ok.. last weekend i installed a new optispark on my car(95 Trans Am) ....

and now.. the car seems to be leaking oil from the front of the engine...

did i forget to install some kind of a gasket? i compared the old and new optispark.. and they looked almost exactly the same(no part came off of the car that didn't get a replacement or put back onto the car)

opti seal? i dunno...

please help me out.. and if you know of some gasket that goes there.. do you know the GM part number for it?

thx

 

it could be the opti seal. The only way to know is hop under and look.

 

The opti spark comes with 2 high temp o rings that keeps oil from leaking out... if u damaged the o rings some how.

The water pump you put back on... Did you check the o ring seals on its shaft? They may have been broken and fell off when u took off the pump... most likely

Then the next spot... and most unlikely
your leaking from the timing chain cover. Bolts that hold it on are loose.

Try using GM dye to locate the leak.. You can view the dye trail with ultra violet light.

 

mine leaked after my opti install... leaked for about 3 weeks then studdenly went away and it doesn't leak a drop of oil

 

I don't see how the o-rings on the opti have anything to do with oil control. They are inside the larger seal that is in the cover.

 

guys.. very helpful info...

the 2 o rings on the opti were in terriffic shape when in installed them...

but i don't know about the waterpump.... as a matter of fact, now that i think about it... the little sleeve that connects the water pump to it's drive pulley and has provisions for an o-ring did not have an o-ring on it when i reinstalled it


i'll start there..
thx a lot

 

no problem guy.. Make sure you use some O rings that resist high temp or they'll harden and break.

Shoebox.. I was hunting down an oil leak that was coming from the front of the car. I jacked the car up cleaned all the oil off then let the engine run... I watched oil come down from the optispark or water pump in a slow seep.
When i removed my water pump and opti (3 times cuz I made the mistake of using Autozones opti rebuild kit) I noticed the o rings on my opti were ripped.. they were in place but when i touched them they fell to pieces. They also had traces of oil on them.
That was 2 1/2 years ago so im trying to remember the exact look of the set up but Im sure the reason those orings are there is to keep oil in.. I dont see why else they would use them there then..??
I wonder if anyone has a diagram or inside pic of the opti shaft/connecting to the cam shaft. Be able to see it better instead of visualizing it.

 

We had the same problem.
Some people mentioned that the stock opti and stock opti seal in the timing cover form a groove over time and so they are matched. the new opti with the stock seal leaked but when we put in a new seal the leak went away.

Yours may stop leaking after you have some miles on the engine, this may allow the seal to seat on the new opti.
So, let it be for a bit before you tear it apart to change the seal and hopefully it stops leaking.

 

thx again

so there is such a thing as an opti seal.... ?? and it goes around the spot where the opti shaft goes into the timing cover?

 

Yep, it looks just like the crank seal, but a little larger.