So I noticed a small oil leak after replacing my opti and waterpump. I was hoping it was just some dirty coolant that had run down the block, but no luck. I put a small dent in the new opti seal(preventative measure, stupid idea...) while making it flush, I thought it would be okay but this can be the only cause for the leak I can think of. I still don't see how a small dent or two in the front of the seal could cause an issue, maybe someone could enlighten me...

Basically I'm just venting though, because I was so happy to get it all back together and running and now I have to do EVERYTHING over again!

 

it could be the waterpump drive seal, if you replaced that. That is finicky to replace.

 

I doubt it, I ruined two of them before finding out the proper way to do it- so I was very careful putting the third one on. From what I can see, there isn't any oil on top of the opti either(although it is hard to see in there). It's just so frustrating that I have to do all of that over, and now I have to find a way not to drench the opti when I remove the water pump(any tips?).

 

Any time you bend a round seal, it is usually worthless.

 

Well, my engineer's logic was obviously flawed. I figured bending the top(part facing forward) wouldn't hurt anything- the outside edge would still be flush against the timing cover and the rubber on the inside would absorb the small amount of deflection that may have been created.

Anyway, that sucks. The worst part is I had it mostly in place with my rubber mallet and was getting so pissed I decided to use a metal hammer to make sure it was flush, which caused the problem. My impatience and eagerness to get it all together cost me another day's work!

Any tips on keeping the opti dry? Naturally, when I did this the first time(and what I thought would be the last) it didn't matter, but the thing did get completely soaked.