# Common GA16i Oil Leaks?



## 89B12 (Sep 1, 2013)

1989 Sentra (B12) 1.6L 4-Speed Coupe -- 230k miles

Since buying this car and putting 30k+ miles on it, it's had a small oil leak on the distributor-end of the head. The bottom of the distributor stem isn't wet, but it has that "cakey" oil residue on it. The edge of the cylinder head, under the distributor, is a little wet, along with the bell housing on the four speed. There is an oil "trail" all the way down the bell housing, onto the front mount, and from there, it drips on the ground. It isn't leaking bad . . The engine is leaking and/or burning about 1.5 quarts at 5k mile change intervals.

I was curious if maybe it was common for the distributor o-ring seal to fail, or if it might be another common problem. It's really not that big of a deal, but if it's an easy fix, I'd like to tackle it.

The front and real seals are not leaking, nor is the oil pan. If I could track this leak down, that would solve my oil-drip issues.

Thanks.


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## dreamteam (Jul 29, 2005)

If you pull the dizzy you will find that it has a round rubber gasket that seals the shaft. I found a replacement for mine at the auto parts store. Bring your old one along for a good match-up.


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## 89B12 (Sep 1, 2013)

dreamteam said:


> If you pull the dizzy you will find that it has a round rubber gasket that seals the shaft. I found a replacement for mine at the auto parts store. Bring your old one along for a good match-up.


I may try that this weekend. Thanks!


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## BeyondBiscuits2 (Jan 18, 2006)

That is a very common problem. Another common oil leak is from the front main seal, so you may want to inspect that as well.


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## 89B12 (Sep 1, 2013)

BeyondBiscuits2 said:


> That is a very common problem. Another common oil leak is from the front main seal, so you may want to inspect that as well.


Thank you so much!

I feel that my front main has an intermittent leak, as a couple of times in the last year and a half, I've had a decent puddle of oil under that side of the car after a night of sitting. With my fingers crossed, I can say that I haven't noticed it in awhile and took on the mentality of leaving well enough alone.

However, after doing some work on a distributor on a Hardbody Z24, I noticed that this particular distributor shaft is notched where it meets its drive source, meaning there's only one way to install it.

Is the GA16i the distributor the same? This car is my iron-clad daily driver of over 70 miles, and I can't afford to get it "out of shape" over a mild oil leak.

I have been mechanicing around on lots of things through the years and have had lots of success with my repairs, but when working on my daily driver, I always have that "worst case scenario" in the back of my mind . . .

After I complete a head gasket job next week on my newly-purchased Hardbody, I will be looking into this o-ring.

Thanks again!


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## ahardb0dy (Nov 9, 2003)

My distributor was leaking on the inside, I replaced it with a new surplus one from OEM Surplus Parts At Giveaway Prices! was like $50 delivered, no idea if they have any left, I also had the front crank seal replaced twice, I did the valve cover gasket, and I had the oil pan gasket replaced, these are the spots that were leaking on my 90, no leaks now.


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## 89B12 (Sep 1, 2013)

ahardb0dy said:


> My distributor was leaking on the inside, I replaced it with a new surplus one from OEM Surplus Parts At Giveaway Prices! was like $50 delivered, no idea if they have any left, I also had the front crank seal replaced twice, I did the valve cover gasket, and I had the oil pan gasket replaced, these are the spots that were leaking on my 90, no leaks now.


Thanks for your input!

I had read something several months ago about the possibility of the distributor leaking on the inside. I thought back to last summer when I tuned up my car, I replaced the distributor cap and rotor . . I didn't see any evidence of oil inside of the unit, however I might've needed to dig a little deeper.

When I get this Hardbody running, I'm going to start with the o-ring. I have my fingers crossed in hopes that it's the culprit.


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## ahardb0dy (Nov 9, 2003)

hopefully your leak is from the outside of the distributor, mine wasn't and I could not find parts to repair mine, it was cheap to get the new surplus distributor from the link I posted, like $50 delivered and it included a new cap and rotor too.

I looked on that site today and they are still showing them available, but for $75 still cheap compared to the dealer, if you need to order one, e-mail them first, the guys name is Norman, good guy, ask if they can do better on the price, tell him Tony from Florida sent you there ( I have bought quite a bit from them, ! LOL),

what year hardbody? I had a 87 SE-V6 4x4 kingcab from new for 14 years !


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## 89B12 (Sep 1, 2013)

ahardb0dy said:


> hopefully your leak is from the outside of the distributor, mine wasn't and I could not find parts to repair mine, it was cheap to get the new surplus distributor from the link I posted, like $50 delivered and it included a new cap and rotor too.
> 
> I looked on that site today and they are still showing them available, but for $75 still cheap compared to the dealer, if you need to order one, e-mail them first, the guys name is Norman, good guy, ask if they can do better on the price, tell him Tony from Florida sent you there ( I have bought quite a bit from them, ! LOL),
> 
> what year hardbody? I had a 87 SE-V6 4x4 kingcab from new for 14 years !


Thanks again for the great info!

The Hardbody is an 86.5 with 327k. I bought it from a good friend, as it quit on him and he didn't have the resources to fix it. After replacing the crank angle sensor, I confirmed that the head gasket needed attention as well. I almost have it torn down . . . I just have so much going on right now!

Thanks, thanks again!


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## ahardb0dy (Nov 9, 2003)

Your Welcome !


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## 89B12 (Sep 1, 2013)

Was going to piddle around with the distributor, as I've finally found the time to fool with it. Sorry that it's been so long . . We've been working a lot, had a short family vacation, etc.

Anyway, I'm back!

So, while we were gone, my car sat for four days in the garage. I wiped the floor clean before we left so that I could get a detailed picture of what fluid(s) I'm losing.

Upon my return, there were four small spots on the floor. Two little spot(s) of oil, a few drops of antifreeze, and a small puddle of gas. I started the car to notice that the rubber feed line to the fuel filter was getting wet.

I proceded to tighten the clamp on the line while the car was running, laying a flashlight across the edge of the distributor. As I did, the car quit!

I removed the flashlight, finished tightening the line, and restarted the car. It cranked again as if nothing happened. I went back to the area where I laid the light, and it was across, what I believe to be, the ignition control module. I put my finger on the connector and the idle "dipped". I didn't let it quit. I then slightly pinched my fingers on a few places of the harness going to the ignition control module. Same problem . . The idle "dipped" and if I kept my fingers on either the connector or the harness, the car would quit.

I didn't continue on with my work on the oil leaks, as I didn't want to take any chances on messing up this fragile connection on my daily driver.

At first, I told myself that I would drive it until it quit, but I want to reach out to you guys and see what you think . . Sorry this is so long.

This car, as near as I can tell, has a completely unmolested wiring harness. It looks to be all factory, with no splices, bare wires, or problem areas.

Anyway, I'll label some questions so that it makes it easy for us to follow:

1) Where does the harness from the ignition control module go to?
2) Does that harness have any heat shrinks or factory splices that could've loosened?
3) The connection from the harness to the module is tight . . Could my movements be triggering a failing ignition control module?

I still haven't verified if my distributor has any oil on the inside or not. After I found this problem, I stopped where I was. If there is oil inside, as some of you have experienced, does it eventually start corrupting your ignition components?

Thanks for any insight! You guys are great!


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## ahardb0dy (Nov 9, 2003)

Are you talking about that grey part that is bolted to the bracket near the coil?

If pinching or moving the harness effects the idle, maybe it's got a dirty connection even though you said it was tight and secure. I would unplug it and check inside the plug, could be some corrosion.

I don't think those modules fail often but I did send one to a guy in Canada that couldn't find one locally a while ago.

This the part?, also check the mounting bolts as it appears this part hast to be grounded to function, :

More Information for AIRTEX / WELLS 6H1215


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## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

You could have a broken wire inside the wire insulation. Sometimes repeated flexing of a wire over time will cause the individual strands of the wire to break inside the wires insulation. If this is the case, the wire will need to be repaired. Cutting out the section and soldering the wire back together and insulating with heat-shrink wrap is the best method.


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## 89B12 (Sep 1, 2013)

ahardb0dy said:


> Are you talking about that grey part that is bolted to the bracket near the coil?
> 
> If pinching or moving the harness effects the idle, maybe it's got a dirty connection even though you said it was tight and secure. I would unplug it and check inside the plug, could be some corrosion.
> 
> ...


Thanks!

Yes, the link you provided is the part that I've referenced the harness in-question plugs into.

I have my fingers crossed that a head bolt torquing and valve cover installation has my Hardbody on the road. If it does, I am going to delve into this problem with my Sentra. I'm seriously debating on dishing out $75 for the surplus distributor you referenced and just installing it to hopefully solve all of the car's ailments. Does that distributor include that module?


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## 89B12 (Sep 1, 2013)

smj999smj said:


> You could have a broken wire inside the wire insulation. Sometimes repeated flexing of a wire over time will cause the individual strands of the wire to break inside the wires insulation. If this is the case, the wire will need to be repaired. Cutting out the section and soldering the wire back together and insulating with heat-shrink wrap is the best method.


Thanks!

A bad wire is what worries me the most . . I dread tracking that thing down if that is indeed the issue. Hopefully it's just a dirty connection . . . :jump:


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## 89B12 (Sep 1, 2013)

Update ::

Well, I know it's been awhile . . Having gone through Thanksgiving and what-not. However, I believe I have repaired my distributor/wiring issues.

I removed the distributor cap and noticed oil inside of the distributor. This pointed to an internal leak, so I removed the distributor to clean the affected area and await a new unit. With the distributor removed and while cleaning the cylinder head and block area, my work light illuminated a glimpse of something copper-colored. I then inspected the ignition module harness I spoke of previously and noticed that there was about an inch of good wire on each of the 4 coming out of the distributor-end of the plug, while about six inches was burnt and crispy looking. I took my pocket knife and trimmed away some of the crispified remains to find that all four of those wires had somehow arched and "molded" themselves together. I was absolutely astonished this thing was even running.

I cut out the bad section of wiring, getting quite a way back into some good wire, and extended the harness so that it wouldn't have to lie on the intake manifold. I'm not sure what caused mine to become bare and in-contact with each other, as all of the area I was working on seemed to have never been tampered with. It's my belief that 24 years of warming up and cooling down every day, not to mention all of the other environmental factors, is what broke down the insulation and caused this issue.

However, with the new distributor installed and harness repaired, she's purring like a kitten again. After 2k miles since the repairs, I haven't noticed it leaking, either.

Thanks y'all!


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