i drive an 88 pickup 22re. im starting to have an oil leak when im driving higher speeds, around 55 probably, it starts leaking and gets worse if i get up around 65-70 on the freeway. ive looked and looked under the hood but cant pin point where it is leaking out. PCV valve is good i can shake it and hear it rattle inside so i know its not plugged. it seems like the oil is coming from up top somewhere, i dont think its the valve cover gasket though. does anyone know of certain things i should look at? it looks like a lot is dropping off the bottom side of the intake but idk if thats just oil getting slung up from the fan any help would be appreciated

 

Have you checked the front seal >?







When it's fixed.

 

There are only so many places the oil can be coming out, timing cover, front main, rear main, oil pan, oil pump, valve cover gasket etc.
Time to steam bath and degrease it and start with the ole "process of elimination!"

 

Question: Does it not leak at all under 55 MPH? My guess is that it has more to do with RPM than speed. Your valve train should be getting a lot more oil at higher RPM than at low RPM (in theory). So, if your valve cover DOES have a leak, I could see it maybe getting worse at high speed (actually high RPM).

You might have to hold a high idle and start looking under the hood.

 

check the big plugs at the end of the valve covers, the rear fell out on me one time. looked like oil was coming from nowhere at higher speeds..

 

yea i gotta feeling its the front seal
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3.../Photo0172.jpg
so whats gonna go into fixin this? am i taking the whole front off or just down to the pulley?

 

Mines been leaking down there a while too, gonna sleeve it soon

 

The front main seal can fool alot of people to thinking its something up top or valve covers. But if that front main oil pump seal is leaking and if its leaking bad it will sling oil all over the engine and it will be hard to tell. Does the oil seem be only toward the front of the motor? If so thats prob what it is. A valve cover won't leak with rpms... usually a front main or rear main will...

 

Like he said if its leaking that bad you may end up having to sleave and repair the crank pulley but not all the time.

 

what you do is take off all the belts on the harmonic balancer.
Then , take the bolt out and slid it off.Since your already there take off the oil pump and install A new oil pump O ring.pull out the old front seal .Coat the new one with oil and tap it in .Also get some rtv because you need to coat one of the oil pump bolts with it ..All you have to do is install in the reverse order /

You may need a repair sleeve for the harmonic balancer ..They are made of steel and will take up the gaps caused by worn-out harmonic balancer shafts.

 

Kiroshu: yea originally i thought it was somewhere high bcuz oil was EVERYWHERE, but today i took it to the wash, gave her a good douche, then had my buddy hold it at 3 grand for awhile til i started seeing oil. i can drive around keeping my R's low but when i hold it high like on the highway is when it starts comin out, i drove around and the oil is just at the bottom so now im positive its the FMS

Bipolar: thanks for the info. can u get that picture any bigger? sorry bad eyes lol

i have read up on this a lil so i think i got it. i heard the pulley bolt is a pain to remove...whats the 'starter trick' i've heard about?

also while im at it i think i should replace the Timing chain, im over 100,xxx on this rebuild...so im going to have to take off the whole front correct?

 

Have you ever done the timing chain? Its not a simple job for someone whos never done it before. If your going to do the timing chain then timing covers gotta come off along with the valve cover, power steering pump, A/C compressor and bracket, alt bracket, all belts and pulleys, radiator, fan, and shroud, oil pump, crank pulley.... distributor, If you have never don it before get a good manual and follow step by step. Ignore the part where it says to take head and oil pan off thats not required if you "just" doing the timing chain. You can do it with the head and pan on. However if you see that the guides are badly damaged and broke you need to take the pan off and clean the gudie pieces out. If you have an air gun you can zip it off no prob.... But you may have to get you some rags and a chain wrench if no power tools...

 

yea ive changed them before not on this engine though, but i found a good site that explains it all really good
http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/CheapTri...ingChain.shtml

 

i found a kit online does this look like a good one to you all? it comes with a steel guide i know that is important
http://www.store.partsdinosaur.com/product0.html#0#0

 

bugs1961 has a great tool for the pulley bolt:
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...l-tool-186081/

 

let me tell ya, i took my crankshaft bolt off and just put it back on today without any air tools or really any special tool. i just posted on that thread today. i'll give you the link. i'm buttoning up my engine as we speak after doing a head gasket and timing chain and cover and oil and water pumps.

as a newbie with no experience this has been a formidable opponent, but definitely something you can do.

heres the link https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...emoval-193505/

 

I recommend ENGNBLDR. www.engnbldr.com

 

yea im going to do that

 

you can look at all his stuff on ebay...type in ENGNBLDR ...

but mostly you can email him and he's a great guy to work with...i've recommended him and so have many others on here.

 

ya i emailed him and he replied real fast, he says his kit w/steel guide comes with everything ill need every gasket and seal too