Thread: Oil leak goes bad, uh-oh....

Originally Posted by LandyAndy

Where is the oil pressure sender on these motors guys???My money is on a failed sender,they leak slowly then spit it out bigtime when they go!!!!
Andrew

It's way down at the bottom of the motor (on the oil filter housing).

It seems like an awful lot of oil to leak out in such a short time. Once everything is clean, it couldn't be too hard to trace such a big leak.

Now I know that your 93 v8 is fuel injected, but it still is a 3.5.Try disconnecting the flame traps after you clean it up - the leak should almost dry up. Sometimes the flametraps and connections on the PCV system block and the blow by pressure ( your v8 is 14 years old after all) blows oil out of the engine from the valley gasket. The tin gasket is cheap, and LR make a coated version that is a tad expensive. But, having owned a rangie that did something similar to what you describe, the fix is to clean the flame traps with carby cleaner ( or replace if you find new ones cheap) , replace the tin gasket, seal it up with a suitable silicone (blue or red) and make sure the torque is right for the valley cover bolts. Have a suitable tap standing by ( should be imperial but I've forgot the size) because you can damage the aluminium threads easily and cross thead if not carefull. Of course do a spanner check on the rocker shafts etc, but I'm pretty sure your v8 is just a little blocked up

Given the pressure light came on when the prob started and has now gone off when you fire it then you have oil pressure.

Without installing a gauge we'll never know what pressure you're running. But if the light comes on when you turn on the ignititon and then goes out shortly after starting you have pressure.

Problem is that oil is not getting to the top of the engine which probably means one of your enging oil cooler lines has blown and it has sprayed from a to b by the fan.

I'd be checking those suckers first as the only other way to lose that much oil is pressurise the sump with an extremely blown head gasket which would then blow a rocker cover gasket out.

But I reckon it's the oil line. Because that would still show oil pressure, but none would get where you need it to, hence the racket. Oh, don't run it anymore until you've checked them.

I have a series of oil based problems which have clouded my judgement and abitlity to convey the dramas I'm having.

I've washed the motor in degreaser and have tracked the oil leak to the rocker covers.

I did this late this afternoon after I explained the other problem.

I drove (new oil and filter) with a tappet rattling, about 2 ks and it settled down, but it's still there. Smoke billowed from under the bonnet and there was oil (new stuff) surrounding the outer rocker covers on both sides. The leaking oil is coming from where the bolts pass thru the cover; it appears all have gone out at the same time, so new gaskets.........

When I removed the oil filter the mount it is attached to (a coupler for the oil cooler) was loose (an eighth of a turn), so I removed it, had a close look and put it back on....more tightly....but not too tight.

I figure I must have oil pressure or the rocker cover gaskets would not still be streaming out oil.

But in the process of this drama I've managed to jam a tappet or two.

I also think I made a major screw up. WIth the problems of this morning, the rattly tappets, the oil light on, the dipstick showing nothing, I over filled, twice.....

When I drained the sump 8 litres overflowed the pan and made a mess of where i was working on this. (never assume anything, anymore.....)

Ladas: I'll save the talcum for other items (see above)

utemad: yeah, but I had a look at the exploded diagrams for this engine and there's no oil in that area, however, and to answer your first sentence, in the fullness of time I don't think it has, as you'll see above (Q: what happens when one overfills, by double, the sump? A: stand in the corner, or get a promotion for selling more oil, or ring GW Bush saying you're doing your bit for the consumption of Middle eastern resources).

up2nogood: yup, thanks

blknight: uh huh, I'd like all those noises to go away before i next fire it up.

Bigjon: thankyou. the oil light is still intermittently flickering, and I didn't know that piece, it will be of enormous help as i track this problem, has Alice dried out yet? Please send some more photos.

LandyAndy: A few beers ago, I was having a cold one with a diesel mechanic who haivng heard this episode, went straight to this area of drama, so tomorrow I'll als be looking at the sender unit. (Curiously, the light issue, as you said; well, I just have a funny feeling about this one).

Scouse: (et al): When I removed the sump drain plug, about three litres slowly globbed out (unusual), for some unknown reason I guessed there may be a sort of vapour lock, don't know why, so I removed the filler cap and another five litres of oil blasted out of the drain hole.

This all sounds a bit odd reading it back but having drained and replaced the oil and filter (4.5 litres of new oil so far), I'll see what happens tomorrow; I know the rocker cover gaskets are U/S, but as for the rest????

Thank you all, stand by for more.

GQ

(Please feel free to berate me for being less than smart).

I'm not a mechanic at all but given what you said above it sounds like a blown head gasket. If oil is being blown past the rocker cover gaskets and pressurising the sump. There shouldn't be any pressure like this in either of these places as far as I know.

extreme blow by can cause it too..

someones already mentioned clogged breathers try removing the breather in its entirity from the rocker covers and see what happens...

if your blow by is excessive (which will in part account for blue burning of oil if your valve stems arent knackered) then the gasses heading up the insides of the block through the return gallaries will prevent the oil running down and you wind up with a pair of pressurised rockers full of oil


this oil then winds up exiting the crank case ventilator and being burnt (more blue smoke) all the oil gets caught up in the rockers and when you shut down from low oil pressure caused by lack of oil it slowly makes its way back down. you dip the dipstick and its dry so you go get more oil..

by the time you turn up with your more oil and throw it in all the oil that was in the rockers is now in your sump along with the new stuff thats still in the rocker and making its way down....

you dip and get oil all cool

leave it for 10 mins and it'll read over full, if its only a short drive and you dont blow out/burn enough when you get home to drain it and it will have more than you thought.

but thats just my crap its late and i cant sleep thinking

That's sounds almost unbelievably sensible, Dave.

I figured I've got some form of vapour lock, which sounds nuts, but....

...I think you've explained why both rocker covers are leaking thru the bolts at the same time and I've got oil going everywhere but where its needed...

is it possible to have clots in the oil system?

I change it every 5000 ks (and the filter), but I will admit to another crime.

In order to stop the rocker covers leaking I poured in a 'stop leak' product, recommended......

then I ran into the problems of the day just gone.....

so, now I'm thinking about an 'oil flush' type product, just to clean out the oil system, or should i just pump a few litres of petrol thru the system????

clogs and clots, which may lead to clogging the sender unit and my intermittent dash light........

i would've thought the 12 litres of new oil that s gone thru in the past day, would've done a flush, but maybe not........

My money's on both breathers blocked, with 1 having been blocked for ages so all it needed was the 2nd to totally block and the oil has to find a way out somewhere. Been there but the oil had an escape route via the charcoal canister.