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Omega Help Area => Omega General Help => Topic started by: terry paget on 10 August 2014, 12:50:32

Title: 2.2 cam cover gasket gone - big breather tube blocked?
Post by: terry paget on 10 August 2014, 12:50:32
KR02 RSO 2.2 petrol manual saloon
Son Jonny complains his car engine is smoking. He confirms smoke is coming from LHS bottom of engine. Sounds like cam cover gasket gone, leaking oil onto exhaust manifold and pipe. I assume blocked breathers have caused gasket failure. Car runs and idles perfectly. Car is in Chippenham, 30 miles away. There is not much breather to get blocked apart from the vertical pipe from sump, is there?
Title: Re: 2.2 cam cover gasket gone - big breather tube blocked?
Post by: 4x4 on 10 August 2014, 12:54:11
There are breathers to throttle body which should be cleaned out etc,could be gasket wasnt fitted right and over tightened  :y
Title: Re: 2.2 cam cover gasket gone - big breather tube blocked?
Post by: terry paget on 10 August 2014, 14:00:59
Thanks. I am sure you are right. I was thinking that without an AICV there would not be a small breather, but of course there will always be one upstream of the throttle and one downstream of it. The small one is tricky on a 2 litre, and often blocked.
Title: Re: 2.2 cam cover gasket gone - big breather tube blocked?
Post by: terry paget on 12 August 2014, 21:27:49
Jonny brought the car over last night. After 10 minutes idling the engine began to spray out oil from the oil filler cap, suggesting small breather hole blocked. No sign of oil leak from cam cover gasket. Took engined end of small breather hose off and tried to blow through it - blocked. Removed induction track and small breather hose, and after a struggle pushed a wire through the small breather hole. Reassembled everything, idled for half an hour - no oil spraying out of oil filler cap - fault cured.

Coo, that was easy.
Title: Re: 2.2 cam cover gasket gone - big breather tube blocked?
Post by: flyer 0712 on 12 August 2014, 22:48:50
To check cam cover gasket...slide cover on centre top of engine..look into spark plug holes and see if they are full of oil...if so buy genuine vx gasket  and replace.. :y
Title: Re: 2.2 cam cover gasket gone - big breather tube blocked?
Post by: terry paget on 13 August 2014, 08:47:59
Thanks or that tip. Will do.
Title: Re: 2.2 cam cover gasket gone - big breather tube blocked?
Post by: terry paget on 13 August 2014, 09:47:45
Just checked. A little oil around 3 and 4, wells not full but enough oil in 4 to suck out. I conclude this came from the oil spray from the filler cap, not the cam cover gasket. I mopped it up and reassembled.

I wonder how long the plugs have been there? Mileage is 71000, I bought the car last year. Could they be original?

Title: Re: 2.2 cam cover gasket gone - big breather tube blocked?
Post by: JamesV6CDX on 13 August 2014, 10:39:04
Oil in plug wells will be from cam gasket and cam gasket only :y
Title: Re: 2.2 cam cover gasket gone - big breather tube blocked?
Post by: Steve B on 13 August 2014, 11:05:32
You have got to do all what it says in this guide. End of  :y

http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/index.php?topic=90528.0

Then go to VX and get a new cam cover gasket along with the O rings and some gunk  :y
Title: Re: 2.2 cam cover gasket gone - big breather tube blocked?
Post by: JamesV6CDX on 13 August 2014, 11:13:35
I have a new cam gasket here, you can have it for £15, pretty sure I have the o rings too :y
Title: Re: 2.2 cam cover gasket gone - big breather tube blocked?
Post by: terry paget on 13 August 2014, 12:45:41
Gentlemen, I thank you for your advice, and bow to your wisdom and experience. I did not mention that the oil was spraying out of the oil filler cap towards the rear of the engine. I did not watch it doing so for long, but from the amount of oil at the back of the engine quite a volume of oil had been thus expelled. Some will naturally have run off the cam cover into the centre and the ECOTEC plug cover, down the gap and into the plug holes. Only no.4 had any oil in, there was a bit on the side of no,3, nos. 1 & 2 were bone dry. I still reckon this oil is more likely to have come from the filler cap spray than the cam cover gasket.

Thanks for the guide to removing the throttle box on a 2.2 . I have changed cam cover gaskets before on 2.0s, and that did not involve removing the throttle boxes. There is a wiring harness that might be in the way, but I am not sure it is.
Title: Re: 2.2 cam cover gasket gone - big breather tube blocked?
Post by: Steve B on 13 August 2014, 13:02:12
Your removing the throttle body to do the breathers clean up and unblock  :y

then you will find you DO need a cam cover gasket......Why do you think oil was coming out of your filler cap .because your breathers are blocked.

Doing the guide is a must  :y

And if it was me i would grab the offer for £15 above.. Or VX are going to sting you for around £30 Without Trade card  :y
Title: Re: 2.2 cam cover gasket gone - big breather tube blocked?
Post by: terry paget on 13 August 2014, 15:34:54
Don't you think that the fact that oil was blowing out of the filler cap demonstrates that the cam cover gasket is intact?