Oil Leak - the source

[hiltow]

Hi,

My 1986 1.6GT appears to have developed a slight oil leak. Unfortunately, without access to an inspection pit or hoist it's impossible for me to find out where the likely source of the leak is likely to be, based on my description?

When I put my head inderneather the very front of the offside sill behind the front offside wheel and look towards the front of the car (i.e. towards the back of the sump) the oil is dripping off the very bottom of the back of the engine block at the right hand side (i.e. nearest the offside ). It's dripping off the slightly protruding bit of the block that sticks out from the facing where the sump bolts to the block. Seems to leaks more when the engine is running.

Obviously it's running down from somewhere that I can't get access to. A new rocker cover and gasket was fitted only last year and the car has been little used since then. New sump and gasket fitted the previous year.

I know it might sound daft, but has anyone else experienced this / is it a common problem at that location? Does anyone know where it could be coming from / how big of a job it is to fix?

Any help would be appreciated.

[GTXTRA]

had this with the valver - if definitely not rocker cover gasket or sump gasket it'll probably be intermediate shaft seal or camshaft oil seal.

i have also had a new rocker gasket catch on the cambelt and split which resulted in a leak too.

[PeteGLi]

I would say the oil seal on the intermediate shaft. To check, you will need to remove the cambelt covers.

[Nate]

start with cleaning the engine block. it's a lot easier to tell where it is coming from if the block isn't already covered in old oil leaks. you should be able to get a spray on water washable degreaser quite cheaply. just spray it over everything in sight, work it in a bit with an old paintbrush then hose it off.

using a mirror and looking from the top might be a bit easier to see, depending on where the leak is. if you do need to be underneath, stick 2 wheels on a high kerb to give you a bit more clearance.

[hiltow]

Cheers guys. Just one thing - if it's the intermediate shaft seal will it be a difficult (expensive) job to sort it out? Would it just involve stripping off the cam belt and pulleys to replace the seal?

[hiltow]

Managed to get a better look at whereabouts the leak seems to be coming from (see picture, taken looking up at the back of the engine).

Before I cleaned all the oil off, there was a drip of oil under the lip (at the point of the green arrow).

I ran the engine for a while and took the photograph. I seemed to be able to see fresh oil coming from the tiny gap (at the point of the red arrow) obscured by the grey hot air deflector.

Armed with this, can anyone advise on what needs to be done to fix it? Could it be that it's seeping out from between the cylinder head and the block??? There's none of the usual signs that the head gasket's gone (mayo). Looks like a very expensive job if it is. Can anyone shed any light?

The car's not been on the road and only started up occasionally during the last 9 months.

Cheers

[monzajake]

I would re-check the back rocker cover nuts, deffo the two working from the cam-shaft pully to the passenger side.
To me it would seem a lot of oil travel from the intermediate shaft plus it looks to high to be that.
Also worth checking the 1/2 moon seals on the rocker cover. These are found and either end of the rocker cover sides. It could be that the camshaft end one is not seated correctly or it could be damaged in some way.

[jonkennedy]

Managed to get a better look at whereabouts the leak seems to be coming from (see picture, taken looking up at the back of the engine).

Before I cleaned all the oil off, there was a drip of oil under the lip (at the point of the green arrow).

I ran the engine for a while and took the photograph. I seemed to be able to see fresh oil coming from the tiny gap (at the point of the red arrow) obscured by the grey hot air deflector.

Armed with this, can anyone advise on what needs to be done to fix it? Could it be that it's seeping out from between the cylinder head and the block??? There's none of the usual signs that the head gasket's gone (mayo). Looks like a very expensive job if it is. Can anyone shed any light?

The car's not been on the road and only started up occasionally during the last 9 months.

Cheers

i think i have the same problem
was / is it an easy fix ?