[Excaliber]

So I noticed my car leaking engine oil on the drive way and apparently it was worse that I thought it was. I am told its leaking between the bed plate and the crank case, not from the oil pan gasket (I've included a diagram, its number 6) Its just sealant and not even a gasket? How common is this? Its not going to be a cheap fix either.

[sspade]

Anyway you can remove the under tray and take some pics? May be able to get some from above as well.

Without pics this will be impossible to diagnose.

[Excaliber]

Originally Posted by sspade

Anyway you can remove the under tray and take some pics? May be able to get some from above as well.

Without pics this will be impossible to diagnose.

It was in at the shop and they had it up on the hoist, originally I had expected a valve cover or the oil filter housing to be leaking but they checked out fine. They told me I could take a look for myself next week so I'll see if I can snap some then. It just seems to be a very odd place for it to be leaking, they said it could well be over a 5K or more repair job.

[Billfitz]

The best way to locate the leak is with UV dye. It would be very unusual at the upper to lower block joint, as that's sealed, not gasketed.

[sspade]

Definitely interested in pics, please do. Would be a rare occurrence on the N20 from my research.

I would not jump at a repair until I knew for certain exactly which gasket has failed and see it with my own eyes.

There's no risk of damaging engine in the meantime so long as you monitor engine oil closely. Stay ahead of the leak and you'll be fine.

[Excaliber]

Originally Posted by sspade

Definitely interested in pics, please do. Would be a rare occurrence on the N20 from my research.

I would not jump at a repair until I knew for certain exactly which gasket has failed and see it with my own eyes.

There's no risk of damaging engine in the meantime so long as you monitor engine oil closely. Stay ahead of the leak and you'll be fine.

I had stopped driving the car because of how badly it was leaking. I finally had the chance to go and take a look, unfortunately I wasn't able to snap any good photos due to the location of the leak so far down and so much stuff being in the way, we got a mini light down in there next to the A/C compressor and I could see it visibly leaking out from the seem (What I assume is the bed plate and the crank case) with the engine running, Its on the right side of the motor. They had it up on the hoist as well and its definitely not the oil pan gasket (No better photo access down there though). In order to get better access to it they want to remove the transfer case. I'm starting to think the whole motor will have to come out. When I first bought my car I had been worried about the timing chain guides failing but then this happens.

[Billfitz]

If the motor has to come out replace the timing chain. Replacing the chain is a simple job, getting at the engine innards to do it not so much.

[Excaliber]

Originally Posted by Billfitz

If the motor has to come out replace the timing chain. Replacing the chain is a simple job, getting at the engine innards to do it not so much.

I imagine they will have to pull the motor out in order to reseal the bed plate properly but I don't know yet. It would make sense to do the guides at the same time but its going to turn into one ugly bill. They don't even know how long it will take because there's no book value on it.

[Billfitz]

You'd replace both the guides and chain, and the tensioner. Nobody's really sure which of the three causes the chain to jump the sprockets, just that when one goes they all go.

[thejeremyman9]

Take a step back and evaluate the value of the car relative to the estimated repair cost. At some point, you might want to cut your losses. Also consider the potential for other issues once the car is taken apart to that level and reassembled.

[Excaliber]

Originally Posted by thejeremyman9

Take a step back and evaluate the value of the car relative to the estimated repair cost. At some point, you might want to cut your losses. Also consider the potential for other issues once the car is taken apart to that level and reassembled.

They where only able to give me a rough estimate because they don't know how much time and labour it will be until they get at it. My guess is anywhere between 5 to 10K for a bill (or more...) anything over that is pretty much at the value of the car at this point. If I do decide to fix it then I'll be selling it soon after, its a shame because I actually like the car.

[sspade]

Lets not forget about the FACT that you can get a low mileage used motor, with updated chains for $5,500 USD total including install.

[Excaliber]

I thought I'd leave an update on what happened to my N20 motor here, noticed I never left anything, I ended up taking the suggestion on this thread and after having talked with the shop they installed another motor with the updated guides/chains. It was cheaper and I figured it was better than dealing with my original motor being all torn apart (and it was higher mileage anyways)