Sigma-galant.com

Hey guys
my galant has an oil consumption issue, with oil dissappearing very quick, i narrowed it down to, pressure build up in the sump and coming out the sump gasket, and at the automatic bellhousing, right at the top behind the motor, there seem to be a fair amount of build up coming from the two areas, mainly on the sump guard, and bellhousing and down the left side of the motor (if standing infront of the car looking into the engine bay). does anyone know if you can buy new gaskets to do the sump and bellhousing? we just replaced the head gasket as thats were we thought the leak was from. can anyone help????
Cheers
Tom

A little more information is helpful Tom.
For starters exactly what type of car you have (just to jog the memory for those who don't remember).
You have this GC galant wagon http://www.sigma-galant.com/viewtopic.p ... 948#p74948?

Now, as far as you problem goes:

JRGC94 wrote:i narrowed it down to, pressure build up in the sump and coming out the sump gasket

If your crankcase is pressurised, it is most likely worn rings/bores.
What condition were the bores in when you changed the head gasket? Were there lips on the top of the bores?

Yes you can buy gaskets. They are even on ebay, or you can order them in at your local parts shop if they don't have them.

Dave...

thats the beast i own , the bores were pretty nice, almost new (95,000km hasn't done much damage) there was lips at the top, but my father told me there was nothing we could do about them, if we had the money we'd get it re bored, i check the sump bolts today, and nipped them all up a bit, i also found a sump gasket at my local autopro, so i'll get it on monday. and i was told theres no gasket between the bellhousing and the motor, is this correct? but i was told theres a seal at the front of the torque converter, and between the motor. the gearbox is the original 3spd auto, as far as i can find its Borgwarner 03-55L, can anyone confirm this?

JRGC94 wrote:Hey guys
my galant has an oil consumption issue, with oil dissappearing very quick, i narrowed it down to, pressure build up in the sump and coming out the sump gasket, and at the automatic bellhousing, right at the top behind the motor, there seem to be a fair amount of build up coming from the two areas, mainly on the sump guard, and bellhousing and down the left side of the motor (if standing infront of the car looking into the engine bay). does anyone know if you can buy new gaskets to do the sump and bellhousing? we just replaced the head gasket as thats were we thought the leak was from. can anyone help????
Cheers
Tom

If it is pressurizing the crank case and burning oil those symptoms as stated above would point to worn piston rings yes this would require a rebuild to fix the problem , if you are not sure what oil is leaking out out at the bell housing be it trans oil or engine oil one way to check this would be get under the car with a few cans of degreaser make shure it is spotless to get rid of all the road grime dirt whatever let it dry then just leave the car running for a 1/2 hour or take it for a short drive then put the vehicle back up on jack stands or ramps what ever you have.

Inspect the oil leaking if it is reddish or a light brown reddish colour that is trans oil leaking out the front seal if it is black engine oil then you know it is leaking from rear main / sump if the black engine oil smells like fuel you have blow by which means that the oil is being contaminated with fuel from the combustion chamber due to worn rings another way to confirm this is pull the dip stick out while the engine is running and place your thumb over it if your thumb gets forced off the hole due to pressure this is blow by the gases are leaking past the piston rings and pressurizing the crank case , this condition can be made worse by faulty or blocked PCV's these are systems on the engine designed to recycle crank case fumes back in to the inlet to be burnt thereby helping fuel consumption and emissions the most basic system would be a hose coming from the rocker cover in to the air cleaner assembly.

A SMALL amount of engine oil Weaping from the rocker cover is normal ,it is possible for the oil to be leaking out of the rocker cover to be traveling down the side of the block giving the impression that the sump and or rear main may be leaking , also if the front timming cover is leaking as you drive the engine fan spinning can blow oil along the side of the motor and it may seam as if the sump is leaking oil when infact it is just being blown along the side of the motor .

I hope this helps you or any one diagnose there oil leaks good luck with it.

JRGC94 wrote:thats the beast i own , the bores were pretty nice, almost new (95,000km hasn't done much damage) there was lips at the top, but my father told me there was nothing we could do about them, if we had the money we'd get it re bored, i check the sump bolts today, and nipped them all up a bit, i also found a sump gasket at my local autopro, so i'll get it on monday. and i was told theres no gasket between the bellhousing and the motor, is this correct? but i was told theres a seal at the front of the torque converter, and between the motor. the gearbox is the original 3spd auto, as far as i can find its Borgwarner 03-55L, can anyone confirm this?

There bores shouldn't look shiny and there should be no noticeable lip ie you shouldn't be able to feel it this is evidence or worn bores and yes he is right the only way to rectify the problem would be and engine rebuild, i am not sure what type of gasket your motor would have but tightening up the sump bolts can do more harm then good unless or course they are loose ie finger tight over tightening can split gaskets, cork gaskets especially don't like being over tightened check the torque specs in the manual.
No there is no gasket between the engine and gearbox, when you do replace the sump gasket just like painting prep is key you will need to clean all of the old gasket of the sump and engine block some sand paper and a scraper can come in handy and have a can or degrease or throttle body cleaner on hand with a clean rag.

hope this helps

Something else to check ... the fuel pumps on Saturn motors are renowned for leaking oil all over the side of the block , either through the breather hole on the pump if the diaphragm is worn, or past the bakelite spacer if it's cracked.... but although it's messy it isn't a great volume.