Oil leak?

[Captain Jack]

It was...

Cylinder £19+VAT
Gasket £15 + VAT
Temp sensor £15 +VAT

[mjb]

Gasket £15 + VAT

[Captain Jack]

Gasket £15 + VAT

Yeah, what I thought.... Pricey for what's basically a glorified rubber band.

[Captain Jack]

Gah, there's still an oil leak around that area somewhere. Little puddles developing again after a few thousand miles... Can't see where the *%&^ it could be coming from.. Grrr...

Going to clean it all up and see if I'll be able to trace it that way. Any other seals around that area that could be knackered? Seems to be coming from the edge of the head cover (the thing that sits between the rocker cover and and the crank case) but I really can't be sure.

Any other ideas?

[Captain Jack]

What is this rubber bit and why is it just hanging loose? It goes around the block



Could it be coming from betweek the injector seal?



The leak is quite small, i.e. it take a couple of thousand motorway miles before I see some evidence of it.

Also, while cleaning around there, I detached the intercooler hose and found that the insides had very noticeable traces of oil... is that normal?

[jasper5]

The rubber piece is part of the gasket for the camshaft block, ie, there are three parts: Cylinder head, camshaft block, and rocker cover (camcover).If you look again, you will see the gasket bulging out in a curve.

There is a gasket between each unit.

It will mean removing the camshaft and the block to replace the gasket, if you don't want the hassle or the cost, smear some silicon sealant around the camshaft block, this should seal it given that it's a tiny leak.Ideally, you should replace the gasket.

Oil in the intercooler pipe is normal.

[Captain Jack]

Thank Jasper. Silicon sealant, nice and easy!

Can you recommend any particular one?

[jasper5]

There is some stuff called Granville Instant Gasket, if you buy a tube (toothpaste tube size) get the clear type...it comes in different colours.

Smear it around the joint where the leak is, you don't need a vast amount, just enough to seal it without it looking a mess...clean it up first with brake cleaner or carb cleaner....whatever you have lying about that will clean oil from the surface.

I know it's a bit of a bodge, but it works on tiny leaks where there is no pressure on the joint, as I said , ideally replace the gasket.

Whenever I fit a new gasket of any kind, I use this sealer on the joint.

[puggy]

Well there ya go , ya learn something everyday , think i will put a tube of that
on me shopping list, sure i can find a use for it probably more so on some of
my rc plane engines

[Captain Jack]

As I am scheduling a timing belt change some time this month, is it worth getting the camshaft cover gasket replaced at the same time (how much more time will it take?)?

[jasper5]

If you are having the cambelt changed, this is definitely the best time to replace that cam cover gasket.

Although I haven't done one on that particular engine, another hour or so on top of the timing belt job should be about right, maybe two for someone not experienced.
Basically, it's a case of removing the cam box holding bolts and carefully lifting the cam box off, cleaning off the old gasket and fitting the new one (I would put a little silicon sealer on the gasket surfaces).If the camshaft is getting in the way of removing the cam box bolts, then it must be removed (very carefully), marking the position of the camshaft before removal.

On refitting the cam box, the bolts must be tightened to the correct torque setting and in the correct sequence as per cylinder head tightening.If the cam has been removed, then the cam bearing posts must be torqued to the correct setting and in sequence as well.

[Captain Jack]

Hm, OK.

I was hoping to get the garage do other things to the engine as well, like mounts (I think one of them is shot), bottom pulley (preventative), master clutch cylinder (pedal STILL sinking after slave cylinder replacement). And now, I also have this bloody gasket leaking. Actually, I am still not sure if that's where the oil is coming from but I guess this can be another preventative thing.

Going to be an expensive service...

[Bogbreath]

Just found this puddle on mine today while curing its flatspot. I thought maybe breather as it's quite a runny liquid. Not like i would have expected for an oil leak alone. I think I might give it a good ignoring for now!!

M.

[Captain Jack]

How annoying! The leak is STILL there. Both gaskets have now been done, including the vaccuum pump oil seals and the oil is still accumulating in that area!

The only thing I can think of now is that it's the injector seal that perished, causing the leak. I am still losing oil slowly and need to fill up every 5-6k miles.

Could this be an injector seal and is it easy to replace with DIY?

[puggy]

cj try running your finger underneath the air dozer (pictured ) and see if it is
covered in oil , if so just undo the 2 nuts and jubilee clip also the small vac pipe
that is attatched to it remove clean off all oil on the face that meets the metal
manifold silicon seal and see if that stops it ....