As some will have seen from my previous threads, I had an oil leak from the sump around the engine mounting bracket under the turbo.
Sump dropped, cleaned etc and new Loctitle 5920 high temp RTV silicone gasket goo used and applied around the engine mounting bolt holes as recommended on this forum. Re assembled, new oil etc all was well for a couple of short local runs.
Just been to York Dragway for a few runs down the strip, returned home and oil leak again from same place !!!
What else can I do to stop this leak ? I know I have to drop the sub frame again and drop the sump etc. but I do not want to waste my time again.
What do you recommend ? I thought about a cast aluminium sump but I guess this will raise the engine by the thickness of the mounting flange and I already suffer from the GReddy inlet elbow rubbing on the strut brace.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks
Chris
Thats a bit of a bugger mate, after all that work !!!
Having not done it i dont know what to recommend to be honest, did you put enough sealant on? tighten the bolts up too much?
It\'s a shame there isn\'t a nice thick cork gasket out there for the FD (that i know of) cos i used to use this on other cars and cos it\'s cork it flexes with the engine better but still seals....
One of these would solve your problem easily....getting mine fitted in a week or so.
http://www.mazdarotaryclub.net/forums/showthread.php?t=44124
Hi Ed,
Thanks for the thread. Did yours come from Gotham Racing ? How thick is the brace ?
Thanks
Chris
Smb,
Yes I did put plenty of sealant on. The M6 bolts are okay but you get the feeling that a little too much torque will strip the threads in the block.
I agree a cork gasket would be ideal. Not sure whether to approach a gasket manufacturer for some 5mm thick gasket material and cut one out myself.
Chris
Not necessarily. We found leaks with the oring style, and had to modify to solve it.
Dragon,
How did you modify ?
Thanks
Chris
I used bog standard orange gasket goo on the 1st gen sump. Torqued the sump using the workshop manual following the diagram. Hasn\'t leaked from there at all.
Did you scrape all the surfaces clean of old goo ?
Shame nobody makes a copper gasket for it.
Although how much power are you making through the engine ?
Shaun
Hi Shaun,
I\'m not an expert, but have worked on cars for years, so yes like you I torqued up the sump bolts in a sequence to ensure an even spread of load on the sump sealing flange.
I was running the car on the 450bhp map at 0.9 bar today as I wanted to get a better understanding of the cars characteristics before using the 540bhp map settings.
I suppose the good news from today was out of my four runs, I had good launches off the line with no wheel sping or clutch slip. Main problem was two high rev launches which lightened the front end and it felt like the car was getting away from me, but in true fasion I kept my foot in and grabbed second gear.
Chris
Don\'t worry I\'m not either :Giggle Sometimes its the simplest thing that causes the most headache. Usually the most complex stuff slaps us in the face !
That sounds like some really nice bhp. Is the block stock on the dowls ?
What kind of times where you running today ?? Sounds like a lot of fun :D
Shaun
Just a quicky thought. If the leak has been caused by a twist of the engine then would it naturally settle back to a flat position against the sump ? If its twisted you may have created a gap that won\'t seat properly regardless. Surely you would need to loosen off the main block bolts then bolt up the sump and then re-tighten the main bolts back up. If that is possible ??? Where\'s the pro\'s when you need them :Giggle
Shaun
Quote from: C J R;502215Hi Ed,
Thanks for the thread. Did yours come from Gotham Racing ? How thick is the brace ?
Thanks
Chris
Nah mate, not from Gotham..... oh and its 4.5 mm thick.
I have fitted 100\'s of fd sumps, through trial and error, the only sealant that does the trick is the mazda sealant, it is about £12.00 A tube and sticks like \'shiy to a blanket\' you also need to make sure that the sump is very very flat before you start, torque up the engine mounts (I think they are about 80NM) and do not fill with oil until the sealer has had a good 12 hrs to dry
Ah, I never even thought about the cure time. My engine was still on the stand and wasn\'t filled with oil for about a month !
Shaun
Chris,
Thanks for your reply. Just like you I thought about cure time of the Loctite sealant I used.
After refitting the sump and engine mounts I left the car until the following evening, then wrestled with the sub frame, left it for another evening, then re attach the suspension and steering rack bolts etc so didn\'t fill with oil until at least 48 hours later.
Interestingly the sump already had the grey mazda sealant applied, but that was leaking.
I have found the Dragon cast sump with an Oil seal incorporated which seems like a good idea as it should compensate for minor movement of the block/sump joint.
Has anyone any experience of the Dragon sump ?
Thanks
Chris
Are these the same ?? http://www.xcessivemanufacturing.com/merchant.ihtml?id=9&step=2
Best bet is to have a look on rx7club. They seem to have more experience with them.
Shaun
i expect your going to shoot me down in flamow but are you definately sure its the sump and not something else?
Hi Dave,
At first I wasn\'t sure where the leak was coming from as the whole area around the engine mounting/sump/sub frame etc was covered in oil.
So, I degreased the whole area so it was clean and dry, ran the car for a few hours, checked again, oil leak was mainly around the engine mounting bolts and sump.
When I stripped the sump from the car, the engine mounting bolts were covered in engine oil on one side of the engine (leaking side) and dry on the other side, so I am pretty sure thats the source of the leak.
Thanks
Chris
sounds like thats the cause then, ensure you put plenty of sealant under the heads of the bolts and under the mounts arouns the holes when you fit them as they are a great leak path.
Dave,
Thats why I\'m so frustrated by this second leak. I received some good advice on here to ensure plenty of sealant went round the engine mounting bolt holes, so I put a double row of sealant round the sump mounting flange including double round all mounting holes, ensuring an even layer of sealant was applied. But still its leaked !
Sorry if I seem a little paranoid about this, but I want to make sure its right this time.
Thanks for your interest
Chris
Quote from: shaunwil;502534Are these the same ?? http://www.xcessivemanufacturing.com/merchant.ihtml?id=9&step=2
Shaun
PROBABLY..........:Thumbs-up
Quote from: chris;502320I have fitted 100\'s of fd sumps, through trial and error, the only sealant that does the trick is the mazda sealant, it is about £12.00 A tube and sticks like \'shiy to a blanket\' you also need to make sure that the sump is very very flat before you start, torque up the engine mounts (I think they are about 80NM) and do not fill with oil until the sealer has had a good 12 hrs to dry
Take this advice ------ IT WORKS---- enough said.:Thumbs-up
Quick update, Sub Frame removed to gain better access to the sump.
Removed engine mounting bolts, all holes full of the Loctite mastic with no visible oil contamination, so no evidence to show the oil leaked thru\' the bolt holes.
I guess due to windage oil has carried all over the general area on the turbo side, but I cannot see where the sealant has broken.
I suspected the blanking plate on the block previously and removed and sealed that, but I\'m not sure if its leaked again and the sump seal is intact ?
I\'ve attached a few pictures to show what area I\'m discussing.
I\'d be happy to take any advice from anyone who has experienced the same/similar problems.
I have ordered the grey sealant from Mazda as recommended, (£23.50 + vat).
Whilst the sub frame is off, I may as well fully degrease and paint it.
Chris
hi mate,
if you need a new sump i have one.
cheers
Hi M4drx,
Thanks for the offer, but I hope I\'ve cured it this time.
Chris
no probs just a though as a spare may be useful if you are modding. havent read the tread properly :o