One step up and two steps back.... Front seal leaking

[dgcantrell]

Well. The 88 S is up and running nicely. I still need to flush the coolant a couple of more times and the oil at least one more time as it's a little milky. Had it running for about 20 minutes this evening. All of the little ticks of the valve train went away when it finally go warm. Let it idle most of the time but revved it up to cruising RPM for about a minute or so. I decided I needed to take a peak on the underside to check for drips. Well.. I effin' found one.. Right on the main seal... Dammit. Might was well do the balance shaft seals while I'm in there.



Yeah the oil is a little milky and I'll drain it and refill it with more fresh when I do the seals next week sometime. Dammit, I was so hoping I was done with the major engine stuff and start working on the small things. Plus I think I'm hearing a small exhaust leak down at the lower header connection.

[mytrplseven]

It just keeps raining, doesn't it? My resto on the '86 951: things just keep popping up when I think I'm gettin close to completion. I feel your pain.

[John_AZ]

what is the silver seal on the left?

[dgcantrell]

It's RTV. Apparently the pan and head have been off this engine at some point. Whomever did the work, got a little carried away with the RTV. It's a light blueish color though. I've seen RTV in that flavor before. They used red RTV up top though.

[John_AZ]

I did guess what it was.

More important, the usual repair if you get a mix of oil and water is to replace the head gasket(edit) OR if you are lucky, it could be the oil cooler seals------------------then replace the rod bearings because antifreeze eats the coating on the rod bearings.

GL
J_AZ

[dgcantrell]

It was the oil cooler. I repaired the small hole in the element that was located right next to the round mounts that hold the shims with JB Weld but it popped another one in it when I fired it up because it blew the oil filter seal. I think a combination of making the mistake of using a plastic (and undersized) OPRV alignment tool and the crappy element was the culprit. The JB Weld held. It just popped another hole somewhere deep in the element that is inaccessible. I rounded up another good element and pressure tested it. Bought a PORSCHE alignment tool with measures correctly. Now it's just a process of getting it all cleaned back out again.

I think I may be safe on the rod bearings though. When it popped the oil cooler on the first repair, it had only run for maybe 3 minutes. I promptly drained all the coolant and oil from the engine. When I refilled it again after getting it all back together with a good element, I just filled it with water. No antifreeze this time. Not going to waste it on flushing the system. I will keep an eye on it though.