Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Chris G]

Hi,

I have a T reg 2.5V6 auto, and it's been dropping oil on the drive. I replaced the oil filler gasket which stopped a leak onto the rocker cover, but it's still dropping oil (about 1/4 litre a month I'd guess) from somewhere. The drip location varied so I removed the undertray, cleaned up all the oil I could find and waited. I now know the leak's on the passenger side of the engine, but I'm finding it hard to narrow it down.

The oil filter seems to be on tight enough, but I think the leak's near the front of the engine and it's getting onto the accessory belt, which is flinging it everywhere so it's hard to localise. It's a slow enough leak that I can't just run the engine and look for drips (or maybe I'm just not patient enough!)

One thing that's really odd though is that it will go for days without leaving a mark on the drive, then leave a puddle, even though it's driven every day. Also, if I check the level every day it will lose none for a while, then the level will drop. It's almost as though oil is only leaking when some system kicks in. It doesn't SEEM to be related to the aircon, though I'm not 100% sure I can rule that out.

Does anybody have any ideas before I give up and pay Vauxhall to have a look? I get the feeling they'll just strip everything out at vast expense and would at least like to tell them what I want done even if it's not something I want to have a go at myself.

Any suggestions welcome!

Chris

[philhoward]

You will probably get a flood of answers saying cam cover gasket..caused by blocked engine breathers.  Seems to be a pretty standard thing on V6's.

[JamesV6CDX]

Pull out a plug lead and see if there's any oil in the wells.

It could also be the oil cooler to block unions, have a look at them and nip up if necessary...

[feeutfo]

You will probably get a flood of answers saying cam cover gasket..caused by blocked engine breathers.  Seems to be a pretty standard thing on V6's.

Yep, well... Thats 2 so far.

[Chris G]

I did think of the cam cover gasket (first thing I tried) and there was oil on the LH cover, but that turned out to be from the oil filler gasket - I replaced that and it's completely dry up there now. I'll take a look at the oil cooler/block unions, but it's the intermittent nature of the leak that's puzzling me. I last cleaned the engine up a couple of days ago and nothing's come out since...

[v6coop]

Are you sure it's coming from the front of the engine? If it is I would have thought that it is most likely to be the crank or cam seals. If it could be coming from the back of the engine (usually drips off the two bolts on the bottom of the autobox bellhousing) then it could be the oil cooler pipes where they connect to the cooler in the middle of the 'V' of the cylinder heads. This would require removing all the induction hardware so more complicated if you are not familiar with that area. Have you had the car long? Has the oil cooler been replaced recently or have the heads been off for any reason?

[Chris G]

Not 100% it's coming from the front, no. Now I've got the undertray off most of it seems to gather under the rear, but there is still some oil on the aircon pipes at the front. Had the car since February so no idea what's been done previously.
If there's a leak from the oil cooler would all the oil go to the rear, or could some of it drip to the front?
I was hoping to avoid removing the induction system but may have to bite the bullet since all the replies I've had seem to be associated with stuff underneath it!

[v6coop]

OK so lets be a little more sytematic about this.

Firstly the most likely place to lose oil is the cam cover gaskests as James stated. I know you solved some leaking with the filler gasket (assume you mean the o ring on the filler neck) but have you tried removing one of the spark plug leads on the passenger side? If the cam  cover gasket is leaking it usually winds up filling the space around the spark plugs with oil and you can see this on the plug lead boots if you pull them out.

Secondly you checked the oil filter (worth checking again) but did you check the pipes that connect next to it. These run up to the oil cooler so if these are loose they will leak or if the connections at the cooler are leaking it could run down  these pipes. Take the nearside wheel off having put axle stands under the front and have a good look around this area. It could also run down the block at this point if the cam cover gasket is leaking in the lower back corner so check carefully.

You will definately get a better chance of checking these things out if you get the induction hardware out of the way but once it's off you need to be able to fix what you find so do it when you have time to get to a Vx garage to get parts if necessary.

If the cam cover gasket needs replacing so will the 'o' rings and the breather system will need to be cleaned out too. There is a maintenance guide about all of these. If you need a new cam gasket make sure they are not trying to sell you the whole cam cover with gaskets and 'o' rings as you probably don't need the cover if the breather system is cleaned up.

[bobbertbear]

i had that on the wifes car,turned out to be the head gasket leaking from an oil way to the outside edge of the head

[feeutfo]

Not 100% it's coming from the front, no. Now I've got the undertray off most of it seems to gather under the rear, but there is still some oil on the aircon pipes at the front. Had the car since February so no idea what's been done previously.
If there's a leak from the oil cooler would all the oil go to the rear, or could some of it drip to the front?
I was hoping to avoid removing the induction system but may have to bite the bullet since all the replies I've had seem to be associated with stuff underneath it!

You need to pull a plug, on both sides. Any oil your cam cover seals are leaking oil into the plug wells. It will also run down the side of the engine, usually on pass side for some reason, but not always. I have yet to lay eyes on an engine oil leak on here that was not cam cover or sump related. Oh, one on crank pulley seal, but you would know all about it if its that. Thats a bit of a sweeping statement tbh but you get my drift.
Pull some plug leads before you do anything else.
Then go from there. Hope helps.

.