Oil leak onto drivers driveshaft...

[serth]

Evening all,

So I've had an oil leak onto the driver's side drive shaft that I've thought was just the CV boot coming loose, but after giving it a good prod with a stick, its still in place fine. There is oil spattered up the back of the engine bay (behind the manifold) which is why i thought it was driveshaft, but apparently not.

To make matters worse, I've recently noticed a noise not too dissimilar to someone tapping a pencil on a table, or a very small cow bell, coming from down by the drivers front wheel. Only noticeable when the engine is under strain i.e. pulling away from when stationary. Not there when idling, doesnt matter whether I rev it or not.

I have recently changed RCG with a genuine Ford item so I know that is fine. Fluid levels seem to be relatively ok, I've topped up the oil once in 4 months, but i figured that was because the engine hadn't been run for 8 months before i put it in my car and filled it up.

I've read about an elusive bolt behind the cambelt cover which can come loose and oil can seep from here. However, there is no oil on my aux belt, and no oil on the wishbones etc where I thought it would seep to.

Whole front end suspension set up is fine and all parts are new (wishbones, all bushes, coilovers, drop links) so I don't think that could be an issue.

Any ideas? It's a Mk5 Fiesta with the puma lump in it but i doubt that will make a difference to symptoms.

 

[trublustu]

I`m not sure which "bolt behind the cover" you are referring to. I have a half stripped engine on my workbench at the mo and I`m not sure what you mean.
What could be peeing oil out (other than the crank seal) is the little blanking plug (10mm bolt head) which is on the rear of the engine just near the crankshaft pulley. or possibly you could have power steering fluid leaking, this is in the same area.
As for the noise, you may have a collapsed bearing somewhere. jack it up, turn wheel and listen to see if you can find where its coming from.
this is the timing pin blanking plug

timing pin blanking plug

• trublustu
• Sep 29, 2014

 

[xztraz]

I had a leaking blanking plug

Thread about it
http://www.projectpuma.com/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=23574" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Did you use silicone in the sharp corners of the rocker cover gasket?


Clean the engine and just let it run on idle for a while to see if you can trace the leak a bit better.

 

[serth]

Thanks for the info mate. I'm guessing I have to remove the belt and something else to even gain access to that part?

I might just prise off the top cover of the cam belt cover and see if there is any oil scattered around on the actual belt.

Rocker cover gasket I fitted with gasket seal, which I have been told isn't the correct thing to do but for peace of mind, i thought why the hell not - there was evidence of old seal on there too. I scraped all of the old seal away mind!

Need to inspect that side of the car due to a suspected wheel bearing issue so I'll report back once i've dug deeper.

 

[xztraz]

The plug is quite inaccessible yes.. you basically need to do a cam belt change to access it.

Try to trace if the leak is from the inside of the cam cover or outside. cleaning the engine is a good start

And as you said. Check inside cam belt top cover for oil traces. i had some small traces on the belt itself but nothing scattered i the top part.

Take some pictures! (upload to imgur or something)


I used gasket sealant on my whole top cover seal. not a trace of oil leaking.

 

[serth]

Sorry for delayed reply all, spent a fair whack of time under the car today to cure an annoying mettalic rattling nosie (was driveshaft bracket which had come loose, so thankfully a free fix)!

Whilst I was out with the car, I removed the top 4 screws of the cambelt cover/case - the only 4 I could access, and pulled it as far back as i could. There was a fair amount of residue all around the case, although the pulleys looked fine, and the belt looked clean too). I remember cleaning this cambelt cover when I bought it from a scrappy (as my old one had been broken into two by the previous owner which I thought was sloppy but now I realise it could be for easier access).

Another issue I've had is that I had a whirring noise coming from what I thought was the gearbox, so I topped it up with fluid (0.7L, can't fix it yet), went out for a drive but was disheartened that I had'nt solved the problem. On a bend I noticed my oil light flash on for 1 second, and after crapping myself, stopped and checked the dipstick, cleaned the residue off it and checked the level and it came back up clean. Straight to halfords and got some oil, it took all 2litres. Noise has gone so I'm hoping that I caught it just in time.

No smoke and no mayo so It's not mixing with coolant or getting burnt off, so it must be a leak.

xztraz, am I right in thinking that the cambelt MUST be removed to even check this blinking blanking plug? I looked at your photos, and this one:

looks like you have removed the crank pulley and the bung is located behind that, am i right?

Car is due MOT soon so for peace of mind I might get the garage to check over it, but if the cambelt has to be removed, I might as well change the camshafts and get the head ported at the same time, which has been a plan of mine for a while now.

 

[xztraz]

I'm not sure you need to take the actual cam belt of to see the plug. but the cam belt cover top part need to go and i guess aux belt and some pulleys possibly the engine mount.

I found the leak after I've traced it to be under he cam belt cover somewhere and started a cam belt change since mine was oily anyway. and when i had it all opened i saw the leaking plug.

I'm quite sure you don't need to remove all the stuff but if you trace the leak to be from inside cam belt cover. why not do the cam belt at once and if there is a plug leak it won't cost anything extra. other possible leaks from inside cam belt cover is crank seal and cam seals. also an o ring on the vct pulley plug.

I would start cleaning the engine properly to trace it better or just start ripping it apart. Is the rattling at some specific rpm in or out of gear? could be the plug on its way out since you seem to leak quite a deal of oil?

 

[serth]

Thanks for your reply, this has instilled a little more faith in the car for me! The rattling noise was cured by securing the driveshaft bracket.

I'm going to be fitting a polybushed torque mount this weekend so I will see if I can get the top mount off and access the cambelt region a bit better with the engine at an angle. Do you know what size socket the top mount would be (for the big 'valve' type nut, not the 3 smaller ones).

Let's hope its easily fixed as I don't want to fork out another £250 for a cambelt change I could buy another engine for that!

 

[trublustu]

I`m not sure of it`s size, bloody big!
But...
It`s not very tight. I use a pair of plumbers waterpump pliers..

 

[xztraz]

If you don't plan to do a cam belt change anyway. start with cleaning the engine and make sure it's from the cam belt cover. could be something else.

 

[serth]

Cheers for all the assistance fellas.

Someone has mentioned to me that there is a hole in the area where I think the leak is coming from, where you put a pin to lock the crank in place when doing a cambelt change. He thinks that the screw/bolt or whatever normally sits in this hole wasn't replaced after the last belt change, or has worked it's self loose. Does anyone have any idea what/where this is located? Or is this what trublustu was referring to in his picture above?

If this is the culprit, then I can head on down to Frauds and get a part and replace it myself. I've taken a load of pictures of the back of the engine from loads of different angles and I can't seem to see this plug. The oil never leaks when the car is stationary either, there are no oil marks on the drive, so I assume it only comes out when the engine is running and under load?

 

[serth]

As you can see, the plug is actually in place (as suggested to look at by trublustu), but you can see how bad and localised the leak is. Oil is spattered up the back of the engine onto the firewall and all over the exhast manifold. Seems to be coming from this region rather than behind the cam belt region.

Don't have a pressure washer to wash the crud off and then get back under and examine, which is a PITA.

 

[serth]

Anybody? Getting desperate here

 

[trublustu]

Hi Serth..
Hows your P/S fluid?
My motor was thick with shite in this region and I thought The main crank oil seal had gone. But inside the cover was spotless.
The only thing I can think it was is power steering fluid as now the P/S is gone (trackday car) I am no longer collecting crud.
Give it a clean off with paraffin or petrol and a paintbrush and try to see where the fresh oil is showing.
Stu..

 

[serth]

cheers Stu. I think that's what I'm going to have to do, just get it all off by hand as I can't get a pressure washer on it here (unless I go to a hand car wash and stick the jet down through the engine bay...!)

Power steering fluid is fine, not needed to top it up at all... unlike the oil level!

Might take it to halfords auto centre just to see whether they can diagnose the leak and give me an idea of a price to fix it. I doubt I'll use them but would be good to get peace of mind etc!

 

[trublustu]

If you`re using engine oil, then that is probably the culprit.
You`ll be surprised how well the crud shifts with some 4* and a brush. Make sure you have a tarp/board down or your drive will look like Steptoes...
As has been said in a few posts to really find out you need to get right into the timing belt cover. No mean feat, especiially when you look at how much room there is in there.
Plus the lower cover is a absolute pig to undo.
try the clean-up first, it`ll give you an idea of whats up..

 

[serth]

Thanks Stu. I'm getting so fed up with this that I'm tempted to get into it good and propper, take off the strut brace, drop the engine (and change inner CV boot whilst I'm at it), and take all the covers off. The garage would have to do the same just to inspect so I think this is probably the next best step

Can you clarify what you meant in your first sentance though? What's probably the culprit?

 

[trublustu]

The engine oil, if its using the black stuff and you have a crud infestation. That's probably where its coming from..
On the subject of removing covers. The lower timing belt cover can only be removed with the bottom pulley removed. Be warned, the bolt that holds it is REALLY tight...

 

[serth]

Cheers Stu. Took the old girl to a tyre fitters today to get my two new Proxes TR-1's fitted up front, got them to check the gunk, and they said that it seemed like grease rather than oil, as it builds up into a thick layer whereas the oil would trickle off (and I'd expect to see some mess on the drive etc). They said the CV boot was in fine condition, however, because it was held in place by cable ties (spent over an hour trying to get the old clip back on but gave up hence the ties), when spinning at high speeds, it can open up and allow grease to fly out. He poked the boot and it moved up and down and side to side, thus making me ~80% sure we have found the issue.

I have bought a new CV boot kit that should turn up tomorrow, so I'll use the clip to re-attach the boot once I get the crud cleaned off.

I'm a little worried about the amount of oil that shes getting through, over 2.5 litres in 4 months/5000 miles... she's had just under 7 litres since my last service (including oil change, so that accounts for about 4.5l). I understand these engines can burn a little oil, the engine has only covered 80k so I would have thought it'd be fine for a little while longer.

Nevertheless, there could be many many more worse things wrong with her, and over xmas I'll do a full oil change and treat the internals to a bottle of that oil clean stuff inbetween.

Got to book her in for MOT next week, and I'm getting a little worried about a couple of things, but at the back of my mind I know i shouldn't... she's never wanted for anything, and all I can see her needing for the MOT is the headlight bracket to be welded back into place and for the lights to be aligned. I'm hoping they won't bring up the rusty sills/pannels as inevitably these will need working on, just not now when I'm a penniless student!

Also a little worried about emissions as I have a 200cell high flow sports cat. Although it is 'gauranteed for life' and is only 1 year old, I've put a different engine in so who knows what nasties this is producing, and I don't know whether the garage will warm her up enough either for the cat to work to it's full potential.

 

[trublustu]

Well there you go..
I never knew that about cv boots and their clips, but it makes sense with the speed they`re spinning at.
I think there is a special tool for clamping the clips. Though I`ve never done one, so I`m guessing..

You are right to be worried about the oil consumption. These engines are known for excessive wear (valve guides,bores,etc) if the service schedule is not stuck to.
Low mileage is not a guarantee of low wear!