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Dam good job on the rust repair man! I would suggest you take a good look at the valve cover gasket, harmonic balancer, and serpentine belt. I have a 2003 R50 and they all needed attention. Hard to tell in the pics you posted but you may have the same issues. My valve cover gasket was leaking on the side closest to the firewall. Made a mess on the back of the motor. The oil on the back of the motor could also be from someone changing the oil filter and not cleaning up after themselves...
Also, since you mentioned it , you definitely should buy another for yourself!
Thanks for the tips! I don't know how much more effort I'll put into this particular car since it's going to be driven by a 16yo and may end up banged up more than anything. I'll guess we'll see what really happens to it!
It did have some oil on the back as you described, so could be any of those things. If it keeps creeping, I'll look into the updates. At least valve cover gasket is pretty simple looking. I have an oil pan gasket, too, but I haven't yet been motivated to install it. I went with the crank sensor gasket first and hope for good results.
If I were to buy another, maybe an R53 would be in order! I'd definitely look for one whose life has been spent outside of Wisconsin!
Aaaand a check engine light... O2 sensors. Only took four hours to replace them.
Had to disassemble the cat from the exhaust so I could swivel it over enough to remove the aft sensor. Otherwise the wire is nearly touching the heat shield. Not getting it out without doing that.
Now it’s done. This fix was... challenging. Sure would have been easier to do this with the front subframe off. The last one finally threw up the white flag with a sensor socket, 1/2”-to-3/8” adapter, universal joint, 4x 1/2” extensions (one of them a wobbler) and an impact gun. Take that sensor!
I would suggest you take a good look at the valve cover gasket, harmonic balancer, and serpentine belt.
+1. Don't even bother looking at them, just replace. Especially the balancer - trash right out of the factory. Get an ATI if you can swing it.
Last but not least: rally stripes. It was necessary. And my daughter’s tag line.
Excellent, well done project! Are you leaving the LR corner matte black because "NOT NOR MAL" or is a quick mask and rattle can spray job in the offing?
Last edited by user 7389739; Aug 16, 2020 at 07:34 AM.
+1. Don't even bother looking at them, just replace. Especially the balancer - trash right out of the factory. Get an ATI if you can swing it.
Excellent, well done project! Are you leaving the LR corner matte black because "NOT NOR MAL" or is a quick mask and rattle can spray job in the offing?
thanks! The RR corner is matte black, too. . When I did the rust “repair”, I used spray bed liner to finish the area. You know, like when you use spray texture on a drywall project because you’re a suboptimal drywall guy. Same thing here.
, you definitely should buy another for yourself!
. When I did the rust “repair”, I used spray bed liner to finish the area. You know, like when you use spray texture on a drywall project because you’re a suboptimal drywall guy. Same thing here. 
