Following on from my crank shaft sensor post, I thought I start a new post that is related to my oil leak/cam cover gasket/possible head gasket issue... so that I’m not posting two different issues under one thread.
If coolant was getting into the combustion chamber I'm guessing it wouldn't run very smoothly....
People have reported running on 4 or 5 cylinders immediately after starting.
Theoretically, if the quantity of coolant in the cylinder exceeds the combustion chamber volume at TDC then hydraulic lock could result in a bent conrod. The coolant loss and other mysterious cooling ailments usually become impossible to ignore before that stage is reached though.
Right - so I have to keep an eye on the coolant level?
As the car won't be driven much at all over the Christmas period (especially with the faulty crank sensor which needs doing) - that may be difficult to diagnose.
I'm really hoping that it's an oil leak rather then coolant leak. :-/
Just to reiterate as in the other post – (I'm hope this is ok to post here - as this is a different issue from the crank sensor). 2002 2.6 CD Omega, 81K miles.
From where it looks like the oil (possibly coolant) has come from the back of the engine somewhere. I haven’t been able to get her up to see exactly where.
- I’ve checked under the oil filer cap and there is some mayo coating on the back of the neck of the filler tube.
- Dipstick oil is very clear however – but could have been changed recently – no bubbles.
- The coolant level does seem a little low however in the expansion tank – about half full.
- Car drives very smoothly though, nothing lumpy… didn't overheat on the 45min drive home (although I wasn't giving her loads of beans and it was a very cold day).
- Car isn’t smoking from the exhaust.
Is there anywhere I can look specifically to try to determine if it is the cam gaskets or otherwise?
And as previously asked – if there are any kind mechanics in the South East area that for a fee would be so kind as to look over the engine to see what this could be, my dad and I would be really grateful. (although understood that this would probably be after Christmas now).
Thanks again everyone.