Another oil leak thread....

[edmo27]

Ok....this is my first post...be gentle...

Mine is a 1992 Festiva L...all economy...no cool.

I had the regular oil pan leak, which I was able to take care of thanks to the wisdom of all here...(shorter pan bolts, no RTV..etc...)

Now, however, I've noticed a leak on the left (driver's side) of the engine. Seems to be running down from above and pooling on top of the transmission (manual transaxle)...if I didn't know better, I'd say it looks like it's coming from where the starter enters the block. OK, I don't know better...maybe it is. I haven't gotten a chance to tear into the thing yet, and I'd kind of like some idea of what I might be in for. Is there some sort of seal or gasket up there that might be causing the issue? I'd sure like to be able to park in a friend's driveway without the embarrassment of my car loosing half it's fluid volume all over....

[Zanzer]

Possibly the distributor o-ring. I've replaced a lot of them lately. They tend to get very brittle and leak. Plus at .99 cents and the ease of replacement it's good insurance

[Pu241]

^^
2X Zanzers post.

Use some carbie or brake cleaner and an old tooth brush (you need a new one anyway) and give the area around the distributor a good clean down to the starter area and you should be able to see where your leak is coming from.
Could be the valve cover gasket, but they usually manifest themselves as a leak over the exhaust manifold. My money is still on the distributor "o"-ring.