Omega Owners Forum

Omega Help Area => Omega General Help => Topic started by: Joiner on 13 February 2013, 07:26:12

Title: Rocker cover gasket guide
Post by: Joiner on 13 February 2013, 07:26:12
Hi all,


Just wondering if there is a guide to change the rocker cover gaskets on OOF? Had a quick search and ca see losts of topics/posts but no guide as such.

Also, had a new NS Bosch coil pack fitted a couple of years ago and it is now showing signs of misfire (done the pedal trick). Is it likely to have died so soon or could this just be a contamination issue due to the leaky gasket on that side?

Cheers,  :y
Title: Re: Rocker cover gasket guide
Post by: PhilRich on 13 February 2013, 07:32:33
Seek and ye shall find ;) ;D
Coil packs are usually prematurely killed by either being baked in hot oil caused by cam cover leaks or else by water ingress from the scuttle.



http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/index.php?topic=90542.0
Title: Re: Rocker cover gasket guide
Post by: JayMV6 on 13 February 2013, 08:51:31
If your cam cover gaskets have leaked oil into the plug wells then this could cause a misfire too
Title: Re: Rocker cover gasket guide
Post by: Joiner on 13 February 2013, 15:12:50
Thanks all, I guess I will just have to strip a few things back to see just where the oil is coming from. Hopefully its just a case of contamination and fixing the leak and cleaning up the coil pack will resolve the problem. Knowing my luck though it'll be a new coil pack  ::)
Title: Re: Rocker cover gasket guide
Post by: scottambrose on 13 February 2013, 16:14:36
i had a bad misfire when my plug wells were full the misfires now gone, with new rocker gaskets
Title: Re: Rocker cover gasket guide
Post by: Tick Tock on 13 February 2013, 18:46:41
All six of my spark plugs were completly submerged in oil and the engine was still running as sweet as a nut...... routine maintenance and cleaning of breathers soon found that the cam cover gaskets needed doing, otherwise I would have been oblivious, and no doubt the car would have let me down sooner rather than later.

Obviously the rubber shields over the plugs do a good job of keeping the sparks flying, but always best to check.
Title: Re: Rocker cover gasket guide
Post by: Joiner on 14 February 2013, 19:57:21
Bit of a new development. I have seen mentions of keeping the breather system clear to help prevent gasket failure. Well today when I parked up outside I parked about six foot further back from where I was parked overnight. On the road where the engine bay was the night before was a few patches of emulsified oil like the mayo you get on the underside of the oil cap.

Does this indicate another problem such as excess crap in the breather system which could be the cause of the rocker gasket failure? I dont want to replace them only for them to last five minutes. Also, is this shi**y discharge normal or is it an indication of another problem?
Title: Re: Rocker cover gasket guide
Post by: Entwood on 14 February 2013, 20:00:30
Always clean the breathers properly when you do the cam cover gaskets .. you've got most of the bits off the car anyhow !!

And I always clean the breathers properly every other oil change ... but I change the oil every 5000 miles.

First clean is usually hard work as they've probably been neglected, so it takes a fair while. Once thats done, and you do them regularly it takes just a few minutes .. literally

If you don't keep them clean you'll be changing the gaskets again .... :(
Title: Re: Rocker cover gasket guide
Post by: ffcgary1 on 14 February 2013, 20:05:31
Mayo under the cap is fairly normal if the car does a lot of short journeys, but clean the breathers and cap and all will be good. please use only gen vx gaskets and o rings. gen vx oil is the best to use to minimise mayo under the cap. :y
Title: Re: Rocker cover gasket guide
Post by: Joiner on 14 February 2013, 20:05:46
Cheers chaps, is the discharge on the road normal though or is it a case of theres so much in the system theres nowhere left for it to go?
Title: Re: Rocker cover gasket guide
Post by: ffcgary1 on 14 February 2013, 20:09:05
mayo on the road is a bit of a concern if i have read that right. :o have you mayo on the dipstick or in the coolant bottle.?
Title: Re: Rocker cover gasket guide
Post by: Joiner on 14 February 2013, 20:11:49
mayo on the road is a bit of a concern if i have read that right. :o have you mayo on the dipstick or in the coolant bottle.?

Nope, you read that right.

Checked the dipstick and its completely clean as is the expansion bottle so I'm fairly happy to say its not a head gasket problem. I did however have a failed oil cooler a few months back which filled my coolant system with this crap. Related perhaps?
Title: Re: Rocker cover gasket guide
Post by: ffcgary1 on 15 February 2013, 16:18:57
Yes it could be related to the problem but the concern would be where is it coming from? It could be that the oil in the cooling pipes has destroyed a coolant hose and is forcing its way out or a seal has perished due to oil contamination, are you sure there is no trace of oil in the cooling system, i would flush the system again and add a low foam washing detergent to the cooling system then take it on a 20 min blast along a fast road somewhere and then drain and flush to get rid of the detergent untill the cooling system is clean but dont  add pink coolant  to the correct  50/50 mix untill the problem is detected or cures it. 
Hope this is of help, i did the washing liquid trick to my pals car after oil cooler failure and i had the first 70mph washing machine. ;D ;D
Title: Re: Rocker cover gasket guide
Post by: Abiton on 15 February 2013, 16:24:32
Discharge on the driveway could just be a breather hose come off from where it's meant to be attached, no? Or a split hose?
Title: Re: Rocker cover gasket guide
Post by: Joiner on 15 February 2013, 18:10:38
Discharge on the driveway could just be a breather hose come off from where it's meant to be attached, no? Or a split hose?

I'd like to think your right Abiton, i'll have to take a closer look. :y

 The breather system is in dire need of a clean it appears anyway. I took the four pipes off at the rear of the plenum today and they are full of crap. On the plus side my 2, 4, 6 coil pack is alive and well it would seem. Took it out today and pot #2 was full of p*ss coloured water for some strange reason ???

Borrowed er' indoors Turkey baster and sucked it all out ;D
Title: Re: Rocker cover gasket guide
Post by: symes on 15 February 2013, 18:27:51
Discharge on the driveway could just be a breather hose come off from where it's meant to be attached, no? Or a split hose?
or oil that sprayed out has dripped onto floor- cold/wet will leave mayo-spilt oil outside garage in dark-next  day -mayo so dont worry IMHO :y