Incontinence

[Fat Albert]

My old girl has always been a bit leaky, and apart from the cam cover I have always taken the view that a pint of oil every couple of weeks is much cheaper than actually trying to fix all the leaks

However, of late the leaks have become progressively worse so have been having a poke around underneath to see if I can see where it is all coming from, unfortunately in doing so I found a loose connection on my oil pressure sender and when I went to finger-tighten it the connection stud came off in my fingers...so if anyone has a spare or can point me in the direction of the cheapest new ones that would be appreciated, are they easy to change?

So, the two main leaks i have found are this one:

this is directly under the front main pulley and is a continuous stream when the engine is running, is this just the plate on the front or is it something more sinister like the front main seal?

The second one is from somewhere around where the filter screws in, I can see and feel lots of hot oil around there, but can't see where it is comeing from, any likely culprits that anyone can suggest?

What is the big 28mm bolt you can see below the pressure sender? I am not sure if it is weeping, or oil is driipping onto it from above...

She has a lot of miles to do this month as I have to run around having Christmas lunches with my clients, so in the short term I will just have to keep topping her up and carry a can in the boot and hope that it doesn't get catastrophic!

Any hints or tips would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Buddy]

First leak is from the front main or maybe one ( or both ) of the balance shaft seals. A case of change one change all otherwise you end up changing the others shortly after. Also check the rollers, tensioner and belts.

The whole pressure head sensor has a hexagon behind it so an open ended spanner is required sometimes you may find one of the cranked variety comes in useful as it's only a short range of movement so turn a few degrees change spanner, a bit of a fiddly job but not too bad unless your hand and arms are too large to get in there!

The 28mm hexagon if I remember correctly is the pressure limiting valve most likely oil is getting there from elsewhere such as the sensor.

The sensors can leak internally and so leak themselves.

Usual way of checking where the leak is will be to wash down and then start the engine but in your case I'd say fix the sensor then wash down etc.

 

[Mike_Pollock]

+1

(I started to write just about the same, went back to the OP and saw Buddy's!)

 

[Lowtimer]

*sigh*
Mine having been in the body shop since May, and never having previously shed a drop of oil in the year before that, I saw it up on the lift last week and it's started dropping a bit of oil from somewhere round the back of the engine. I'm hoping this a 'lack of use' issue that that might go away when the car goes back into service - might get it back end of next week or thereabouts.

 

[Fat Albert]

Thanks Chaps, I'll try and locate a new sender and see if that makes any difference, in the meantime I will just keep pouring the liquid gold in the top!

LT, you may find that a seal has dried out and shrunk a bit, and as you say with a bit of use it should clear up. As you know old aircraft are very prone to this, too long stuck in the back of a cold hangar does them no good at all.

 

[Buddy]

All seals need to be oiled and rotated regularly or as Albert says they dry out and a dry seal will have higher friction and so wear than one that is well lubricated a serious problem with "garage queens".

Same applies to the bearings too.

Even if my car isn't in use which is pretty rare, I try to have it started and warmed up once a week.

 

[sulzeruk]

Jeremy, if it is streaming out the front, I would say the crank seal is at fault. The balance belt shafts don't really get a huge amont of oil where as the crank pulley has the oil pump at the back of it. You are better getting all the seals changed when the belts are next done.
The oil pressure sender is a 24mm hex and a pain to get into. You can make a spanner up with a very tight angle to get in on its side.
There are lots of things to leak at the front corner of the engine. The turbo also has the oil cooler pipes which are a knightmare to get into the back one if it leaks. There is also the heat exchanger as well.
As stated, change the pressure sender and steam clean or degrease the area. Leave to dry and rn the engine to see where it is dripping from.
Alasdair

 

[Fat Albert]

Thanks for the info Alisdair

 

[nick_968]

You should be able to clean both areas in a few minutes with a hand pump spray filled with some brake cleaner. Then you will see where the leaks are coming from.