Heavy Oil Leak - Only When Running

[Guest shiftyshuffle]

I've recently been doing a lot of round-trips from Guildford to Brighton.

 

The day before yesterday I checked the oil level first thing in the morning and it showed up to the top marker. Last night I drove to Brighton (55 miles) and was pushed for time so 80 all the way, this morning checked the dipstick again and down to the bottom marker. Then look to find the whole underside caked in thick, black oil right up to the fuel-tank! The subframe is dripping with oil.

 

The sump plug leaks a bit when the oil is hot, maybe the 10w40 is thin enough to leak past. Why does it seem to throw out oil presumably whilst driving, especially at high speed? Where could it leak from (oil-filler pipe/engine seal?)

 

I knew it had a small leak but i've only begun to notice it more after these long runs. it's thrown out a litre of oil after 60-odd miles!

 

Help me track down the problem! Thanks, Rob

[Tom Fenton 1,542]

If you know the sump plug is leaking then get a new washer and fix this first. Then my advice is to degrease and jet wash the engine and sump, and then run the car to try and see where the oil is coming from.

[evojay71 0]

I can't see how a slightly wheeping drain plug would get oil on the pipe above in the pic,I'd check the oil pipes especially the one in the top pic above the sump. I'd be more enclined to say it's a split pipe and shouldn't be to hard to find by the amount of oil it's spewing out!

[westy 0]

is your dipstick all the way in?

[Guest shiftyshuffle]

yes a garage replaced the sump plug washer along with the diff/gearbox oil recently, they didn't notice anything unusual. the dipstick is all the way in. i've tried revving the engine whilst looking under the car and theres no obvious leaks.

 

where else apart from the filler-pipe and drain plug could oil spray out like this?

[djinuk 2]

could it be the spacer behind the oil filter, the one that your oil cooler connects onto,

[Fox 3]

The oil filter pipe (in photo) will be split at the top I'd imagine, This happened to me a while back.

 

I've still got a leak from somewhere though!

[Guest shiftyshuffle]

I've just tightened the sump bolts, I could easily nip them up about 1/4 turn each using a standard-length ratchet - would they perhaps have been too loose?

 

It's a 1.6 so no oil cooler. Topped up the oil too (mobil super s 10w40) so gonna drive it about and see what happens.

 

Thanks Rob

[Guest shiftyshuffle]

The hoses all seem to be in good condition with no obvious splits, I was surprised at the sheer amount of oil there is on the underside - I can see a spray pattern right up to the fuel tank with thick drips hanging from the fuel-lines and subframe, which is completley thick-black! Also in the crevice behind the sump looking up to the exhaust manifold - all covered in fresh oil.

 

There's no leaks when warm and standing or when revved hard so only thing is to give it a drive and see..

[samauty 0]

i had a very similar problem to this not too long ago on my 1.6 and it took me a bit to find it, because once id cleaned the engine up the oil didnt run down immediatly. it turned out it was the oil pressure sender. the plastic bit of the sender where the spade connector comes out had cracked and henced caused an oil leak. the harder the engine was revved, the more oil came out. its a bit difficult to get too, (back of the alternator). a replacement was about a fiver from my local motor factors.

just a thought anyway.

Sam

[kyepan 291]

your's paints a similar picture to mine. my sump / sump plug, and diff are all weeping slightly. I've fixed the oil filler, and breather, breather was split at the bottom which made it much better, also the filler hose was not on properly.

 

When oil gets on the driveshafts it sprays everywhere. take a dab of oil and smell it, if its transmission fluid it will smell sickly sweet,if its oil.. it won't.. then you know where it's coming from.. sniff a few dabs from different spots.. then follow the clean it see where the leak is advice.

[Cameron 16]

Just to throw in my opinion, I wouldn't go jet-washing your engine / bay. Get some brake cleaner from your local factors and that will remove all traces of oil (spray on, wipe off) without getting water in everywhere it shouldn't be. I'd say clean off the sump, hoses and as much of the block as you can reach then take it for a very short drive. If anything leaks then you'll be able to see where it comes from. If not, go for a longer drive until you can spot the leak.

Good luck!