Oil Leak 4EFTE GT EP82

[Calum122]

Hi Gents,

So I have been driving my GT after it's been parked up for the last three years outside...

It's running like a dream, idle does drop a little low at times, around 800 RPM but that's not always.

The problem I've got is a SAVAGE oil leak on the car.

I can't seem to pin point where it's coming from. I don't have access to a ramp. The car really needs tracking, but I'm too embarrassed to take it anywhere with this much oil leaking from it.

It's going all over the alternator, and the lower arms and all the hard work I put into it is starting to turn into a mess.

Let alone the driveway.

Anyway, is there any common places where these cars tend to leak oil from.

The amount it's losing is pretty drastic. Let us say I may have overfilled the oil slightly some 300 miles ago and it's dropped below the low mark. I never let it drop below the low mark, I kept topping it up as it got to the halfway mark, but I've done that a few times now.

Honestly, I kinda suspect it's the crankshaft seal, but seeing as the car has been off the road for so long, I'm reluctant to look there as I know it'll mean the car being off the road for some time again.

The other one is the dipstick o-ring. Is there like a particular size people have used to stop the leak?

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,

Calum

 

[Jay]

From the top..

The 4 seals on the rocker cover plug holes can leak. Usually means you get oil on top of the spark plugs.

Rocker cover gasket can leak as well. Worth inspecting. A new one isnt much.

O-ring on the distributor can leak after about a decade. Tell tale is oil on top of the thermostat housing sensors. If left long enough this can make the wiring brittle.

Intake cam seal cap should have a blob of sealer on it to prevent leaks. Pop the top belt cover off and run the engine to see if it's an issue.

Exhaust cam seal can leak down the drivers side of the engine. With the belt cover off you will be able to check this too.

Turbo impellor seals can fail internally but oil can still make it's way out of the intake.

Also check the supply and return pipes as debris can damage these occassionally.

Oil filter housing or indeed the filter itself can leak if the seal is disturbed or the banjo bolt threads are rung.

Oil pump seal can leak but this is uncommon. Usually a failure to seal it properly during a rebuild rather than anything else.

Next down the pecking list are the crank pulley seals. The cheap one is behind the crank pulley. The expensive one is behind the flywheel. Very normal to get a weep out of these but serious oil loss needs addressed quickly.

At the back of the engine the o ring on the dipstick tube can perish. Fairly easy to sort but can be fiddly.

Lastly the sump gasket can fail after time. Dropping the sump off, cleaning it all and refitting can be done in a few hours. Usually best to leave the sump empty overnight to let the sealer cure.

Hope that helps,

Jay

 

[Calum122]

From the top..

The 4 seals on the rocker cover plug holes can leak. Usually means you get oil on top of the spark plugs.

Rocker cover gasket can leak as well. Worth inspecting. A new one isnt much.

O-ring on the distributor can leak after about a decade. Tell tale is oil on top of the thermostat housing sensors. If left long enough this can make the wiring brittle.

Intake cam seal cap should have a blob of sealer on it to prevent leaks. Pop the top belt cover off and run the engine to see if it's an issue.

Exhaust cam seal can leak down the drivers side of the engine. With the belt cover off you will be able to check this too.

Turbo impellor seals can fail internally but oil can still make it's way out of the intake.

Also check the supply and return pipes as debris can damage these occassionally.

Oil filter housing or indeed the filter itself can leak if the seal is disturbed or the banjo bolt threads are rung.

Oil pump seal can leak but this is uncommon. Usually a failure to seal it properly during a rebuild rather than anything else.

Next down the pecking list are the crank pulley seals. The cheap one is behind the crank pulley. The expensive one is behind the flywheel. Very normal to get a weep out of these but serious oil loss needs addressed quickly.

At the back of the engine the o ring on the dipstick tube can perish. Fairly easy to sort but can be fiddly.

Lastly the sump gasket can fail after time. Dropping the sump off, cleaning it all and refitting can be done in a few hours. Usually best to leave the sump empty overnight to let the sealer cure.

Hope that helps,

Jay

Haha, I should have fleshed that out.

Clear cam belt cover has been fitted. The rocker cover was sealed with sump sealant. The sump was inspected for some reason I can't remember (that's how I found out the engine was forged) and was resealed. And the oil is found on the rear by the dipstick, but it seems way too much to be merely the dipstick oring since when I inspected the oring it seemed okay.

I reckon it's the crank pulley seal.

If I say it's the crank pulley seal, isn't it that on the GT engines the seal is part of the oil pump and the oil pump has to be removed in order to replace the seal, and the Glanza the oil seal can be replaced in situe.

That said, when I did the sump I didn't leave it off overnight to cure. I left it 15 minutes IIRC and the placed it onto the engine. Then the next day tighten to correct specs. I also suspect it may be leaking from the sump, but I can't see how that would collect pools by the water pump and/or cover my brand new alternator in oil

Either way, it sounds unlikely that I will sort it out this side of summer since I will probably take the car off the road.

Cheers for the info Jay. That'll be useful to know in the future I'm sure.

 

[SKINY]

When I was working at mine at the weekend I noticed the oil feed housing bolts where all needing nipped up, a good 3/4 turn I got on them all, hopefully it cures my leak a bit......

 

[Jay]

Best approach is to clean the engine down then see how far up the engine the oil appears. Should give an indication. If your waterpump has oil on it look at the seals above it.

Timing belt side crankseal can be done without removing the pump.

Skiny those housing threads are aluminium so over tightening beyond the torque setting can lead to more problems..

 

[Calum122]

Best approach is to clean the engine down then see how far up the engine the oil appears. Should give an indication. If your waterpump has oil on it look at the seals above it.

Timing belt side crankseal can be done without removing the pump.

Skiny those housing threads are aluminium so over tightening beyond the torque setting can lead to more problems..

Yeah, the old dear is kicking off about the mess on the driveway lmao. So I better sort it out before using the car again...

It's got to be somewhere around the inlet manifold area. The corner near the alternator as that's where it's collecting.

Cheers Jay.

 

[SKINY]

Never fear Jay they are a good hand tight i was able to pull one with one finger it was that slack, need some brake cleaner now to clean the crap off the sump now tho