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[bestie26]

ive posted a couple of topics regarding my oil leak, unfortunatly iam no nearer finding the source, ive had the rocker gasket done - no leaks pots are dry as a bone .
today i stripped off the cambelt cover and all is good in there too no signs of anything leaking the belt looks in good nick as do the tensioners ect no contamination of oil on belt which is a plus i  also found that the date of the cambelt change was written on the inside of the cover, bonus as i didnt know when it was last changed , ive now around another 20k before its due (going on 40k intervals) ... but again iam stumped as to where the oil is coming from thats sitting on the plastic tray at the front, i re-assembled cover and put the car on the ramps and left running whilst looking for oil with a torch, again no visible signs of leaking as i cleaned everywhere 1st with a rag, then i noticed the rim of the oil filter where it seals to the housing was showing fresh oil, although i couldnt see it running down the filter or anything surely i shouldnt be able to see oil here if it has seated off properly? i changed the filter a mth ago in the hope it was that that was causing the oil leak so iam thinking now that maybe there is a "nick" or gouge in the filter housing where it seats off allowing oil to seep has anyone experienced this ? getting me a bit mad now as i cant pin point the source and although rainbows are nice the dont look pretty outside my house or on my drive

[V6 CDX-er]

Based upon the ifo that you have provided, I'd be inclined to think oil filter or it's housing as well.

I have a simular problem on my Land Rover.

[Kneepad]

You should'nt see fresh oil around the filter seal. When you last changed it is it possible you nicked the seal when putting the filter on.
A light smearing of oil on the seal should be used to stop it binding when screwing it on.

[bestie26]

i always smear a bit of oil on the seal before fitting iam thinking it points more to the housing than the filter itself as it was leaking oil before hand and i changed the filter to try cure it. you can just see the oil sat there where the filter butts up to the housing, could i have over tightened it maybe,?
cheers

[tunnie]

For the position of the oil you mention, the oil filter is the likely culprit. As when i do oil changes i get a bit of cardboard and put it in between the board and the engine, to filter oil out to a can underneath.

When was the oil last changed?

On 2.2's its dead easy, I can do an oil change without jacking the car up. There is no harm in giving it a change, in fact i find the 4pots really do like fresh oil, its much more noticeable when its fresh! I personally change mine every 3 to 4k.

Have you got access to trade club? Get yourself 4 for 3 on 5L 10/40 Semi Syth from Vaux, its £33+vat, oil filters are about £2, so for about a tenner you can eliminate this issue 

[edsomega]

Darth Loo Knee came down to do my cambelt and pointed out that I had a similar problem albeit on a much lesser scale by the sounds of things. He told me what is was most likely to be (something behind the cambelt cover I think - perhaps a sensor of some kind?) that has a tendency to go. I'm afraid I don't remember the name of it but perhaps worth asking him what the name of it is?

[tunnie]

Darth Loo Knee came down to do my cambelt and pointed out that I had a similar problem albeit on a much lesser scale by the sounds of things. He told me what is was most likely to be (something behind the cambelt cover I think - perhaps a sensor of some kind?) that has a tendency to go. I'm afraid I don't remember the name of it but perhaps worth asking him what the name of it is?

Most likely referring to the crank seal, i doubt that in this case its most likely the oil filter.

[bestie26]

i serviced it prob about a mth ago mainly to change the old filter in the hope a new one would cure the leak as my first port of call when i saw the leak was the oil filter but still no joy so i had the rocker gasket done still no joy if the crank seal had gone what signs would that show behind the timing belt cover would it be covered in oil behind there? a garage originally a mth ago opened my bonnet looked at oil sat on plastic tray and said crank seal and timing belt cos belt would now be contaminated with oil , when i took timing belt cover off today i couldnt find any signs of oil most definatly not on the belt does this rule out the crank seal? does anyone know if you can "overtighten" the oil filter knackering the rubber seal ? please say yes thats all it is

if there is something ive missed and the crank seal is the culprit can this be done without having to remove the timing belt or will i at least get away without having to buy a cambelt kit as i now know it was done 20k ago, obviously dont want to cut corners if it will later cost my dearly but i could really do without shelling out for the cambelt doing at the mo

craig

[tunnie]

how tight was it done? It should only ever be done by hand, and it really does not need to be mega tight.

If you put your hand behind the filter and rub your finger around the rim (ooo errr  ) - Are there traces of oil?

[Kneepad]

i always smear a bit of oil on the seal before fitting iam thinking it points more to the housing than the filter itself as it was leaking oil before hand and i changed the filter to try cure it. you can just see the oil sat there where the filter butts up to the housing, could i have over tightened it maybe,?
cheers

Yes, should only be hand tight. Overtightening will cause malformation of the seal.
You only have one option. New filter.

When the filters off, check the seal housing,  if only to convince yourself.

[bestie26]

umm maybe i was a bit giddy when tightening it  i just hoped that new filter ,tighter than the last would cure it , car shop again in the morn then and keep my fingers crossed after doing it up hand tight
ill update in the morn
thanks

you cant rub the oil with your finger but its definatly there visibly right where the seal and housing meet and you can scrape it out with finger nail if that makes sense

[symes]

My Mechanics teacher told me years ago-OIL on rubber seal then hand tight Then quarter turn. Hope that helps you get a clearer meaning.Many people over tighten filters.Once saw a mate tighten using a Strap-Told him that its meant for removal ONLY-He didn't know.

[Filth_Mobile_Jim]

Im confused, has your car got the metal spin on filter? Or ally housing then a paper element filter inside?

[bestie26]

hiya its the metal screw on type

[mrgreen]

put on a new filter and have a feel of the mating surface for any gouges sounds like it's just over tight.