Alxx Nova

This has started happening in the morning since the weather has gotten colder. Here’s how it goes …

Start up the car in the morning (1989 N/A 2.7). Sit in the driveway until the temp moves off the wide white bar at the bottom. Drive away keeping it below 2,500 rpm until reaching normal temp. Then I tend to get on it a bit. Around 2 miles from the house I smell oil burning and see a little smoke drifting up from under the hood. As much as I can remember this happens after downshifting from 5th to 3rd coming to a stoplight I always catch when it’s red.

Usually by the time I find a place to park it stops smoking. After it does it the first time it won’t do it again. Especially once the motor is warm. I haven’t left it anywhere long enough to fully cool down enough like it does over night. So this only happens in the morning.

After sitting since yesterday, it did it tonight as I took a quick run to a store. Lucky I was pulling into the parking lot. Not so lucky was the flash light with weak batteries. So I couldn’t see as much as I would have liked.

Here’s what I could see, it was leaking on the passenger side of the engine toward the rear. Just below the cam cover there looked to be a flat spot/pad with some numbers stamped on it that had oil on it. I could see a smoking oil spot the size of a quarter on the exhaust directly below that pad around where the header bolts up to the exhaust pipe. It doesn’t leak much oil at all. Only a few of teaspoons worth at most. Then it stops leaking as soon as the motors warmed up. Here’s a pic of an engine and the pad where it seems to be dripping from onto the exhaust circled in green.

Anyone ever have this problem where it stops once the car is at normal temps? Is this a common problem with a common fix? Or am I in for a headache? Tightening down the cam cover ever work? Any tips as in where to check other then the cam cover before I start taking things apart would be much appreciated.

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Alex Portanova
1989 944 N/A
1999 Chrysler 300M
1992 Harley FXSTC

yellowline

There's a gasket back there that commonly fails, on the back of the cam tower. It's <$10 to change it yourself, but it's a bit of a PITA to get to.

Yabo

Joel might be talking about the rear cam gasket, the 'hippo' gasket. That isa likely source, the bolts often loosen on their own. It's at teh very back of the cam tower.

KLR

You can feel around the bottom of this gasket to see if it is leaking. Just feel for the round plate on the back of the cam tower that is held on by three bolts, and then reach around and feel the bottom of it. This cork gasket is easy to change if it is leaking (you don't have to remove anything other than the round plate to get to it), but as alluded to above, it's a bit of a knuckle buster to reach and remove all three bolts.

Unfortunately, another likely cause of this leak is the gasket around the base of the cam tower itself. This requires removing the cam tower, which of course requires removing the TB. If you are due for a timing belt anyway (or close enough to it), this not much more work and would only add a couple of hours to the bill.

Alxx Nova

I thought I had heard something about the back of the cam cover leaking. I'm hoping that is what it is. More so since I just had the timing belt done around 1,500 miles ago. I was just getting ready to bring it back in to get the tension checked.

Rather do a knuckle buster then redo that timing belt after just paying for it during the summer.

Thanks.
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Alex Portanova
1989 944 N/A
1999 Chrysler 300M
1992 Harley FXSTC

Yummybud924

I have a leak too that I haven't had time to check yet. I"m putting it on ramps tomorrow, I'm hoping mine isn't the oil pan gasket..... I checked my oil seals (which I changed) and they don't seem to be leaking so I assumed it must be the oil pan (oil on crossmember).

I'd rather do the rear oil seal than a oil pan gasket.

tomrc

I have a cam tower leak also, happened shortly after replacing the head. Mine is in the front though and only leaks when the engine is warm, it sort of spits it out. I'm tackling that this Saturday. I think the gaskets you get in the gasket kits suck. I got a replacement from Paragon and it seems meatier in the right places.

Ghost944

i have the exact same problem. it only leaks when its cold because the oil pressure is higher. its dripping in the same spot except its neither the cork gasket or the camtower gasket for me.

Dave951M

As a first step, try just retightening the 3 bolts holding the cover on. That might be all it takes to stop this since you're saying it on leaks while cold. If that doesn't get it, get the gasket and be prepared to bark your knuckles a few times.

lleroyb

Sounds exactly like a cam tower gasket. Clean off the flat space where the engine number is and and above that to the cam tower. Start the engine. Let it idle until it comes up to temperature while watching the clean space for oil. At some point in the warm up cycle you should see where the oil is coming from. A mirror is helpful.

Lou

Alxx Nova

Just picked up a new one of those mirrors with the extendable arm and some degreaser. I'll be able to check it out on Sunday. I was looking at how tight it is back there, still hope it's that rear gasket over the cam tower.

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Alex Portanova
1989 944 N/A
1999 Chrysler 300M
1992 Harley FXSTC