14 replies to this topic

[855T]

What the effing heck?!? Three questions:

1.) Where did it come from?
2.) How do I gt rid of it?
3.) When, do you suppose, was the last time somone took off the spark plug cover?

My entire engine looks like it's been coated in oil. This adds to my belief.

EDIT: Oh, it's okay to drive around without the cover on, right?

Edited by 855T, 05 May 2005 - 01:29 AM.

[shurgen]

Replace rubber gasket in your oil cap.

[merlin390]

degreaser, lots of hot high pressure water, a new "O" ring for the oil cap and a funnel to put the oil in next time

[MBT]

It comes from one of 2 sources.
1. MOST LIKELY: when oil was being cahnged the hose(the one JL-type places use) slipped and oil got spilled on top of the engine. Happens all the time. I usually make sure check up on it every 2-3 oil changes. (this presumes you have it done somewhere and not yourself)
2. The hose between cyl 2 and 3.

How long have you owned the car? If it has been some time and you've never looked under the cover I would not worry about it. Just clean it up (shop towels work just fine for this). Also check under the spark plug wires. Some times oil gets in there. Now this could be bad. Not because of where it is coming from, but because of what it might cause. Namely: it could get in the Wire/Plug connection and cause the plug to misbehave (not fire); and it could go past the plug into the cylinder (unlikely; most plugs are in there rather tight).
If you have oil above the plugs, make sure to clean that up too (shop towels absorb oil like a spunge).

When was the last time you had the plugs/wires changes? Might not be a bad idea. I wouldn't rush with it, but it is an easy thing to do.

Regards,
Mike

[T5BRICK]

mine looked VERY similar. i cleaned it up and replaced the O ring in the cap. haven't leaked any oil since.

it costs $.65 at FCP. the part number is 940096.

[855T]

I've had the car since January. Never checked under there before. I'm positive I need new plugs, wires, and a cap/rotor. I noticed something else, though. Theres this little hole in the middle of the engine that looks like it's got a crack in it. The hole itself is between the 4th and 5th cylinders (counting from left, facing rear of car). I have no idea what it's there for, but I'll try and get a pic tomorrow.

[Bay13]

do what felix88 suggests.

[Bay13]

That hole has been the topic of may threads, it's suppose to be there, don't know what for but thats not the oil leak, it's the rubber seal on the oil cap.

[T5BRICK]

i'd just buy the ring when you pick up the cap, rotor, wires and plugs. FCP really does have good prices. i can't find anyone that can beat them locally, even after shipping costs.

you also might want to look into buying a magnetic drain plug, drain plug crush washer and the turbo oil return line gasket and o ring while you are ordering stuff. most of it is really inexpensive and keeps those annoying oil drips off your driveway.

*edit* unless you've done this stuff already!

Edited by felix88, 05 May 2005 - 01:59 AM.

[855T]

I just built up a shopping cart with exactly the thnigs you mentioned, . Now I need to see if I can get my parents to pay for it...

Oh, how hard is it to install new plugs and cap/rotor?

[MBT]

Piece of cake.
Hardest part: connecting the wires to the cap in correct order.

Almost forgot: http://volvospeed.com/Repair/sparkplugs.php

Edited by MBT, 05 May 2005 - 02:09 AM.

[KLS]

It is a rasslin' match to get the air box out of the way on a turbo so you can get the distributor cap off. If you're at all unsure, use tape (duct tape works well) and label everything you disconnect. Put tape and the same number on both parts you disconnect. The electrical plug on the air tube on top of the air box gets tape with a #1, and the socket the plug goes into also gets a #1, etc., etc. Wrap the tape around the item with the excess tape ends stuck to each other to make a flag...it won't come off oils stuff easily. Also take notes or digi pics. You need a screwdriver for the cap and a very small metric allen wrench for the rotor.


Ken

[James A Sousa]

In your third picture, you can see that the oil ran down the rear of the filler cap tube. it is the highest part that is oily.

I always look there to see if oil has been spilt during an oil change.

Once I put a "scrunchy" ( a cloth colored elastic used on pony tails) around the filler. If you have two girls, there are plenty laying around! It absorbed all spilt oil, but I got a lot of static and discontinued the practice.

I cleaned up with bits of paper towel to absorb liquid oil, then Q-tips and paint thinner to clean the rest of the mess.

I never use water in my engine compartments, it can get into expensive places.

I clean oily messes with paint thinner, rubber with WD-40, and painted surfaces with car wax.

An old sock over your hand can get into all the cramped spaces around the engine.

[Mesoam]

this one is pretty blatent if you ask me....

oil cap gasket..."nuff said"