So the car's been leaking oil. It's nothing new. The car has leaked a little oil for the 9 years i've been driving it. But it started getting worse this past weekend. It would let out about a 6" diameter stain on my floor each time i parked it. So I checked the oil level and topped it off accordingly. Then i drove 4 hours and left it parked for the holiday weekend. No big deal. No leak as far as I could see. Drove it the 4 hours back home, parked it, and put a sheet of cardboard under it to show me new leaks. When i came home from work today, there was a puddle about 2 feet in diameter, centered under the back left side of the engine (from the front). The new oil splatter seems to come from the back of the engine, so I'm wondering if it's the rear cam seal. See the pictures and let me know what you think. . .

http://img28.imageshack.us/my.php?image=oilleak0016sd.jpg

http://img177.imageshack.us/my.php?image=oilleak0026vk.jpg

http://img177.imageshack.us/my.php?image=oilleak0045br.jpg

If it is your rear cam seal...

1) it can sometimes be determined by feeling its edges.

2) if you're worried about it blowing out, IPD sells a little band of metal, with fasteners, that will prevent it from being blown out altogether! Others on this list have improvised a home-made solution, essentially the same principle.

3) that seal usually fails because of high crankcase pressures, usually due to a blocked pathway involving the flame-trap (either the trap itself, or the oil trap beneath it, or the hoses between).

Good luck.

well, i have the retainer already. . .i think it's what's causing the specific spray pattern seen in the pictures. The flame trap and breather box are looking ok, too.

i'll have to pull off the retainer and check the edges.

I had a FRONT cam seal go and it spread oil in a similar pattern. Oil just gets everywhere after it leaks out.
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