Rocker cover seal leak question

[Blak_Mamber]

Hey all,

I've recently discovered oil over the top of my rocker cover and under the tops of the ignition leads which is collecting in the square grooves. I'm pretty sure its coming from where the rocker cover seals are and oil is be pushing up and out. But its only happening to 2 or 3 of them, the worst being the far left one. Why would this start happening now? Any reason it would be doing this? I'm pretty positive its only happening when boosting too!!...... All the round rocker cover seals were taken out and replaced last year when i had to rocker cover converted to race spec one. Pics of the leak zones as below... thoughts??? should i just replace the seals and see if it still does it? Any tips on ways of removing and putting back in??

 

[jayc-glanza17]

replace spark plug seals, they are a fiddly, but doable tho lewis..
i used some sealant on mine as well to help revent it happening..

 

[AdamB]

replace spark plug seals, they are a fiddly, but doable tho lewis..
i used some sealant on mine as well to help revent it happening..

X2 bud, replace all 4 spark plug seals. If they wern't changed when going for the race spec cover they will be brittle and do tend to leak oil past them.

 

[Blak_Mamber]

thanks for the fast replies guys

tips on taking them out easy and a good way of putting them back in? How far do they need to be pushed in? As far as possible yeah?

 

[Blak_Mamber]

Also wheres the cheapest place to get them? Camskill are £13 each!! there must be a cheaper place?

 

[dark_knight]

i'll do this too the next time i'm in there as mine were leaking too once upon a time..

 

[H_D]

use a good sealant with them as this will ensure a proper seal and also use sealant on the rocker cover gasket too when you are putting it back together.

 

[dac69er]

use a good sealant with them as this will ensure a proper seal and also use sealant on the rocker cover gasket too when you are putting it back together.

if you do a proper job you dont need to cover everything is sealant.


the one that always leaks is the far left hand one. i got away with just replacing that one before and it lasted another 3 years before i replaced the whole lot when i rebuilt the engine.

is not a hard job to do.

 

[H_D]

if you do a proper job you dont need to cover everything is sealant.


the one that always leaks is the far left hand one. i got away with just replacing that one before and it lasted another 3 years before i replaced the whole lot when i rebuilt the engine.

is not a hard job to do.

I use sealant to ensure a proper seal as it saves doing it twice incase it doest go according to plan the 1st time round and as for somone who is not very mechanically minded I would always recomend doing it this way.
How many threads have come up on the forum regarding leaking roker cover gaskets and spark plug seals???

 

[dac69er]

again, i would not use sealant if you have new seals/gaskets.

i have used bathroom silicone as a bodge when i had a rock hard cam cover seal, but if you clean everything properly and fit a new seal then you will have no issues.

not a fan of using sealant where you dont need it. you wont need to do it twice if you do it properly the first time

 

[weeJohn]

Are you sure its leaking from there as the spark plug lead end does not have any oil on it where it goes down to the plug.

I would check its not coming from the catch can hose joint and running across the cam cover to there.

 

[Blak_Mamber]

^^ i was thinking that mate, there isnt any oil dripping down that tube and i would have thought that would have been the first place the oil would have gone rather than up and collecting in the grooves. I did check the catch can fittings and cant see any sign of oil round the connecting points....

 

[Blak_Mamber]

Car is also hunting for fuel i think as the revs are going up to around 2.5rpm and down as soon as i start the car. Have checked for air leaks from the hoses around the inlet but cant spot anything. What else could cause this?

 

[Blak_Mamber]

Found out the radiator has been leaking, luckily caught it on time and havnt run it since.. just ordered another radiator so hopefully that was the reason for the up and down revs?

 

[Rev]

If the car is below full oil because of an oil leak the radiator temps can go up with more friction which in turn causes alot more pressure may be worth considering if the two issues are related.

 

[dac69er]

Found out the radiator has been leaking, luckily caught it on time and havnt run it since.. just ordered another radiator so hopefully that was the reason for the up and down revs?

i would doubt it. have ou done an ecu code check? i would suspect a vac leak or bad sensor, coolant or map sensor most likely.

 

[Blak_Mamber]

i would doubt it. have ou done an ecu code check? i would suspect a vac leak or bad sensor, coolant or map sensor most likely.

Hey dude. No havnt done an ecu code check as yet. Is there a tutorial on how to do this? I've checked for vac leaks, cant find any.. I was going to fit the new rad, change the oil and filter clear up all the oil and ive got new fittings for the rocker cover race spec breather and see how she runs after that.

 

[Phil]

Courtesy of Craig_GT & Dubseven i think.

Phil

 

[Blak_Mamber]

Thanks Phil. Rep'd

Seems bit complicated lol can a diagnostics machine be plugged into these cars? I can see a diagnostics plug near my battery.

 

[Phil]

Your welcome,

you can just bridge the two terminals with a bit of wire, then flick your ignition on and start counting flashes on the dash ecu light

have fun!

Phil