Glanza oil leak?

[gavinboe]

my glanza developed a slight oil leak, nothing big, when i stuck my head under the car i could see that the previous owner had smeared some kind of silicone sealer around the sump where it mates to the block, not all the way round,just on the timing belt side, and some round the bottom pulley??, so it seems as though the sump seal was fhekd there and it wad dripping off the bottom of the sump, as it wasnt pouring out (couple of drips on the floor every morning), i decided to give it a coupla weeks for me to save up for new oil, filters, plugs etc and ill give it a good service and take the sump off and re-seal it at the same time, anyway, i noticed yesterday that the leak seams to be getting a little worse, so i had a quick look under the car again and i took the drivers side front wheel off to take a better look, and there was oil dripping off the alternator? which is higher up than the sump, and also it was sprayed all over the wishbone and driveshaft (the passenger side is bone dry and spotless), i also noticed oil had been sprayed onto the exhaust that is directly under the gearbox, so my question is, what do you guys think this could be? still a leaking sump? or something else/more serious? i should point out the car runs sweet as a nut, no noises, rattles, or smoke. any views/help much appreciated!

 

[H_D]

could be the crankshaft seal or a split c.v boot,
when the oil leaks onto the crank pully it will flick onto other components hence you have oil on the alternator

 

[Jay]

Usually would be a sign that the sealer between the sump and the block has deteriorated. Due to airflow around the engine it doesn't take much more than a slight weep to plaster oil up the underside of the car, you possibly wouldn't even notice much oil loss on the dipstick. To rule this out you would drop off the sump and reseal it. Quite a messy job naturally but it could sort your issues.

If the oil is coming from above the sump seal then you have to look into replacing your crankshaft oil seals (quite a common leak on the 4E) or you may find it's coming from further up the engine on the timing belt side.

Hope that helps,

Jay

 

[gavinboe]

thanks for the quick replys guys! im gonna crack out the degreaser and rags now while its not raining to clean up the mass and try to work out exactly where its coming from, hopefully it will just be a leaking sump! will keep yaaall posted

Gav.

 

[gavinboe]

ok cleaned up all the sh!t absolutely spotless and bone dry, started her up and lay under the car for 10 mins with hawk eyes but no leak, so i dropped her off the stands so it was flat on the ground, still no leak, then i reversed it back and drove forward and performed an emergency stop, jumped out of the car and popped my head under the car and sure enough, a small weep of oil coming from the front corner of the sump (timing belt side) where all the silicone had been smeared on! ive never been so happy to have found an oil leak lol. so the sump will be coming off soon to address the matter Thanks for the help, muchos appreciated!!

Gav.

 

[AdamB]

When re-sealing the sump ensure that you have left enough time for the silicone to dry before you put oil in it, as it will just leak like a siv!