# 96 altima gxe 2.4 with oil leaking from somewhere?



## fritcr (Jan 28, 2009)

My daughters Altima has started to leak oil from somewhere on the front (passenger side) of the engine. It has 150k on it. Runs great so it was time for an oil change. I have acces to a lift so I put it up there...took the splash shields off and then went and power washed the oil and grime off somewhat. Put it back on the lift and I can't for the life of me figure out where the oil is coming from. From the bottom looking up it is around where the front motor mount is bolted to the engine. It seems higher than the crank seal but also to the radiator side of the engine more. It had ran all down the side by the water pump and ac compressor. I messed around from top and bottom and can't figure out where it is coming from. I have done several searches and read for hours but still don't really know what it could be. I'm assuming something with the timing covers but what?
If it is the timing covers is there a writeup somewhere that I have not found on how to do this. I see lots of peeps saying it is a PITA. I have a lift and air but don't know what all needs to be done. The car also has the timing chain (rattleing sounds) I assume from the lower guide but man...i don't want to do that job. I'm getting lazy in my old age. 
Rob:newbie:


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## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

There are some common areas for leaks at the front of these engines; some are easy repairs and some are PITA. The easy ones are the valve cover gasket and the front crank seal. A leaking front crank seal will cause oil to hit the crank pully and be slung all over the place and oil will start to work down the edge of the oil pan, making some people think the oil pan gasket is leaking.

Under the PITA catagory, is the oil seperator and the front cover "O" seals, where the oil channels run from the front cover to the block (remember the oil pump is in the front cover on this engine). The oil sperator is hard to locate unless you know where it's located. It's bolted to the side of the front cover with three bolts and sits below the intake manifold. The PCV screws into it, which is attached to a hose. There was a TSB on this part for oil leaks due to insufficient RTV sealant used during assembly. For the oil channel "O" seals, the front cover has to be removed. The job itself is pretty straight forward. You should be able to get R&R instructions at the free repair guides at AutoZone Auto Parts Stores | Get In The Zone! | AutoZone.com. The problem is that you need to remove the crossmember and the front engine mount, meaning the only mount left will be the trans mount. When this happens, the engine tends to move forward toward the right side strut tower and the room you have to remove the cover is hardly enough to get the cover out. Having done dozens of these covers, I learned the a wooden 2X4, about 18" long +/-, can be inserted between the driveshaft/driveshaft support bracket and the control arm. As the engine is lowered, the board stops the engine from dropping and the engine will drop slightly toward the radiator. At this point, if done right, you have just enough room to R&R the front cover from the bottom. Since RTV is used for the front cover gasket, care must be used when installing the cover as to not disturb the sealant by catching the edge of the cover against something. 

As far as the chain rattle, it would be stupid to go through all of the work to remove the front cover and not address the chain rattle. The cause of the chain rattles typically begin due to sludge or debris in the channel to the oil-fed chain tensioner(s)...(remember, this has an upper and lower chain, thus two seperate tensioners). For the lower chain, the plastic, fixed-side guide should be replaced with the updated metal backed guide and bolts. For the oil tensioner, the tensioner needs to be removed as well as the oil filter and blown clear with brake or carb cleaner and compressed air. If the tension foot of the tensioner is grooved, the tensioner should be replaced. Chains rarely stretch on these engines. If you have the upper chain rattle, the noise can be eliminated by removing the two upper chain guides, as per a TSB for this issue. This, however, is also typically caused by sludge in teh oil channel. The oil port to the upper chain tensioner goes somewhere behind the timing idler gear, which is where the sludge tends to accumulate. To clear out this port. one would need to remove the idler gear and wipe out the sludge behind it. Then, the tensioner can be removed and blown clear the same as the lower oil channel. If you don't have upper chain noise, I wouldn't bother with it, as this definately makes the job a lot tougher. I would just remove the upper chain guides.


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## fritcr (Jan 28, 2009)

Oh wow...thanks for all of that info. I'm still researching and reading a lot of what you said. I didnt "think" it was the crank seal but also didn't really think about it slinging oil everwhere. It is/or was pretty much everywhere. I had read about the oil separator thing. Which I looked for a little while changing the oil the other day and never really found it. However that would put it somewhere alone the power steering pump and although there is some oil there but by far the most is in the midlde of the front and to the radiator side around the water pump area. That is where the most of the fresh oil was at. My daughter is 17 and does not have a job right now. Of course she is in HS so I'm trying to keep this little car going for her as best I can. I bought it for her when she turned 15 and she has been driving it since. I'm pretty handy with cars but this one kinda has me stumped. I don't want to take that front cover off if I don't have too. 
I'm afraid to mess with the cross member on it because it is rusted out bad where it bolts under the radiator. In fact there is a hole rusted in that brace just above the cross member. If it is the O ring thing I guess it will have to come off. While in there I would for sure want to fix the rattling chain. I have already removed the upper guide under the valve cover and put a new gasket there when we first bought it. Now, if I have to take this cover off do I also remove some of the other guides in there or must they stay/be replaced? I will clean out the oil ports as you say. The rattling noise is all low in the chain.
Rob


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