Hello, I was under the impression that my o-ring needed to b replaced since there was some oil under the dis cap and it continues to drip veryy slowly, yesterday however we found oil on the opposite side of the cover and also on the sides, my questions are:



If not changed, (the gasket) what are the possible damages(besides losing some oil) to engine components if any...and would you take a car like that on a trip from NY to FL.
also since oil is present around the gasket, is it safe to assume the o=ring is good and its the gasket that needs replacing.

How difficult is changing the gasket for a beginner slighty turning into moderate but nowhere close to expert or advanced. rate the job difficulty from 1 - 10

thanks

 

I forgot something important. I'd like to clean the sides of the engine of the oil that has leaked, do they sell some sort of spray or anything that would accomplish a better job than me just going at it with rags trying to reach into hard places?

 

Simple Green works pretty well. Got an old paint brush? You'll want the engine to be warm, but not real hot. Like 15 minutes after you turn it off.

Most stuff on the outside of the engine isn't really hurt by the oil, but it does make a black muddy mess. Oil getting into the timing belt (which is inside a plastic cover) would not be real good.

You may have more than one leak. Did you say oil coming from inside the distrbiutor? That would be the shaft seal inside the distributor.