Time for High Mileage oil for very slight timing cover seepage?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Aug 2, 2018
Messages
1,268
Location
PA
Long story short, I thought I had some coolant seeping around the water pump. Local shop confirmed it's not coolant but a slight oil seepage above the water pump coming from the timing cover seal. Almost 70K miles on the engine. Is it pretty cut and dry to start using something with some seal swellers?
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by PimTac
Seal swellers work on gaskets. Yours probably has a sealant bead in between.

On an unmodified engine?
 
Originally Posted by BMWTurboDzl
Why not replace the part instead?

Haven't gotten that far in research. Have no idea on price/labor.
 
2.0L Skyactiv G. If I had to guess I'd say plastic knowing modern cars but not certain.
 
Originally Posted by jayjr1105
2.0L Skyactiv G. If I had to guess I'd say plastic knowing modern cars but not certain.

If it's a rubber seal, a HiMi lube might help restore it's elasticity and size.. or not. Just depends on how badly it's worn/damaged, sometimes seals are just too far gone for a mechanic in a bottle. Run a HiMi for an oci and if it hasn't stopped leaking, you're gonna need to replace it.

Fwiw, +60k on a seal or gasket seems like a short lifespan. Is this normal for this engine? You might research it before buying an OE seal.. maybe there's higher quality seal/gasket our there?
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by Mad_Hatter
Originally Posted by jayjr1105
2.0L Skyactiv G. If I had to guess I'd say plastic knowing modern cars but not certain.

If it's a rubber seal, a HiMi lube might help restore it's elasticity and size.. or not. Just depends on how badly it's worn/damaged, sometimes seals are just too far gone for a mechanic in a bottle. Run a HiMi for an oci and if it hasn't stopped leaking, you're gonna need to replace it.

Fwiw, +60k on a seal or gasket seems like a short lifespan. Is this normal for this engine? You might research it before buying an OE seal.. maybe there's higher quality seal/gasket

#1 it's a very slow seep, like maybe a drop or two per OCI. #2, If it's timing cover seal, it's rather expensive and labor intensive. not like a valve cover gasket which is easy DIY and $10. #3 I agree on 70K and having leaking seals already is BS.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by jayjr1105
Originally Posted by PimTac
Seal swellers work on gaskets. Yours probably has a sealant bead in between.

On an unmodified engine?

Timing Covers on modern engines are sealed using RTV. Seal swellers have no effect on RTV.
 
My 2018 Ford Taurus had a timing cover leak at only 3,000 miles. I waited to fix it at about 8000 miles. On that duratec 3.5 L the whole timing cover was sealed by silicone. A himi oil would not have any effect on that. luckily for me it's under warranty, and for your info the duratec 3.5 L was developed by Mazda.
 
That timing cover is all sealant. See:

2.0 timing chain repair

About 2/3 of the way down you'll see the instructions for re-sealing and installing the timing cover.

Almost all of those motors I see have a little seep from that area, all the way back to the MZR 2.0/2.3 days. I wouldn't worry about it much, just degrease the area to clean it up and watch how long it takes to re-form.

I'll tell you this: re-sealing a timing cover in-chassis is NOT fun, in any FWD car. You have to be exactly exact, or it will leak.
 
Originally Posted by The Critic
Originally Posted by jayjr1105
Originally Posted by PimTac
Seal swellers work on gaskets. Yours probably has a sealant bead in between.

On an unmodified engine?

Timing Covers on modern engines are sealed using RTV. Seal swellers have no effect on RTV.

Depends on what's in the seal conditioner. Some silicones are susceptible to swelling (increased volume) when exposed to certain chemicals. It just depends on the chemistry of the RTV. See the following link and pic...

Silicone Rubber

[Linked Image]


[Linked Image]
 
Thanks guys. I will likely just clean it up once in a while and not worry about it unless it gets much worse.
 
Sounds like a plan. Maybe when you change the oil.

It sounds like a nuisance weep, similar to the valve timing solenoid that gets mentioned occasionally.
 
Unless you have a show car, I assume it's not dripping and I would not worry about any seepage. Sure it might be annoying and might collect dirt on the engine surfaces over time, but really it's not causing any problems. Maybe re-torque the timing cover bolts, otherwise... just run it. I don't see any good reason to use high mileage oil until the engine shows signs of high mileage. Seepage is not one of them.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top