how bad is a timing chain cover leak? can anyone help me?

[Streets_of_Fire]

i went to my mcehanic to get my fron t engine oil seal changed, then shortly afterwards had to get my rear engine oil seal changed, and now my timing chain cover gasket changed? is he ripping me off? i cant afford this last job its a lot. could someone charge me for a little less? if u need, i got connections in furniture, like beds and stuff i could hook you up with, thanks!!

[pmkls2]

Well, the front cover doesnt exactly have a gasket, it just has sealer. But, it of course can still leak and cost a good bit of money to be replaced. I'm not sure if he's ripping you off, but a good mechanic would mention any oil leaks he observed the first time he fixes the car since he's obviously going to be looking the engine over. I would actually suggest if you are going to have the leak fixed that you also have the timing chain replaced and that they reseal the oil pan because you have to pull the front cover to get to the timing chain and you have to seal the front part of the oil pan when you pull the front cover off.

[Streets_of_Fire]

thank you very much for the reply, well what happened was he saw the rear might be leaking when he changed the fron engine oil seal. after praying it he was also wondering if the oil pan was scraped cuz it was still wet after he chkept spraying it with brake cleaner, so after a couple of days i brought it back and he checked it out again and told me about it, its also gonna cost about a grand. is it worth it? i mean i got 111k on it now, how long do ka24de's usually last?? thanks agian for teh help!!

[InsanityInc]

Just do it yourself. All you need is a socket set and a cherry picker. Might need an impact wrench for the crank pulley. All together will cost far less than a grand.

[pmkls2]

Well, $1k is probably average price for this kind of repair. Would I pay that much ? Heck no ! Is it worth it ? Well, it is a matter of opinion, I would probably want to get the timing chain replaced with the mileage you have and this would of course take care of the leak too. If you have any kind of mechanical ability you might be able to do this yourself but be prepared to spend a day or 2 performing the repair depending on how fast you move. All of the parts you need to do this repair will cost you about $300 or $400 but thats still a lot less than a grand. You can obtain the parts cheaper from an aftermarket supplier but I would advise against doing that and spendind the extra money for dealer parts. And these engines are pretty durable and reliable, my 240 is the first japanese car that I have owned and I honestly used to despise japanese cars. I have completely changed my perspective about them and I have grown to love my nissan. If I were you I'd get the car fixed and keep it until the darn thing rots away.............

[eddiec]

i broke my thermostat housing and to get the front cover off i had to drop the subframe so the pan could drop out of the way to get the oil pickup off. it was a real pain and i used every jack and stand i had. not the funnest thing but now i have a new front oil seal and fixed the PCV while i was there as well.

good luck

[pmkls2]

well, I didnt have too many problems but I did mine on a lift, they say you dont haveto drop the subframe to get te pan out but I did to make things easier