace/repair what needs repaired now.

i havent driven in so long. and now im making monthly insurance payments, so i cant chill without a job for too long. i dont know what i should do.

advice is greatly needed.

[Future_gohan]

Might need a head gasket? Hmm?

Are you spitting smoke out the exhaust?

I personally wouldn't drive it unless you had too.

[tramp_drift240]

theres not smoke from the exhaust anymore. i already burnt any remainder from my flip-over in the past day.

it runs well. its just leaking a little bit.

might need a headgasket, and id have to remove the crank pulley and all that stuff to pull off the lower timing cover to re-seal. which involves taking the oil pan off. and redoing the cam and dizzy timing.

a lot of work by myself when i need to be making money.

[ahagy8720]

Where in VA are you moving too?

[tramp_drift240]

Stafford.

Let it leak for a while, keep oil and coolant in my car in case too much leaks, and get a job so i can start making money again

OR

tear back into the motor, VERY reluctantly, risk running out of money from lack of occupation, and push off my move date in order to hopefully fix any leaking, once and for all.

[Razi]

As long as the leaking isn't major, I'd drive it around with some coolant and oil in the trunk or something.Then once you get a job and stuff, dive back into it and try to fix it asap.

Sucks that this happened man, best of luck.

[tramp_drift240]

thanks for chiming in Raz, none of the regulars are stopping in to tell me what they think.

thats sorta what im leaning towards.

[Amtk240]

Stafford, that is close to me. The economy hasn't been hit that hard in this area because of the amount of Government employees living in this area. You shouldn't have a hard time finding a new job around here.

My company is hiring all the time. That is, if you don't mind being a mechanic of Diesel Locomotives instead of vehicles.

[Razi]

No problem.How far do you have to drive this thing?Keep a sharp eye on the temp gauge.

[tramp_drift240]

i have no problems with overheating. burped cooling system with an all aluminum rad.

only hits mid-gauge operating temps when im sitting at idle for a while. when i start rollin' again, the air does its job.

its about a 300 mile drive, give or take.

Amtk, do you have the means to re-seal the lower timing cover, and replace a headgasket where you reside by any chance?

[amolao]

Your priorities are: getting and keeping a job. If you tear into your engine now there is a good chance that might find further damage or something else might break (rad starts leaking,etc....) and then get stuck with no car and no job. Keep oil and coolant containers in the trunk for emergencies just in case. And plenty of tools. Take your towing assistance phone number with you before embarking on the long trip. You never know what will happen before your destination.

[BearTrap]

I agree with what is posted above. Keep some coolant and oil handy and check it VERY regularly, and you should be good for a while. As long as you're keeping the fluids at a good level, there's nothing too bad about a leak. I've worked on cars with MASSIVE rear main, pan gasket, and head leaks. The owners keep the levels in check, and they've lasted for years. i.e. There was this chick that came into our shop for 3 years straight with a Honda Accord that had over 350k miles. You would literally get dripped on when you got down in the pit. She came in every week for a top off and it lasted till she got rid of it at 410k miles.

Good luck on finding a job and getting back on your feet.

[SirSilvia]

Your priorities are: getting and keeping a job. If you tear into your engine now there is a good chance that might find further damage or something else might break (rad starts leaking,etc....) and then get stuck with no car and no job. Keep oil and coolant containers in the trunk for emergencies just in case. And plenty of tools. Take your towing assistance phone number with you before embarking on the long trip. You never know what will happen before your destination.

besides when you DO get a job you'll have money to cover what minor damage might happen to the car in the meantime.

[Koshin]

SirSilvia, why didnt you get going kinda fast beofre you took the picin your sig?? LOL...I hope that wasnt on the street!! Dyno maybe?? Local road course?? Sideroad in your local neighborhood??

Aaron, drive her around for awhile to see if she acts up at all...Drive her to VA, get back on your feet, then fix it once and for all....What happened with your gig in WV?? Good luck with everything

Rich

[Ghast]

As long as the leaking isn't major, I'd drive it around with some coolant and oil in the trunk or something.Then once you get a job and stuff, dive back into it and try to fix it asap.

Sucks that this happened man, best of luck.

That /\/\/\

And what the other guys said about being safe and prepared on the way back.

Good Luck Man,

Ghast

[ashoe]

Thats rough man. Good luck getting back on your feet.As long as your not getting coolant in your oil or oil in your coolant, and it sounds like your not, you should be ok to drive. I'd stop every hundred miles or so to check everything. I've got a 87 ford pickup that leaks like a sieve. I just top everything off before i get in it. Its been going for like 10000 miles like that.Good luck with everything

[i240sx]

coolant dripping might be from the water pump..my old one was from the water pump, had to replace the water pump and new seal...i say fix it later and do it right, because if you do it right now it may seem like your rushing it since your moving to VA..get the moving to VA done and deal with the leak later..i drove 10,000 miles before replacing my water pump n seal and oil pan gasket...

[mattblancarte]

+1 for priority being the move and job situation. The motor doesn't sound like it's going to die on you, and you obviously know how to monitor its health. Just keep a close eye on it for the drive, and get to the fixing when you're in a better position. Good luck.

[Cidate]

most def, get a job before diving in to fix it. like others have said earlier, you dont know what youll find once you start workin on it ya know? anyways moving to stafford huh? im stationed over in quantico right now haha.

[OutToWinPAHC]

Coolant near the timing cover....... sounds like a water pump seal / gasket. And since the pump is on the area it would make sense. How old is the water pump?

[tramp_drift240]

everything in the motor has less than 350 miles on it. water pump is new. all gaskets are new.

its not from the water pump, its completely dry all around it. its from where the lower timing cover mates to the block and the coolant runs from the water pump, through the cover into the block. i guess something happened to the liquid gasket there.

and now theres a noticable blanket of fresh oil down the exhaust side of my motor.

AND, im only running on 2 or 3 cylinders. terrible idle (which i thought was bad plugs) but runs somewhat decent after 2500rpms. i think ive got two bad injectors since, 1: its a set of used injectors i got from here in 2007, and 2: they've been sitting out on my work bench for months and months.

im between a rock and a hard place. its blowing my mind that it was running fine, and not leaking from the HG or timing cover before, and now after i swap and get it running, theyre both leaking so noticably.

[n240sxfnatic]

If the motor is a ka you can pick up a working one for cheap, swap it in, move then deal with the rebuilt one

[OutToWinPAHC]

Was the head checked? Is the decking okay? Did you check compression? Could be a botched head gasket install or warped head / decking.

[Morph]

As long as it's a slow leak and you can keep on top of it drive it. Just dont push the car at all drive it like a grandma and check your fluid levels regularly till you can just about nail down when you need more fluids. As long as you don't loose too much before you refill you should be fine.

[tramp_drift240]

the head and the block were both decked. cometic headgasket, but whatever.

got my motor problems worked out, its driving pretty damn well now. still leaks, but thats no big deal. ill be moving as planned next week, probably.

check my "coupe number two" thread for new pictures after suspension install tomorrow, weather permitting.

thanks for the advice everyone

[RustspecS13]

I bet its just the front cover leaking. I would pull it off and re seal it asap, as it can be done with some rtv IE cheaply. If it starts leaking on the other side, you'll mix your coolant and oil REALLY quick, and I doubt youd notice it while you were driving. If the coolant leak was any where else Id say roll with it, but being the front cover id say at least patch it up asap.

~Alex

[tramp_drift240]

you cant "patch up" an rtv leak.

id have to lift the motor up a bit, pull the oil pan off. take off the crank pulley, valve cover, upper cover, and lower cover to fix it.

and why did you say that you BET its the front cover leaking?

ive already said that its the lower timing cover. behind the crank pulley. multiple times, im sure.

[RustspecS13]

I know you cant patch a rtv seal I was just using the wrong terminology. And I was calling the lower timing cover the front cover.

I was just voting for fixing the timing cover leak asap since its really not all that hard and it will be good peace of mind. Plus in a 5-6hr trip alot of coolant can mix with oil if it sprouts a leak on the other side of the water passage. Same thing happened to my sohc and almost killed it, and that was on my way home from chicago, a 360mile trip.

~Alex

[diggles240]

Glad to see you are in a better spot than you were earlier today. Let me know when you will be making the trip and if you need anything.

Kevin

[OutToWinPAHC]

you cant "patch up" an rtv leak.

id have to lift the motor up a bit, pull the oil pan off. take off the crank pulley, valve cover, upper cover, and lower cover to fix it.

and why did you say that you BET its the front cover leaking?

ive already said that its the lower timing cover. behind the crank pulley. multiple times, im sure.

If your so sure why are you asking? They are only suggestions given, and your the one that posted up for help. No need to last out when people are trying to help.