Major Oil Leak

[mudchute 0]

Hi to all, I've come to plunder your knowledge on an oil leak on my 1.6 gti.

 

It really is a gusher! I've been cleaning, looking, running, cleaning, looking all day trying to find out where its coming from but it is so bad that it leaks so quickly then goes everywhere. It's getting picked up by the cam belt and flung around the whole drivers end of the engine.

 

The previous owner has replaced the crank seal plus the driveshaft seals (they're at the other engine of the negine obviously though but worth mentioning so I can only guess that it couldbe either rocker cover (gasket has been replaced though...) head gasket or cam seal?

 

Is there anything else behind the cam covers that it could be?

 

Is the oil pump situated at that end of the engine around the crank?

 

Is the oil feed to the head on the drivers side of the engine?

 

The dipstick tube is sealed and tight and the sump appears on too.

 

I'm probably going to take the head off and replace everything from that upwards and see how I get on. I can atleast then remove them as likely culprits.

 

What do you guys reckon?

[Tom Fenton 1,542]

It does sound bad. All I can suggest is the way I tackle them, plenty of degreaser and then jet wash the engine off, then once dry run it up and try and see where it comes from. If its as bad as it sounds you may find it is an oil gallery plug loose so it is oil leaking from the pressurised side of the system hence why it is so bad. I've never come across this, but it is not impossible.

[mudchute 0]

I tried the cleaning route but it leaks so quickly its impossible to tell. I would need to strip all the cam belt covers off then drive it to stand a chance but if I'm going that far into it then I thought I may as well just rpelace everything!

 

I'd concur that it is from the pressurised side of the oil system though considering the quantity of oil.

 

Do you or anyone else know about the oil system pathways on the drivers end of the engine?

[woodsy 0]

Best bet is to remove cambelt covers and run it without them and it should be easier to tell whats leaking then.As said probably cam seal, worst case could be the

oil feed from the corner of head but my money is on cams seal.Let us know how you get on mate.

[mudchute 0]

Cheers bud, will do! I'm going to start stripping it Friday so I'll hopefully have some clues after that.

 

This oil feed, which corner is that?

[lagonda 42]

Fairly certain Haynes manual has a diagram of the lubrication circuit, & yes, main feed from the oil pump comes up the block just behind the cam sprocket....so it's also possible your head gasket is feeble in that area....but I'd still check cam seal behind sprocket first.

 

I'd also check cam cover gasket, even if it's new. Check for splits, good seating & that mating areas are clean of old gasket & sealant. Also check there's nothing holding the cover slightly clear of the gasket...easiest done by removing the gasket & seeing how the cover sits without it...if I recall correctly, poorly fitted spray bar could stop cover seating.

Edited November 25, 2009 by lagonda

[Miles 331 1 Cars]

Just because the previous owner changed them doesn;t mean those parts are OK, I;ve had crankseals that don;t seal before so doube check em

[mudchute 0]

Ok, heads has come and is back on again.

 

I need to check something ref the bottom pulley though and which hole to use for timing.

 

 

Which one?

 

Also, the cam seal was less than diserable. In one piece but almost a loose fit in its housing so hopefully that was the culprit. However, I've been wanging the engine over about a million times by hand (spanner) and the side of the head is damp again, I'm hoping its spilt oil or something...

Edited November 27, 2009 by mudchute

[mickie 3]

copy cam seals dont work too well, i had loads of trouble with mine untill i bought a seal from the dealer

[johny105_y2k 1]

I've had a core plug loose in the past,

new one from peugeot not much, less than £5, it'd pushed it out but it'd cockled over so it looked quite secure give em all a tap whilst its off.

 

allthough it was the other end of the engine

 

good look with this

[2-Pugs 57]

The other place worth checking, if you haven't already, are the two oil pressure senders just near the alternator.

[mudchute 0]

Cheers for the help guys.

 

There are two core plugs on the drivers end of the heads, one above eachother. The top one is smaller than the lower one.

 

Does anyone know which one of these blocks of the oil gallery?

[mudchute 0]

Ok, quick update.

 

The head gasket, I'm certain wasn't the cause however the cam seal was less than desireable.

 

Upon pressing a teeny tiny screw driver into the seal to pry it out (Ikept away from the sacm surface and the housing to avoid scratching them) the smallest amount of pressure was enough to rotate it so its as if it had shrunk.

 

It is however still leaking although not as bad.

 

Next on the agenda is to replace everything that end of the engine. I'll repalce the seals with genuine items, reseal the alloy crank seal housing against the block and replace the core plugs on the drivers end of the head.

 

If that doesn't fix it then it must be cracked somewhere as there's now't else it can be!

[pug_ham 244 3 Cars]

OIl pump is in the sump so even if it was leaking it wouldn't be outside the engine.

 

One thing I've seen leaking badly is a dead oil pressure warnign light switch. Thats caused a good gush of oil out of the engine when it died.

 

This is on the drivers side end of the engine below the inlet manifold, its the smaller (non mushroom looking) sender with a single wire to it nearest the alternator.

 

I need to check something ref the bottom pulley though and which hole to use for timing.

 

 

Which one?

The one sat at about 5 o'clock, its also the only one you can fit a 10mm bolt through (starter bolt is the right size).

 

See also this topic for more pictures.

 

Graham.

[mudchute 0]

Cheer for the advice chap!

 

Well, I stripped it down again and found.....

 

 

...the cam seal rattling around the camshaft, out of its housing.

 

I've put a new genuine one in plus loctited it so hopefully it'll be sorted.

 

Grrr...