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[Guinney1971]

hi all,

got back last week from taking 'Morticia' to France, and she was brilliant, and covered a total of 1915 miles in 12 days.

She only complained once, and I cant blame her, as we did the epic fail of hitting Paris at 5pm on a Friday night (and it was 28C) at that point.

We had the windows down and heater blasting to keep the engine temperature down below 90 degress (coolant level fine), but after an hour of crawling round the Paris ring road network, the EML came on, which had me panicking and having visions of breaking down in possibly the worst place you can think of.  We made it to a service area just outside Paris, filled up with LPG, and to our horror found out the oil leak, that seem to have dissapeared after James' visit a few weeks ago, had made a re-appearance       We got some oil (€49 for 5 litres!!!!!  ), and topped it up.  We restarted the car, the EML went out, and the car was fine after that, no more glitches or anything. 

We got some more 'stop leak' at a hypermarket, but it hasnt made any difference, and the car is continuing to leave its mark every time we stop somewhere.  I dont think its losing alot, as we've not had to put any more in it, but its annoying that its leaking oil again.  We had a quick feel around, and the camcover gasket feels dry, so its not coming from there.

Gonna see if I can get it booked in somewhere so that it can be put up on a ramp, engine cleaned off, and a thorough investigation carried out as to where the leak is coming from - unless anyone on here has any ideas?

[allen25]

Can be so difficult to find, am doing the same myself. Keep checking the oil level (first thing in the morning, obvious I know). Sometimes the leak is going on whilst you are driving so not always evident after standing. Best of luck!

[Guinney1971]

we always see it once the car is parked up, and it is a steady drip - obviously its nigh on impossible to check whilst the car is running/driving as we havent got a ramp or anyone brave enough to cling to the underside whilst I head towards the local speedbumps lol

[omega3000]

Stick a bit of cardboard underneath it overnight , might give some indication where its coming from 

[Marks DTM Calib]

I cant do this week but would be willing to give it a thorough look over for you in an attempt to try to discover the source..

[Guinney1971]

I can see where its leaking from, its the same as before.  Its dripping at the back of the engine where it meets the gearbox.
Cant understand why it was bone dry after James did breathers and cam cover gasket, and now its dripping again from the same place as before. 

[Sir Tigger KC]

I've wondered whether some oil leaks which are attributed to cam cover gaskets, are actually a core plug leaking? 

[Jimbob]

I've wondered whether some oil leaks which are attributed to cam cover gaskets, are actually a core plug leaking? 

iirc core plugs hold back water?   certainly did in my case.

[Entwood]

I can see where its leaking from, its the same as before.  Its dripping at the back of the engine where it meets the gearbox.
Cant understand why it was bone dry after James did breathers and cam cover gasket, and now its dripping again from the same place as before. 

If its dripping off the ends of the 2 bolts that just hang down a tad .. it really indicates "not a lot" as any leak from anywhere above seems to eventually reach those two bolts and drip ..

If you can get the car in the air, it might be worth cleaning down the back of the engine thoroughly with white spirit and a rag, you may then be able to see any leak as "fresh" ?? There are a couple of rubber bungs on mine, whip them out and see if there is any accumulated oil behind them That might indicate a rear crank seal.

[Guinney1971]

yep, it does drip from those two bolts, really weird because the leak went away after James did the work on it, then its mysteriously come back   

Cant get car in air as dont have a ramp, so will have to chat to a mate of mine who's got some garage contacts and see if someone can have a looksy for me.

Claire

[Elite Pete]

yep, it does drip from those two bolts, really weird because the leak went away after James did the work on it, then its mysteriously come back   

Cant get car in air as dont have a ramp, so will have to chat to a mate of mine who's got some garage contacts and see if someone can have a looksy for me.

Claire

Mark DTM has offered above and if he can't sort it out, no one can

[Guinney1971]

well thats very nice of Mark to offer - if its not putting him out, it would be nice to benefit from his expertise   

Claire

[Sir Tigger KC]

I've wondered whether some oil leaks which are attributed to cam cover gaskets, are actually a core plug leaking? 

iirc core plugs hold back water?   certainly did in my case.

Don't the oilways have core plugs too? 

[Vamps]

Not sure about the 2.0L but the 2.2 sump can become porous.....

[JamesV6CDX]

Just to add some clarification to the above..

The cam cover gasket was changed as a matter of course, (whilst under bonnet doing cambelt) rather than as a definite cause of any leak, just on the basis that it hadn't been done in.. forever.

The main breather (from engine block up to cam cover) was clear, but there was a huge amount of crud in the smaller breathers, eg into throttle body - did you manage to replace the deteriorated breather pipe we spoke about?

I would point out that (aside of fuel) the above work was done as a freebie, so I apologise if there was an additional leak I didn't have chance to spot.

To be honest, if a £500 motor has just taken you 2000 miles around europe on LPG, there's nothing serious wrong with it..