5s-fe distributor plug leaking?

[fenixus]

seems like oil is collecting on top of differential and it seems to be leaking from behind the ignition modules. the highest wet spot I can see is right behind the metal bracket, where I can partially see some plug (below valve cover gasket)... distributor plug?

can you guys confirm this is it? did anybody have a leaking plug (that's where the distributor would be on gen3 I think) and can confirm a leak from there looks like that?









thanks so much for you opinion. I am looking for confirmation before I tear it apart on some weekend hehe...

[bronzemaxell]

look like same problem on my 97 5sfe where the distributor plug leaks, and oil collected on the speed sensor on top the tranny, the half moon is on the side of the valve cover, but further toward the front.

i removed the valve cover, and cleaned the old silicone and apply new rtv silicone on the plastic plug, that stopped the leaked

[fenixus]

cool thanks for explanation bronzemaxell.

yup, oil collects on top of speed sensor and around it. it also hits other things on the fly, like some wire harness and metal tube and also heater core hoses I think.

I think you are right. the dist plug is further back while half moon is towards front. I have no leak from driver side front area, it's coming from further to rear, behind that metal bracket. Needed to take a look at old pic to see how things are located in there.

that's an old pic when I removed the valve cover, the half moon is where you say (closer to front), while the distributor plug is further back - I guess it leaks from there or maybe also the valve cover gasket on top of it not holding correctly around that circular metal thing.



so simply cleaning old RTV and applying some fresh RTV on/around the distributor plastic plug area (from inside) helps to stop that? I am also considering that valve cover gasket itself started leaking over there, but I doubt it, I sealed it well a year ago. More likely it's that dist plug problem.

will have to take care of that when it gets warmer and less windy.

[bronzemaxell]

i did removed the two bolts on top of the plastic plug first, and applied silicone on the plastic plug, then put it back, and wiped off excessive silicone, i am not sure if you just applied from inside will work as well.

i also recently did the valve cover gasket, thinking that would have fixed the leaked,
but still collect oil on the speed sensor after a brand new valve cover gasket, until i removed valve cover and re-sealed the distributor plug.
the 97 5sfe has 115k on odometer at the time

[fenixus]

thanks man!

I am also pretty sure it's not the VC gasket itself. it seems like the leak is coming from below the gasket level, like from dist plug itself. besides I was extra careful last time actually 2 years ago with VC gasket in that area, because I already had some oil seeping through ... I thought back then it was a VC gasket fault, it was probably the dist plug already leaking (vacuum leak at first) back then, just not leaking enough for the oil to collect around speed sensor yet. well it must be much more leaking by now.

those 2 bolts on plastic plug you mentioned, are those the 2 black bolts in my pic below (from 2 years ago), sitting right on both sides of the curved metal thing by the edge (on top of dist plug)?

[bronzemaxell]

yup, the two you circled in red are the ones you may loose, and lift up the metal, then you will see the plastic plug.
i don't know what the torque spec for those bolts, i just hand tight them, then another 1/4 turn with a craftsman 1/4" drive ratchet.

[pmesfun]

The cam cap is also leaking on my car. FIPG or equivalent is to be applied on the mating surfaces. This reminded me to reseal the dist. plugs on my car.

[fenixus]

thanks for confirmation Bronzemaxell!

hopefully in a few weeks I will be able to finish this car off finally and get rid off of the last one of vacuum leaks and (I hope) finally enjoy a car after major tune up

I am planning to use high temperature RTV (red) on the dist plug, just like I do under VC gasket in problematic spots.

hey pmesfun, what's the deal with the cam bearing cap? why does yours leak? did you remove it?

I'm asking because my camshaft pulley makes some cold start noises, might as well be coming from under the bearing cap area.
is it safe to simply unbolt it with timing belt on camshaft pulley? what's under it? not sure if I even should touch it ... you know old saying says don't fix what ain't broken

[pmesfun]

Originally Posted by fenixus

hey pmesfun, what's the deal with the cam bearing cap? why does yours leak? did you remove it?

I'm asking because my camshaft pulley makes some cold start noises, might as well be coming from under the bearing cap area.
is it safe to simply unbolt it with timing belt on camshaft pulley? what's under it? not sure if I even should touch it ... you know old saying says don't fix what ain't broken

Yeah I removed it when replacing the cam seal the first time and forgot to reseal it.

The cam seal is under that cap on the front of the engine. I'm sure nothing will happen if you take it out, but by looking at the picture is looks difficult the the timing cover on(unless you have a wobble socket). If you don't want to take off the cap, just make sure the bolts are snug and tight.

[fenixus]

gotcha. i will probably just try tightening it down. I have a feeling that local shop might have messed with it when doing the timing job the first time a few years ago.

also FSM says that (for i4 engine) every bearing cap bolt torque on cylinder head is 14ft-lbs (all 20 of them over there) so probably 2 distributor plug cap bolts use same torque as they look same as others.

yeah, there is hard access to cam bearing cap bolts, I will see what I can do, don't want to over-do anything though hehe.

[pmesfun]

good luck.

[fenixus]

thanks, will need it on this one

my wife thinks I went nuts with cars and I'm creating problems and imagining things just to have something to do

[adalex]

yea it turns out mine was leaking and replaced the plug a month later it was still leaking so I took off the valve cover again and put rtv on the mating surfaces. heres pictures of the plug when I first took off my valve cover













hopefully fenixus the pics ^ with the missing two bolts gives additional comfort in knowing which two to take off

[adalex]

oh and fenixus the last pic you posted with it oily behind and below the spark plug wires. is exactly where mines wet just bought degreaser today to clean it out to make sure the leak is fixed

[fenixus]

thanks Adalex

I feel safer now having such nice pictorial DIY hehe
I won't forget using RTV on mating surfaces!