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[star_whites]

Just a quick question, Ive notices that recently I have a rather large oil leak down the front of my 2.0 auto. I havent had time to strip it down yet, but it appears to be coming out of the front of the engine.

The oil filter is covered in oil, however I dont think its leaking from there. Is it possible to check behind the cam belt covers without actually having to remove the cam belt.

I was thinking of removing the cam belt, however I dont have the cam locking tool to lock it off.

Would this oil leak cause the oil presure to drop as since the leak started the engine has started making louder tappeting noises, especially on start up. It does quieten down but is still quite loud.

Any suggestions welcome (other than scrap it or take it to a garage!!! lol)

[Kevin Wood]

An oil leak has to be very bad to affect the oil pressure so I don't think your two observations are linked.

I'd say it's worth taking the cam belt cover off to check if the belt is being contaminated with oil. If it's dry under there, you might be able to see behind the cam belt sprockets to the camshaft oil seals to see if they appear to be leaking. If not, it is likely to be the crankshaft front oil seal or possibly the oil pressure switch, the sump or oil pump gaskets.

If the cam belt is dry and the oil leak is not too severe, I'd say wait until the cam belt is due. If the cam belt is contaminated with oil it needs changing. Either way, combine it with a cam belt change, and once the belt is off do a little more stripping down to find the leak. Might as well change the camshaft and crankshaft oil seals while you're at it regardless of the location of the leak.

Check the breathers are clear too, as they can contribute to oil leaks.

Regarding the tappets, I'd say give it some fresh oil and filter first off, and see if that helps.

Kevin

[ELITE-3.0-V6]

If its leaking down the front then it could be a cam shaft seal or maybe even rocker cover gasket leaking...

Check you have oil in it because if its getting noisy then it may be low on oil...

Buy a decent engine oil flush and run the engine with this in until its hot then drain oil and replace with clean oil and a new filter it makes the world of difference to the sound of the engine..
At my work we use a flush called FORTE but can only be bought if your in the motor trade, we had a car that sounded like the tappets where going to fall out and after a flush with this and some new oil it sounded as good as new..
Maybe your engine is chugging around on the same oil for years and now the tappets are gunking up...

rob

[star_whites]

Sorry for the delay in replying.

I flushed the engine about 3 mths ago with a flush recommended by my local parts suppliers (usually their spot on), fitted new filter and filled with genuine vx oil. I also cleaned all the breather pipes and throttle housing due to other issues I had at the time. The oil leak is pretty new, and all the oil residue appears to be coming from the lower part of the engine, but saying that being in engineerign I know all to well how decieving oil leaks can be.

The timing belt was also changed 6 mths since when the head gasket was done.

I do keep checking the oil level, as Im having to put 1/2 litre in about every 14 days due to the leak and I have a nice oil pool on the drive.

I will go ahead with the oil change and will remove the timing belt cover and check under there for contamination.

What sort of job is it to change the cam shaft seals as never done this before??

[Kevin Wood]

Cam shaft seals are probably not too bad. Not done them on a 4 pot but generally, remove cam belt cover and belt, remove camshaft sprockets and cam belt backplate and then pull the seal out by screwing a self tapper or two into it. The new seal is then drifted into position using a suitably sized object. Will be easier with the cam cover off and it's an opportunity to change the cam cover gasket in case that's leaking.

Sounds like your leak is lower down, though. I'd giive the engine a good clean with some gunk or similar so you can see where the fresh oil is coming from. It's not uncommon for it to be something like the oil pressure switch, which is a piece of cake to change.

Kevin

[star_whites]

Thanks, will have a look and see what I find, if need be I will use the presure washer to clean it up a bit. I will let u know what I find.

[star_whites]

Well Ive removed the fan belt and timing cover and it was thick with oil. On further checking it appears that the oil is leaking from the rocker gasket at the front and is pouring down the front of the engine and is being spread around by the timing belts/pulleys.

Just to confirm Ive used the pressure washer to remove all the existing oil and it is all nice and clean, Ive also tightned the allen bolts on the front of the rocker and put it all back together, but the only down side is the eml light is now on the dash.

Ive taken it for a run to dry out and everything appears normal except for the light being on the dash.

Do you think this is down to it being washed and just needs a good dry out  :-?

[star_whites]

Oh also the tappet noise appears to be coming from the manifold area and not the tappets as I first thought.

Ive just had the rest of the exhaust replaced but I guess the manifold must be next!!

[Kevin Wood]

Exhaust manifold gasket is not an uncommon failure, sometimes accompanied by broken mounting studs

I would plan on replacing the cam cover gasket then, as tightening will probably only effect a temporary cure, if at all. If the timing belt has been oil contaminated I'd change that too for peace of mind. Not desperate but I wouldn't bank on it lasting full term if it's had a dousing in oil. Tensioners should be OK if you clean them up.

Kevin

[star_whites]

I'm going to order a new cam cover gasket & manifold gasket in the new year as soon as my vaux parts dept is open. however the timing belt will have to wait till feb due to having too good a christmas lol

What do u think has caused the eml light to come on, should I do the paperclip test and see what that comes up with??

[Abiton]

Have a look at my recent challenge http://www.omegaowners.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1196439410/0#0 if you've not seen it.  You may have suffered the same failure; exhaust gasket leak/broken stud caused, I think, by coolant escaping from the head-to-thermostat-housing seal.  You can see evidence of this in the piccie (reply #11), I believe.

Get a new gasket for the manifold/downpipe join, and new bolts for there, and new studs/nuts for manifold, and a new thermostat housing seal while you're at Vx, I came away with all of that lot, and a manifold gasket for just over £30 IIRC, a bargain.

Oh, you might want to wrestle the heatshield off and have a look before you go and spend anything!

[Kevin Wood]

Regarding the EML, double check that everything is plugged in to the correct places. Most likely a connector that's loose. If nothing is obvious, check for the fault codes and see what it's complaining about.

Kevin

[star_whites]

Ok heres the latest.

Ive just taken the car out and done about 15 miles to get the engine all dried out following the presure wash, however the eml is still on the dash.

On returning home Ive done the paperclip test and the only fault it is picking up is 0340 which I do believe is the Cam Sensor (Correct me if im wrong). Unfortunatly it is now pitch black outside and my torch is flat so its now going to have to wait till morning. Im guessing that me sticking the presure washer down the cam sensor area has either moved it or damaged the connection - would you say Im correct in saying this??  :-/